1895 – Milan, Italy (1970s – present)
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Search Results for: f line
Roaring Back!
For the first time in more than a half-century, a cable car lettered for the O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line has gripped the cable under San Francisco’s streets. Cable car No. 42, retired and sold off after the 1954 cable car system ‘consolidation’, officially returned to service on June 3, 2005 with Mayor Gavin Newsom on the running board and dozens of other mayors from major world cities onboard.
Tales from the Grip: When push comes to shove
I’m coming down California into Grant when, all of a sudden, the entire car is engulfed in unnatural silence. All of the sensations that normally accompany a cable car–the rattling, the humming, the vibrations–disappear in a heartbeat. It’s as if the car just passed out in a narcoleptic fit. This can mean only one thing.
Closer to Home
On September 9, Muni streetcar No. 162 made history, moving under its own power on its home system for the first time in 47 years.
Back on Track
Steve Ferrario photo.
Jack Smith: Remembered well
Market Street Railway celebrates the life of Jack Smith, streetcar motorman extraordinaire, Market Street Railway Director Emeritus, and dedicated restoration volunteer, who died suddenly at his San Francisco home September 18, 2004. He was 72.
Tales from the Grip: “Central, we have a problem”
Just like any other line of work, we have our good days and our bad days (you could say we have our “ups and downs” [ouch!]. But, due to the unique and unusual nature of this particular profession, the kinds of problems that crop up are of a very interesting nature indeed…We call them ‘Line Delays’. They’re the bane of every transit operation. Some delays are obviously unavoidable–heavy traffic, roadwork repairs, the occasional three-alarm fire, that sort of thing.
The Market Street Railway Mural
A beautiful new mural has gone up at the corner of Church & 15th Streets in San Francisco, depicting the history of urban transit along Market Street, in incredible detail, from the turn of the 20th century to the present day, and beyond.
Tales from the Grip: Little Deuce Coupe
With apologies to Brian Wilson, an ode to cable car No. 2 to the tune of the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe”.
Tales from the Grip: Maybelle the cable car
About a year or so ago, I was heading inbound on Powell Street & California when a little girl and her mother got on my car. They were locals, out for an evening of cable car joyriding. The mother turned to me and said, “We’ve been riding the cars all day, and we’ve given them all names. What is this cable car’s name?”
