UPDATE, FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 11 — The Boat is out today as well, a bonus day! The copy below has been adjusted to reflect this.
Thanks to initiative by staff at SFMTA, led by Randy Catanach, chief of rail maintenance, one of Muni’s two 1934 Blackpool, England, open-top Boat Trams will cruise the waterfront from our San Francisco Railway Museum to Pier 39 on Fleet Week Weekend — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 11-13, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Additionally, 1929 Melbourne Tram 496 will be in regular E-line service from Caltrain to Fisherman’s Wharf on Friday, October 11.
The Boat to be used is Number 233, which Market Street Railway acquired for Muni in 2013. Most of this summer, the two-day-a-week Boat runs on the waterfront have been provided by twin Boat 228 (which, surprise, Market Street Railway acquired for Muni in 1984). That Boat got a little owie this past Tuesday, leading to a Boatless Wednesday, which was scheduled to be the last day of Boat service. But after we (Market Street Railway) were initially told by Muni operations staff that they were unable to put a boat out to delight the biggest crowds of San Francisco’s annual maritime celebration, Fleet Week — on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when ships are open to the public and the Navy’s Blue Angels fly — special efforts were made. Thanks to those efforts, the Boat will sail, sure to draw big crowds on what will almost certainly be the last public Boat service of 2019.
For 2020, SFMTA Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum has told us she plans to repeat this summer’s successful two-day-a-week boat service on The Embarcadero, and she has asked Randy’s maintenance team to take the off-season to do some needed work on 233 and repair 228 (minor issue) so both boats are ready for a busy 2020 summer. Thanks to Julie, Randy, and everyone at SFMTA who supports what are probably Muni’s most popular vehicles among San Franciscans.
You should be able to follow the Boat’s Fleet Week adventures (“Hi, Sailor!”) on its very own Twitter account as told to our Board Member, Chris Arvin. Chris has designed a Boat Tram pin to go with the wonderful streetcar icon stickers he created, which we sell at our museum and online store. We’ll let you know when the pin is available at our physical and online and on Chris’ personal site.
Now if we can just get a Friday picture of the Melbourne Tram filled with Aussie sailors from HMAS Brisbane, docked at Pier 15-17, near The Exploratorium. (That ship is open for tours Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Come say G’Day.)
