It’s that time of year again…
Two Streetcars Get Dressed for the Holidays
Author: Todd Jappin
It’s Here! MSR’s 2011 Museums In Motion Calendar
Just in time for, well, next year, Market Street Railway is proud to unveil the 2011 edition of our Museums In Motion calendar. Printed in a large, 16 x 11 inch format, the 2011 Museums In Motion Calendar features thirteen
Autumn in San Francisco: Sunshine and Streetcars
As Mark Twain once said “San Franciscans prefer to TiVo their summers.”Actually, that’s completely untrue. Twain never said that. In fact, the thought never even crossed his mind. Then again, he didn’t say that bit about “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,” either. Nevertheless, both misattributions describe a set of circumstances are quite genuine: Autumn in San Francisco really does function as the city’s summer, as the cold fog of summer melts away amid gallons of warm fall sunshine. That also makes it a great time of year for streetcar photography. Here are a few recent contributions to the Market Street Railway’s Flickr group:Images, from top: Telstar Logistics, hoteldennis, hoteldennis, hoteldennis, and Peter Ehrich
Visualize This: Modern Streetcar Service in Downtown Los Angeles
As part of an effort to bring a streetcar line to Downtown Los Angeles, two LA filmmakers produced this tidy little video. It extols the economic and social benefits of streetcar service, and provides nifty computer-generated visualizations of what modern streetcars might look like operating in downtown LA. As an added bonus, the introduction to the video includes some nice historic footage of LA’s streetcar fleet before it was abandoned in 1963:Here’s the complete video:
Meet the Mayor of the F Line Streetcars
Remembering The Loop, As It Was in 1930
Our friends over at Muni Diaries recently steered us toward this vintage film from 1930. It appears to be home movie, and the good stuff starts at around 0:23, when we get a superb view of The Loop — the once-famous streetcar turnaround at the foot of Market Street — as seen from the second floor of the Ferry Building. Check out all those Iron Monsters!Also worth noticing: The pedestrian bridge that used to connect the Ferry Building to the rest of Market street, lots and lots of ferries, and a big-gunned Navy battleship at anchor in the Bay. Noticeably missing: The Bay Bridge and Treasure Island! Enjoy…
The LA Times Finds Streetcar Magic in San Francisco
Last weekend the LA Times ran a nice article in its Sunday travel section about the simple pleasures of the F Line, and how San Francisco’s vintage streetcar fleet adds such color to everyday life in the city. Author Caitlin Fitzsimmons writes:I always imagined a trainspotter as an English eccentric in an anorak,
Lost Streetcars of San Francisco, Now Lost in Missouri
ex-Muni PCC streetcars in St. Charles, Missouri. Scott Tiek photo.
Empirical Data Proves the Intangible Benefits of Vintage Streetcar Service
Video: How to Replace a Streetcar Railbed (In 56 Hours)
Over the course of a few days last weekend, Muni replaced a large section of streetcar railbed around the intersection of 18th and Church streets near Dolores Park in San Francisco.
The project is part of the J Church Improvement Project, but the vintage streetcars of the F Line will benefit as well, as they too traverse this stretch of rail while traveling to and from their base camp at the Geneva Yard.
Happily, a few amateur infrastructuralists were on hand document the work, and it’s interesting stuff to see. Apart from the photos above, one neighbor also produced a short video of the project, which you can watch here:
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