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This CD contains a searchable PDF of the only history book chronicling the incredible story of the Market Street Railway of 1893. Not available in print form, this superb mix of photos, equipment rosters, and compelling text will awe you for hours, viewed on your computer. Searchable. 471 pages. Authors Emiliano Echeverria, Michael Dolgushkin, and Walter Rice. Read More……
Our exclusive historic fleet poster is now available as our Historic Fleet Puzzle! Fun for all ages and fans of Market Street Railway and the F-Line streetcars. Test your skills in matching up those vibrant liveries. This full color puzzle is 300 pieces, measures 11 x 17 when complete. Read More……
A fascinating and comprehensive full length documentary on San Francisco’s present-day Cable Car system! This well-researched DVD covers its 140 year history, showing how the system works with actual film footage taken in the powerhouse and underground. November Fire production 2017. 93 minutes. Bonus footage includes two extras: 1972 Cable Car short and a Muni Bus commercial. Read More……
This is the definitive guide to San Francisco’s historic streetcars and cable cars. Written by Market Street Railway President Rick Laubscher, this 128-page guide tells you the story of each vintage vehicle, gives you riding tips, lists the historic sites you’ll pass on each route, and shares insider secrets for great walks that link to your historic ride.
San Francisco’s Magnificent Streetcars by Kenneth Springirth captures the color and fun of the modern day F-line with this pictorial of the vintage fleet operating on rail lines in San Francisco from the 1960s to today. Featured lines include the F, J, K/T, L, M & N. Photos also include cable cars and trolley coaches, and are supplemented with early postcards of old San Francisco transit. Vibrant color photos in a wide variety of locations showcase the wonderful vintage fleet that runs in regular service today. 128 pages. Author Kenneth Springirth has been photographing San Francisco transit since 1963. Read More……
Described as resilient as the city it served, San Francisco’s California Street Cable Railway (Cal Cable) was rebuilt following the 1906 earthquake and fire, and lasted as an independent business longer than any other private San Francisco transit operation. Cut down to its present form in 1954, that remnant and its double-ended cars survive as an integral part of today’s cable car system. By Walter Rice and Emiliano Echeverria, with Michael Dolgushkin. Published in 2008 by Arcadia Publishing, 128 pages. Read More……
Here you can read the story of the 40 Line, or San Mateo Interurban, which began in 1892 with an initial segment operating between Market and Steuart Streets out to the county limits on San Jose Avenue. Three years later, the line reached Baden in present-day South San Francisco, and by 1903 service was opened all the way to downtown San Mateo. Black & white photos. Authors Walter Vielbaum, Robert Townley, Walter Rice, Emiliano Echeverria, and Don Holmgren provide firsthand information and photos. Arcadia Publishing 2005, 128 pages. Read More……
This DVD offers a nostalgic trip back in time to the most famous old San Francisco recreational destination told by historians and the people that were there. Through interviews, film footage, and hundreds of photographs, this film not only allows us to relearn and finally understand Sutro Baths’ history, but also to feel and experience it. 84 minutes in length. November Fire production 2011. Read More……
See three Bay Area electric lines in one video – the Sacramento Northern Railroad, Interurban Electric Railroad (IER Southern Pacific Red Trains) and the Peninsular Railway Company! Film by a variety of rail historians from 1910 to 1957 show rail and ferry operations in the Bay Area’s early days. DVD is 67 minutes, in color and black & white, fully narrated. A Charles Smiley production in association with Catenary Video Productions.
Rails of the Golden City: 150 Years of Cable Cars, Streetcars, & Steam Trains in San Francisco. Extraordinary film footage by a variety of rail historians from 1873 to present day showing rail operations in the Bay Area. Documentary includes 8 Cable Car lines, 6 Market Street Railway lines, 3 abandoned Muni Streetcar lines, Southern Pacific Steam in 1955, Shops, Carbarns, Maps, and the 1906 Earthquake & Fire. Contains rare motion picture footage from the Western Railway Museum Archive and the Prelinger Archive.
DVD is 65 minutes long, in color and black & white, fully narrated. Produced by Warren Haack with Catenary Video Productions.
Here’s an opportunity to view San Francisco electric transit from the mid-20th century through system expansions and abandonments to today and the historic F-line. Excellent traction action around the City by the Bay. In color, 1 hour 30 minutes, narrated. Charles Smiley Production 2012.
Packed full of historical photos and footage, this nostalgic documentary is a treat for any amusement park fan. The first and only documentary ever made about San Francisco’s Playland-at-the-Beach, this DVD Includes 3 short subjects on Playland. November Fire production 2010. 1 hour in length, color and black & white. Read More……
Originally built in 1863, the Cliff House is now a key part of the Sutro Historic District. That district, now a park, included the lavish gardens and structures of Sutro Heights and the home of Adolph Sutro, entrepreneur, real estate developer, and populist mayor of San Francisco. The ruins just north of the Cliff House housed the world-class swimming pool and museum complex called Sutro Baths. This full-length documentary tells the story of the Cliff House, Sutro Heights, and the attractions surrounding them. Run Time 84 minutes, November Fire production 2013. DVD also includes the short: “A Trip to the Cliff House,” by Mark Twain Read More……
