The latest addition to the Powell Street “vintage livery” fleet hits the streets for the first time today (Monday, June 22), with a public ceremony at 10:45 a.m. at the Cable Car Barn, Washington and Mason Streets to unveil newly built car No. 15. The Chronicle touts it this morning with lots of detail on its construction. Click on the thumbnail below by Carmen Magana of the SFMTA for a big, glorious view.
San Diego Vintage Trolley volunteers, including Market Street Railway members Dennis Frazier (second from right) and Dave Slater (right), pose with (left-right) Chuck Bencik, Ron Sutch, Harry Mathis – MTS Board Chair, and Art Aydelotte in front of the repainted nose of car No. 531 (ex-Muni No. 1170). Rick Laubscher photo.
Did you see the coverage of “President Obama’s” ride on the F-line? Besides the big Chronicle story, the TV coverage got replayed all over the country; really great tourism promotion for the city, just when we need it. The back story here is that it all sprung from the imaginative mind of our newest board member, David Perry, one of the best publicists in the city.
Jamison Wieser photo.
Muni’s flagship streetcar, No. 1, made its last F-line run for awhile today, operating under its own power from Geneva Car House to Metro East at Illinois and Cesar Chavez Sts., where it is being stored under cover until vendor Brookville Equipment Company picks it up in a few weeks for transport to its shops in Pennsylvania for a complete rebuilding.
Recently repaired streetcar no. 952 at the Noe Street F-line stop. Jamison Wieser photo.
STELLLLLAHHH! Marlon Brando made his name in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and cemented it in “On the Waterfront.” The two come together on Sunday, April 26 (not Brando, he’s still dead) when the Streetcar Named Desire (New Orleans No. 952) operates on the waterfront as part of this year’s first “Sunday Streets,” the wildly successful program inaugurated last year by Mayor Newsom.
Our friends at Muni called the other day and asked if we would post the following announcement on our blog, as part of their effort to get the word out to the public on their budget problems and give people a chance to comment in various public forums. We’re happy to help; it’s printed unedited below. One note: it looks like Muni has pulled from consideration any possible separate fare increase for the vintage streetcars. (They had put a possible $1 surcharge for the F-line on a laundry list of potential revenue raising measures, but it appears to be gone now).
…is not just the name of our nostalgic exhibit at the San Francisco Railway Museum, celebrating the days when the family car was a streetcar in San Francisco. It’s also a reminder that baseball season is about to start. No, not major league, but something more important: the “F-liners.” They’re a softball team in the SF Gay Softball League, founded in 2001 and named, yes, for the F-line. They play their first game (games, actually, a doubleheader) Sunday, March 22 at Moscone Field.
