Noted Bay Area journalist Joe Fonzi’s 30-minute on the history and operation of the F-line is now online. Watch it here. (If for any reason the link doesn’t work, URL is www.ktvu.com/video/1736822. The doc has some great historic footage, including the 1980s Trolley Festivals, engaging interviews with F-line operators, maintainers, and riders…including Mayor Daniel Lurie, who tells what he thinks about the F-line.
F-line
ENCORE SHOWING of F-line documentary Nov. 2 on Channel 2
UPDATE: Joe Fonzi’s great 30-minute documentary on the F-line will indeed be repeated on Channel 2 on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, at 12:30 pm, just before NFL football on Fox. If you haven’t seen it yet, either watch or record it; it’s well worth your time, with great interviews featuring operators and maintainers of the streetcars, wonderful historical and current footage of both PCCs and vintage cars, and an interview with Mayor Lurie.
Boat Tram sails most Fridays/Saturdays thru Oct. 11
“Special Guest Streetcar” service has been operating on Fridays and Saturdays this summer. As it wraps up for the season, the very popular 91-year old Blackpool “Boat Tram” is most frequently operated, and is scheduled to be out on the Friday and Saturday of Fleet Week (October 10-11) Its first trip leaves Castro and Market around 12:30 p.m. and operates through about 6:30. You can see exactly where it is on our live streetcar map.
Ride into the past: Muni Heritage Weekend Sept. 20-21
Muni Heritage Weekend, jointly sponsored by us and Muni’s parent, SFMTA, is ON again this year.
It was 25 years ago this month…
…that the F-Market streetcar line became the F-Market & Wharves streetcar line, with the opening of the extension from First and Market Streets to Jones and Beach, connecting Downtown to the Ferry Building, The Embarcadero, and Fisherman’s Wharf. On March 4, 2000, the extension created what we call the “Steel Triangle” of rail: the two Powell cable lines and the F-line.
F-line 25th anniversary merch!
With San Francisco’s historic streetcars still shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we can’t take an actual ride to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the permanent F-Market line, but we can get some virtual thrills with these two new merchandise items, designed by Chris Arvin. Above, a poster with Chris’s iconic, er, icons that playfully visualize some of Muni’s historic streetcar fleet. Below, a pin featuring a PCC in original Muni livery.
F-line’s 25th anniversary
On September 1, 1995, a parade of vintage streetcars rumbled westward on Market Street, led by the wildly popular Boat Tram 228, to officially inaugurate the permanent F-Market streetcar line (extended in 2000 to become the F-Market & Wharves).
When will the cable cars and streetcars return?
The short answer is: we don’t know; it’s up to the virus and what we all do together to shorten its grip on our society. But Muni can be ready for that day, and we’re encouraging them to do so.
Giving Tuesday: can you help?
Today is Giving Tuesday, a day promoted around the world to focus people’s attention on the needs of many kinds addressed by nonprofits. We at Market Street Railway know full well, especially right now, that there are urgent needs everywhere. We hope you’ll be able to spare a little something for charities in San Francisco, or wherever you’re reading this, that are helping with the Covid-19 pandemic or other human needs.
Status update, April 15, 2020
Muni has put into effect the dramatic service cuts we told you about in our last update. Muni is currently operating just 17 core routes (out of 87), all served by buses. No rail service of any kind currently. Given our focus, we won’t discuss details of that here, but if you read the public comments at the bottom of SFMA’s announcement, you’ll see a lively debate.
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