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175 Years of Rail on St. Charles Avenue
It is the oldest street railway line in America, and it’s not in San Francisco. Market Street has had rail transit for 150 years now — the longest duration on a city’s main street — but today, St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans celebrates 175 years of rail transit.
F is for Fifteen: Happy Birthday, F-line!
Pier 70 Development: Streetcars Included?
The Monday Chronicle lays out an impressive potential future for Pier 70 on the Central Waterfront. What the article describes (accurately) as “the most intact 19th century industrial complex west of the Mississippi River” is being pitched by the city as a new and very attractive home for high-tech businesses. Mayor Newsom calls the 69-acre bayside site “an extraordinary asset that is vastly underappreciated.”We think so too. That’s why we have consistently advocated Pier 70 as the ultimate terminal for the future E-Embarcadero line (with Muni agreeing to at least keep the option open by including it on vintage streetcar roll signs).
Snug as a Bug in a Rug
The protective shed for vintage streetcars is almost done at Geneva Division. Today, the first streetcar, No. 1010, ventured inside to serve as a locator for the “track skates,” permanent wheel blocks to be welded to the tracks to keep a car from running into the wall. The “torpedoes” like No. 1010 have the longest overhang in the vintage fleet, so they’re the model.
Back to Milan’s Past for the Future
When the first “Peter Witt” designed trams appeared in Milan, Italy, in 1928, they were painted a most attractive golden yellow with black and white trim. Within a couple of years, they were all repainted two-tone green and stayed that way until the 1970s, when the “Ventottos” (“28’s,” for the year they first appeared) became solid orange. All ten of the trams Muni bought from Milan arrived in solid orange in the late 1990s (as did No. 1834, which came for the Trolley Festivals in the 1980s).
Meet Me in St. Louis…
St. Louis streetcar no. 1704 at St. Francis Circle in 1983
“Parting Thoughts:” The Final Act at the Transbay Terminal
12:15 a.m., Saturday, August 7th, AC Transit 4088 running on the Route O bound for Alameda left the Transbay Transit Terminal for the final time. This concluded 71 years of continuous operation of the terminal. 4088 rolled off the ramp where the likes of Key System Bridge Units, IER “Blimps”, and Sacramento Northern Interurbans once plied. One Frank Zepeda said, “Savor the Moment,” as our small group of transit fans walked out the door onto the Mission Street loop and said good bye.
Storage & Link: Tale of Two Photographers
Our 2011 calendar has just gone to the printer. We should have them in stock at our San Francisco Railway Museum around Labor Day. One of our best contributors over the years is Market Street Railway member Bill Storage, who takes fantastic night shots in particular.
Speaking of Miniatures…
We posted yesterday about a photographic technique that makes real-life scenes look like minutely detailed miniatures. Well, why have fake fakes when you can have real fakes? (Ease up, modelers — just kidding!)
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