Nothing evokes vanished San Francisco more than the old California Street Cable Railroad Company, more familiarly known as “Cal Cable.” This private company, founded by Leland Stanford, operated cable cars from 1878 to 1951, when it went bankrupt and was taken over by Muni. After that, politicians effectively dismembered it, and we’re still talking about whether its remnants can be improved.
This car commemorates Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co. (PST)–the ‘Red Arrow’ lines serving Philly’s western suburbs–which ran interurban cars with some PCC features from 1949 to 1982.
This streetcar is painted to honor Dallas, which ran PCCs from 1945 to 1956.
This car is painted in tribute to the ‘Magic Carpets’, as Muni’s first five modern-design streetcars were known.
This streetcar is painted to honor Market Street Railway Company, Muni’s private competitor from 1921 to 1944 and the namesake of our nonprofit organization.
This car is painted to honor Illinois Terminal Railroad System (ITS), which once ran an extensive interurban passenger service in southern Illinois.
The Los Angeles Times ran a troubling story saying that many large transit agencies, Muni among them, could face big-time financial problems because of rail car lease deals gone sour in the current economic meltdown. The Times noted that between 1980 and 2003, many transit properties sold their rail cars and leased them back, reaping a one-time cash infusion. But in the case of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, at least, the leases — with the troubled financial services giant AIG — may have to be paid back suddenly, which would require drastic service cuts.
Few felt it, but a seismic shift in American culture had begun. Grandfatherly Ike was President, friendly dairyman George Christopher was Mayor, stalwart Republicans both. Most white, middle-class San Franciscans (the majority then) saw these as comfortable times, and change as not terribly threatening.
As part of our mission, Market Street Railway creates displays on-board the historic streetcars to educate San Franciscans and visitors on interesting aspects of the city’s transit history. We call it the Museums in Motion project. This is an online version of one of those displays.
