Beginning Friday, May 23, Muni’s famous F-Market heritage streetcar line will feature “special guest stars”, including the most popular vehicle in Muni’s fleet: 1934 Blackpool Boat Tram 233.
And this year, the summer specials will operate the entire length of the F-line, connecting the fun shops and restaurants of the Castro to all the attractions along Market Street — Civic Center, Union Square, the FiDi, IN ADDITION TO running along The Embarcadero between the Ferry Building and Fisherman’s Wharf. A perfect day out enjoying more of San Francisco.
Every Friday and Saturday from May 23, one of the “Guest Star Streetcars” — a Boat Tram, Melbourne Tram, Milan Tram or century-old Muni streetcar — will leave the Muni car house, Cameron Beach Yard, at 11:55 a.m. YOU CAN RIDE IT INTO SERVICE. It will pick up passengers at any stop along the J-Church line (starting at San Jose Avenue and Geneva Avenue). It will carry lucky passengers on the most scenic of Muni’s original streetcar lines, the J, through Noe Valley, then winding through the backyards of Dolores Heights to emerge at the top of Dolores Park (20th Street adjoining Church Street) with its spectacular views.
At 17th Street, the Guest Star Streetcar will turn east to reach Castro Street, where it will enter regular F-line service, all the way down Market Street, turning ahead of the Ferry Building on Steuart and jogging past our San Francisco Railway Museum, then along The Embarcadero, serving the Ferry Building, Exploratorium, the Cruise Ship Terminal, Alcatraz Ferry Landing, the historic Liberty Ship Jeremiah O’Brien, Pier 39, the SkyStar Ferris Wheel, and all the other attractions of Fisherman’s Wharf, ending its trip at the F-line terminal at Jones and Beach Streets.
The best way to find the Guest Star Streetcar for a ride on Fridays and Saturdays is by using our live streetcar map. It will show you where all the F-line cars are at that moment. There is a schedule for the Guest Star Streetcars, as there is for all F-line cars, but it can be affected by traffic and other issues. For reference, here’s the schedule that Muni provided us.
Depart Castro Terminal for the Wharf: 12:20 p.m., 2:32 p.m., 4:56 p.m.
Depart Wharf (Jones & Beach) for Castro: 1:30 p.m., 3:42 p.m., 6:06 p.m.
That scheduled 6:06 departure from the Wharf will go to Noe an 17th Streets, one block short of the Castro terminal, then turn onto 17th for the trip back to Cameron Beach Yard via the J-line. You can ride this trip as well, and take in “golden hour” from Dolores Park, with the waning sun warming the downtown skyline.
We expect Boat Tram 233 to operate on May 23, the first day. Because of its extreme popularity, we have asked that it appear as frequently as possible on subsequent weekends. To share more of the Special Guest Cars in Muni’s fleet, some Fridays and Saturdays will see 1928 Melbourne Tram 496, one of Muni’s 1928 Milan Trams, and its most historic streetcar of all, Car 1, built in 1912 when Muni was born. We will let you know on streetcar.org which car will be assigned on a particular day when we learn it from Muni.
Join us in thanking SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum, Director of Transit Brent Jones, and their team in making this special summer service possible.
