PCC No. 1008 on Interstate 5 at Lost Hills, CA, en route to San Francisco, July 20, 2012. Paul Lucas photo.
Streetcar Found at Lost Hills!
Author: Rick Laubscher
Keep an Eye Out on I-80 for a Streetcar
It looks like the first of the four restored double-end PCC streetcars needed to start up E-line service is finally on its way to San Francisco, albeit 16 months later than the restoration contract specified. Sources tell us that PCC 1008, pictured below at the Brookville Equipment facility in Pennsylvania, is due to arrive at Muni on Friday, putting it somewhere along Interstate 80 at the moment.
Streetcars needed for America’s Cup now 16 months late
Muni does continue to train streetcar crews, albeit for ongoing operations rather than specifically for America’s Cup. Here’s a recent shot of crews and trainers at the end of the L-Taraval line with 1914 Muni streetcar No. 162. Jeremy Whiteman photo, click to enlarge.
Grand Old Flags…All of Them!
All summer long, the F-line streetcars are bedecked with flags: the American flag over the front door on all cars, and the flag of the city, state, or country they represent on the other side (as shown below with the Minnesota flag above the operator’s window of Twin City Rapid Transit PCC No. 1071).
All-Door Boarding on All Muni Vehicles
Muni has just implemented all-door boarding, the first system in the country to do so. That includes F-line streetcars. People with cash must board at the front door, but those with Clipper cards, Muni Passports, or valid transfers (any proof of payment) can board (legally) at the back doors.
Do We Want Fewer F-Line Stops on Market?
One of the busiest F-line stops, Wharf-bound at Fourth and Market, is too narrow to allow an ADA ramp, thus denying access to disabled people. That’s because the boarding island, which predated ADA and is thus "grandfathered," sits parallel to a BART/Metro escalator entrance, which narrows the street. Moving some downtown F-line stops to mid-block would allow wider islands with ADA access and faster boarding for all riders, while leaving more space for other street users by removing the current constrained islands.
“Seattle’s Classic Waterfront Streetcars Stuck at Dead End”
Ex-Melbourne tram No. 605 on the Seattle Waterfront Streetcar line before it was shut down in 2007.
More Business for the F-line
Two new residential units totaling 200 units will be served by the F-line stop at Duboce and Market, from which this shot was snapped. Another 113 units are coming to Market and Octavia, just two blocks east.
Mid-Market Madness, Continued
No sooner did we post a story about a man, apparently curled up on a boarding island on mid-Market rolling under an F-Market & Wharves streetcar, did we see this post from SFist pop up, showing a disturbed woman attacking an F-line streetcar (No. 1079) at Fifth and Market, and then herself being attacked viciously by another woman. Here’s one of the two eyewitness cellphone videos that appears on the SFist post.
Muni Maintenance Woes Make Headlines
Milan trams Nos. 1807 and 1811 on the maintenance pit at the Cameron Beach facility, 2010.
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