Muni Supervisor Robert Parks, who trains operators on every type of streetcar and light rail vehicle in the city, may have set a record today.
In the morning (above), he trained operators on Muni’s newest model of LRV, Siemens car 2001, delivered earlier this year. (The first Siemens cars are due to start carrying paying passengers next month.) Above. 2001at the N-Judah Ocean Beach terminal.
Then, he got a call — could he do a shop move, transferring 1896 single-truck “dinky” 578 across Cameron Beach Yard.
The same operator running one of the very the newest streetcars in America and the oldest passenger streetcar still on the roster of a US transit agency in the same day — vehicles built 121 years apart. That’s gotta be a record!
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post stated that Robert moved the dinky “across town,” which he called us to correct. We regret the error but are still in awe of his “double-header”.
Some years ago, 578 was at Western Ry. Museum (Rio Vista Jct.) and I got to run it. The big lever that looks like part of a cable car works the brakes. (no air or dynamic brakes). The controller is one of the earliest Type K models. But it doesn’t have its original motors–it’s now powered by a pair of 40 hp Westinghouse 514L motors from a scrapped Los Angeles Ry. car of the 1920s.
Congratulations, Robert! You are a real ambassador of San Francisco light rail!