On September 1, 1995, the permanent F-Market streetcar line opened on Market Street with a parade up Market Street. The parade lineup was led by 1934 Blackpool boat tram No. 228, as captured in this photo by Peter Ehrlich. Breaking with the tradition of earlier mayors, such as “Sunny Jim” Rolph and Dianne Feinstein, Mayor Frank Jordan chose not to pilot the first car himself, the former police chief riding instead in a vintage police car at the head of the parade.
In March 2000, the F-line was extended to Fisherman’s Wharf and officially named “F-Market & Wharves,” though its still more common to see “F-Market” on the streetcar roll signs.
The 20-year history of the F-line includes many twists and turns. MSR President Rick Laubscher, who was closely involved in the creation and development of San Francisco’s historic streetcar system, reflects on the F-line’s history and offers insights in the forthcoming issue of our member newsletter, Inside Track. The newsletter offers almost 50 pages of exclusive news and photos every year.
Inside Track is one of the benefits of being a Market Street Railway member. Your membership, in turn, gives us the ability to acquire new streetcars (like a second boat tram, the most popular car in the fleet) and advocate effectively for the new E-Embarcadero line and advocate for increased F-line service to meet demand.
Please consider joining today. If you do, we’ll send you the three latest issues (including this one, with the inside story of the current project to rebuild the original fleet of F-line streetcars as well as the next four.
A most memorable day-
As a fan of non-revenue cars, I was glad to see 0304 in the parade.
The “Kansas City Chief”, seldom seen because of various problems. Due for major rebuilding.
Muni 1054, the “hard luck” car–too badly damaged in a wreck for economical repair.
After seeing so many rail lines replaced by buses, it was most gratifying to see the #8 trolley bus line abandoned.
1059 was one of the VIP cars and I got to ride in it on opening day.
How about getting Melbourne SW6 916 running. What on earth is its’ problem. MUNI needs one man double ended cars for the “E”, and yet 916 just sits and sits. I’ve always predicted that when (maybe IF) MUNI ever gets that car in service that it will turn out to be one of the best and most popular cars in the fleet. What IS the hold up? It seemed perfectly good a couple years ago when it came from Melbourne, where they had just rebuilt it specifically for San Francisco.