Come Out of the Rain!

October 29, 2010August 9, 2014 Rick Laubscher Muni News, Posts with Photos

The long-awaited shed at Geneva Division is covering its first streetcars tonight. Vulnerable canvas-roofed streetcars including 1914 Muni No. 130 and 1926 Johnstown, PA No. 351 (left) were joined by venerable 1916 work car No. C-1 in taking shelter under the new canopy structure, after the 600 volt overhead wires were activated today. Regular F-line revenue streetcars, including PCCs, Milan trams, and older vintage cars, are pulling into the shed tonight.Market Street Railway is working with Muni to schedule a formal dedication of the facility, which our organization has advocated for more than a dozen years, helping Muni arrange funding from the San Francisco Municipal Railway Improvement Corporation (SFMRIC), among other sources.What a warm sight on a rainy night! Congratulations to all at Muni who have supported this effort.

The Best Version of the Market Street Film Profiled on 60 Minutes

October 16, 2010October 11, 2014 Rick Laubscher History Spotlight, Video

Did you see the story that was just on 60 Minutes about the now-famous “Trip Down Market Street” film? Although the film is more than a century old, a version of it with just an instrumental sound track suddenly starting spreading like wildfire

It’s Here! MSR’s 2011 Museums In Motion Calendar

October 16, 2010October 11, 2014 Todd Jappin SFMSR

Just in time for, well, next year, Market Street Railway is proud to unveil the 2011 edition of our Museums In Motion calendar. Printed in a large, 16 x 11 inch format, the 2011 Museums In Motion Calendar features thirteen

60 Minutes and 104 years

October 14, 2010October 11, 2014 Rick Laubscher Features, History Spotlight

Autumn in San Francisco: Sunshine and Streetcars

October 11, 2010August 9, 2014 Todd Jappin Photo of the Moment

As Mark Twain once said “San Franciscans prefer to TiVo their summers.”Actually, that’s completely untrue. Twain never said that. In fact, the thought never even crossed his mind. Then again, he didn’t say that bit about “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,” either. Nevertheless, both misattributions describe a set of circumstances are quite genuine: Autumn in San Francisco really does function as the city’s summer, as the cold fog of summer melts away amid gallons of warm fall sunshine. That also makes it a great time of year for streetcar photography. Here are a few recent contributions to the Market Street Railway’s Flickr group:Images, from top: Telstar Logistics, hoteldennis, hoteldennis, hoteldennis, and Peter Ehrich

Visualize This: Modern Streetcar Service in Downtown Los Angeles

October 5, 2010August 9, 2014 Todd Jappin News, Policy & Planning, Video

As part of an effort to bring a streetcar line to Downtown Los Angeles, two LA filmmakers produced this tidy little video. It extols the economic and social benefits of streetcar service, and provides nifty computer-generated visualizations of what modern streetcars might look like operating in downtown LA. As an added bonus, the introduction to the video includes some nice historic footage of LA’s streetcar fleet before it was abandoned in 1963:Here’s the complete video:

Another Milan “Mellow Yellow” on the Street

October 2, 2010August 9, 2014 Rick Laubscher Fleet Updates, News

Following a two-year absence to repair accident damage, Milan tram No. 1807 is back on the F-line today, resplendent in its fresh paint scheme. It is the second of Muni’s ten vintage 1928 Milan trams to be repainted in the yellow and white livery the original trams of this class wore in that Italian city. (No. 1811 was the first, several years ago)The yellow and white livery lasted only a few years in Milan, replaced by a two tone green modeled on Muni’s No. 1818 (recently applied to No. 1888 as well, also under repair). The remaining six F-line Milan trams wear an all-over orange introduced in their home city in the 1970s and still used there. Over an extended period, the plan is to balance out Muni’s Milan fleet among the three liveries, as the trams come up for complete repainting.

Inside the Mint!

September 29, 2010August 9, 2014 Rick Laubscher SFMSR

For a quarter-century, Market Street Railway has shared the space at Duboce Avenue and Buchanan and Market Streets with Muni, using it to restore streetcars for the F-line. Looming above all the while, the formidable U.S. Mint. In fact, its original entrance, at 350 Duboce Avenue, sits inside our facility, though it was sealed off before the street was closed and turned into a Muni right-of-way in the 1970s.We’ve seen the outside a thousand times, but never the inside — until now, thanks to this great essay by Andrew Dudley at Haighteration. Check it out.

City Guides Streetcar History Tour (Oct 31)

September 24, 2010October 11, 2014 jamison.wieser SFMSR

Market Street Railway and San Francisco City Guides are collaborating on a memorable and unique tour along Muni’s historic F-line on Sunday, October 31st. Take part in a festive and informative trip through history!