By Rick Laubscher, Market Street Railway President
The rise of Market Street Railway
Posts with Photos
Black barrier-breakers in San Francisco transit
San Francisco didn’t always have a reputation for openness and inclusion. The city’s past has been marred by discrimination in many forms. For example, before World War II, all but a small number of city employees were white.
Santa Claus Was Coming to Town
Boat tram, ‘Swiss Navy’ sailing for Fleet Week
In support of Fleet Week, SFMTA/Muni has dispatched two “vessels” to cruise The Embarcadero, shuttling happy passengers between Pier 39 and the Ferry Building. They’re supplementing regular F-line service between the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf (Jones and Jefferson) and Castro, via The Embarcadero and Market Street.
Boat Tram starts summer service NOW
Don’t miss Muni’s great photo show
Here’s a great chance to see memorable historic photos of San Francisco transit. And, if you come on January 27, bask in the perfection of a fully restored vintage Muni bus and hear from photography and history experts.
The angel’s in the details
Flipping that old saying to promote “120 years: SFMTA Photo Archive 1903-2023” now showing at the Harvey Milk photography center, 50 Scott Street, adjacent to Duboce Park. (N stops right there at East Portal of the Duboce Tunnel, the 22 and 24 are nearby.)
SFMTA’s blog post for the exhibition has details we won’t repeat here.
Muni Heritage Weekend, Sept. 23-24, 2023
The family-friendly Muni Heritage Weekend lets you ride vintage streetcars and buses and special cable cars that rarely operate. The world’s oldest cable car (1883), one of the oldest electric streetcars (1896), the very first streetcar Muni owned (1912), and the wildly popular English open-top “Boat Tram” (1934) will all be carrying passengers between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 23-24.
Here’s the Boat’s sailing schedule
The 1934 English “Boat Tram” is Muni’s most popular streetcar. But due to a variety of circumstances, including what Muni leader Julie Kirschbaum says is an ongoing shortage of trained operators, it didn’t carry any passengers this year until September 12-13 (Sunday-Monday). Instead, vintage Milan and Melbourne trams have been alternating on Sundays and Mondays carrying people along the northern Embarcadero between Pier 39 and the Ferry Building (with an additional stop at our San Francisco Railway Museum).
40th anniversary of the Trolley Festival
On June 23, 1983, Mayor Dianne Feinstein joined a mix of dignitaries, neighborhood folks and railfans at Castro and 17th Streets to inaugurate the first San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival.
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