Market Street Railway Member Trolley Excursions

Trolley Excursion June 23, 2013

Come ride one of the oldest original San Francisco streetcars, car 162 built in 1914, on both the F-line to the Castro and the J-line (the oldest surviving streetcar line) to Balboa Park, the location of Cameron Beach Yard that serves as the storage and maintenance facility for San Francisco’s historic streetcar fleet.

Opened in 1917, the J-Church line is the oldest surviving streetcar line in San Francisco. From Market Street, it runs south mostly on Church Street, but skirts through scenic Mission Dolores Park and around the steep slopes of Dolores Heights via private right-of-way. Originally terminating at Church & 30th Streets in Noe Valley, the line was extended to Balboa Park in 1991 via the “Bernal Cut,” an excavation originally done as a single-track steam freight right-of-way by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Company in the 1860s. The cut was widened in 1929 to its present-day width.

Seating is limited to 50 passengers (the seating capacity of the car), so sign up today. The rate is $40 for Market Street Railway members and $50 for non-members. All proceeds go to support Market Street Railway in its work to keep San Francisco’s transit history alive.

Price

Member Price $40.00 USD Non-Member Price $50.00 USD

Trolley Excursion August 4, 2013

Come ride one of San Francisco’s newly restored streetcars, car 1009 built in 1948, on both the F line to the Castro and the T-line (the newest light rail line) to Metro East, Muni’s new light rail storage and maintenance facility. Although car 1009 is an original San Francisco streetcar than ran from 1948 until 1982, it has been painted to honor Dallas that ran PCCs from 1945 to 1956.

Opened in 2007, the T-Third Street line is the newest light rail line in San Francisco in more than half a century. From the San Francisco Railway Museum, the line shares track with the E-Embarcadero and N-Judah lines running south along the scenic Embarcadero, under the Bay Bridge, past the AT&T ball park, on the 4th Street Bridge over Mission Creek, and onto 3rd Street through the Mission Bay and Dogpatch neighborhoods.

However, Third Street is no stranger to rail. In 1896, the first Market Street Railway opened two streetcar lines down Third Street and (what were then called) Kentucky Street, Railroad Avenue, and San Bruno Road. Streetcars ran on Third Street for 44 years until 1940 when they were replaced by buses. Then, 67 years later, rail returned to Third Street.

Seating is limited to 60 passengers (the seating capacity of the car), so sign up today. The rate is $40 for Market Street Railway members and $50 for non-members. All proceeds go to support Market Street Railway in its work to keep San Francisco’s transit history alive.

Price

Member Price $40.00 USD Non-Member Price $50.00 USD

Trolley Excursion November 10, 2013

Come ride Muni’s very first streetcar, car 1 built in 1912, on this nearly 4-hour excursion on the F, J, K, L, and M lines ranging all over San Francisco. Destinations include: Market Street, Civic Center, the new Mint, the Castro, Dolores Park, Noe Valley, Bernal Heights, Glen Park, West Portal (entrance to the Twin Peaks Tunnel opened in 1918, one of the world’s longest streetcar tunnels at 2.27 miles), and the San Francisco Zoo.

Car 1 had its inaugural run out Geary Street on December 28, 1912, piloted by Mayor James Rolph, Jr. It ran for 39 years until 1951 when it was retired from service. In 1962, it was restored to its original condition to serve as the centerpiece of Muni’s 50th anniversary. Car 1 was used during the summer trolley festivals during the 1980s and became part of the new F-Market line fleet in 1995. In 2006, it was removed from service due to a wiring problem. In 2009-2010, it was completely restored by Brookville Equipment Company of Pennsylvania under a $1.8 million contract that included total rebuilding of the trucks, motors, and running gear, as well as reconstruction of the car body and installation of low voltage electrical circuits for lighting, switch control, and communications. It returned to regular service on October 6, 2012, almost a century after it was originally built.

Seating is limited to 48 passengers (the seating capacity of the car), so sign up today. For this long excursion, the rate is $75 for Market Street Railway members and $100 for non-members. All proceeds go to support Market Street Railway in its work to keep San Francisco’s transit history alive.

Price

Member Price $75.00 USD Non-Member Price $100.00 USD