1007 – Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co.
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.
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1009 – Dallas, Texas
This streetcar is painted to honor Dallas, which ran PCCs from 1945 to 1956.
1010 – San Francisco Municipal Railway (1940s)
This car is painted in tribute to the ‘Magic Carpets’, as Muni’s first five modern-design streetcars were known.
1011 – Market Street Railway Company
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.
1015 – Illinois Terminal Railroad
This car is painted to honor Illinois Terminal Railroad System (ITS), which once ran an extensive interurban passenger service in southern Illinois.
Muni Derailed by Wall Street?
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.
The End of the Innocence: Market Street, 1957
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.
Cable Car to Castro
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.
See the ‘Dinky’ Streetcar at Castro Street Fair
Market Street Railway will be operating a booth at the Castro Street Fair this Sunday, October 5, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and we’re happy to announce that we will be showing off one of the seldom-seen members of Muni’s historic streetcar fleet: Market Street Railway Co. streetcar No. 578.
Cable Cars Get Their Due
San Francisco history podcast Sparkletack returned a few weeks ago from a long hiatus with a weekly time capsule. Each episode normally tells just one story from local history, but host Richard Miller is using these time capsules to cover nuggets from San Francisco’s past that don’t quite warrant an entire program of their own.
