The Blue Angels, courtesy U.S. Navy.
Free F-line Service This Weekend for Fleet Week
SFMSR
Formerly ‘Uncategorized’ which is a default term for Stories, and may be left checked even when a post is assigned categories. The Slug is generic & meaningless but it looks better when the public views articles.
Down Under No More, Second Melbourne Tram Arrives
Melbourne tram No. 916 is here. Following its trans-Pacific voyage, the 1946 SW6 class tram, a generous gift to San Francisco from the government of the State of Victoria, Australia (facilitated by Market Street Railway), was unloaded last night at Muni Metro East. This morning, it ran under its own power via the T, F, and J lines to Geneva Division to be prepared for its formal Muni debut.
San Francisco by Cable Car
While not the same as actually riding a cable car, Muni Diaries lead us to this video postcard tour of San Francisco’s 3 remaining cable car lines produced by KPIX 5.
The 2010 Calendar is Here!
Our 2010 Museums in Motion streetcar and cable car calendar has arrived and is now on sale at the San Francisco Railway Museum and online.
Behind the scenes with ‘Barack’
Did you see the coverage of “President Obama’s” ride on the F-line? Besides the big Chronicle story, the TV coverage got replayed all over the country; really great tourism promotion for the city, just when we need it. The back story here is that it all sprung from the imaginative mind of our newest board member, David Perry, one of the best publicists in the city.
Nolte Nails It
Carl Nolte, whom I’ve long considered the best pure writer on the Chronicle staff, puts his finger on it in his Sunday column, “Native Son.” Streetcars in San Francisco are cool again. I’d actually go further (and will, in the cover story of our next member newsletter, Inside Track)–to the general public (as opposed to railfans), streetcars are cooler than ever! By the way, Carl’s a reader of this blog — he told me he got his lead, the Monsters-on-a-Milan, from our posting. His article’s worth the read.
Monsters vs. Milan Tram
Did you see it during the Super Bowl? No, not the great plays on the field, the commercial for the upcoming animated film “Monsters Vs. Aliens”? We know the premise — scientists unleash monsters to battle an alien invasion — but what’s fascinating is a, uh, plot vehicle. Specifically, Milan tram No. 1811. Its another example of the growing visibility of the Milan trams as a San Francisco institution. We’ll have a story on that in the next issue of our member newsletter, Inside Track, which will go out to Market Street Railway members in early April. For now, enjoy the movie trailer, and feel free to speculate about what part No. 1811 might play in saving the world.
Next Stop: Mission Rock
Ballad of the Hyde Street Grip
The O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line was the last complete cable car route built in San Francisco, opening in 1891. By rule, anytime a new cable car line crossed an existing one, the cable of the new line had to be routed beneath the older line’s cable.That meant that operators gripping the new line had to drop (“let go”) their cable at such crossings. The O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line had 22 cable drops on a round trip. That’s why this 1901 poem by Gellet Burgess says “You are apt to earn your wages, on the Hyde Street Grip.”
The Market Street Railway Blog
Welcome to the Market Street Railway Blog. This is where we post all new feature stories and news items about the F-line, the cable cars, Muni, and Market Street Railway. We’ll also be sharing links to other historic transit-related sites and stories that might be of interest to MSR members and guests.
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