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.
For 149 years, San Francisco’s cable cars have been exemplars of craft, sculptures in wood and metal reflecting the talents of carpenters, metal workers, painters, electricians, and others. They absorb the jolts and lurches inherent in their daily operation, carrying millions of passengers over decades of daily service before their joints finally loosen and rot and rust take a big enough toll to require rebuilding.
By Bruce L. Battles, Market Street Railway Member
March 18 is Transit Driver Appreciation Day. Operating transit vehicles is a challenging job, in any environment. The past two years, it has been more challenging than ever in San Francisco, given justified concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus along with all the other issues they encounter every day. In our member magazine, Inside Track, we gave a shout out in 2020 to three vintage streetcar operators, emblematic of the many who show love for San Francisco’s historic transit vehicles and offer their riders great service.
Visitors to San Francisco today frequently comment on the multi-colored fleet of streetcars on Market Street. But it’s not the first time that’s happened.
We have received this notice from Muni: “The SFMTA, in partnership with the Department of Public Works, will be substituting motorized buses for the full F Market & Wharves historic streetcar route for three weeks, starting Feb. 22 through March 12. During this time, F Line service will be modified to accommodate construction activities for the Upper Market Safety Project as well as other essential track repair and maintenance elsewhere on the rail corridor.”
Final installment of our six part series on Muni’s birth and first century.
Fifth of six installments in our history of Muni’s birth and first century
Fourth of six installments in our history of Muni’s birth and first century
Third of six installments in our history of Muni’s birth and first century
The idea of a transit subway under Market Street goes back to the first years of the 20th century, but it took more than 70 fitful years to become reality. That’s a complex and fascinating story we tell in this companion post, which explains the compromises that harmed Muni’s subway operation from the get-go.
