Val Lupiz, expert gripman and San Francisco historian, was hosted on July 18 by MSR Board member Paul Lucas in the second installment of Market Street Railway’s quarterly series Inside Track-Live! A packed house at our San Francisco Railway Museum was treated to hearing how Val started as a rail-obsessed kid, to being the only gripman to operate historic Cable Car 42 in multiple Muni Heritage Festivals. Val’s stories ranged from heartwarming— helping passengers with marriage proposals— to uproarious— how he earned the nickname Mr. 12 o’clock and gripes from other grips.
The event was live-streamed in a Market Street Railway first. Audience members, both in person at the Museum and online, engaged in a fascinating question and answer session. The daughter of San Francisco’s first African American Cable Car operator, Sam McDaniel, attended with her own granddaughter—prompting a murmur of recognition from the audience and providing insights into the human aspects of San Francisco’s Cable Car system.
Here’s the link to the FB Live video of Val’s talk. It is also available on YouTube, broken into two parts:
- Part 1 is at https://youtu.be/tEPgP_bOgb4
- Part 2 is at https://youtu.be/fEtMoph543g
Keep an eye on streetcar.org for our upcoming events and news on Muni Heritage Weekend, planned for September 8 and 9!
