Today is Giving Tuesday, a day promoted around the world to focus people’s attention on the needs of many kinds addressed by nonprofits. We at Market Street Railway know full well, especially right now, that there are urgent needs everywhere. We hope you’ll be able to spare a little something for charities in San Francisco, or wherever you’re reading this, that are helping with the Covid-19 pandemic or other human needs.
We do want to let you know that Covid-19 is hurting our nonprofit in a big way as well. Our San Francisco Railway Museum has been closed for almost two months, and when it does reopen, we expect far fewer gift shop sales from reduced and social distanced visitation. More importantly for San Francisco, there is no date set yet to return the F-line and E-line vintage streetcars to service (Car 1015, shown above, has just returned from a complete rebuilding to better-than-new-in-1948 condition and is being tested on the empty tracks right now to be ready to carry passengers when it’s time). Nor is there a date for returning the National Historic Landmark cable cars to service.
We are focusing our efforts on urging and helping Muni to bring these vehicles back to the streets, in passenger service, just as soon as it is safe for both operators and riders. They are symbols of San Francisco and will be symbols of our city’s recovery.
So, as you give to nonprofits on this Giving Tuesday (or any day for that matter), we hope you will consider donating at least $10 to Market Street Railway, to help the cause of the historic streetcars and cable cars. You can donate here.
Another way you can help us is by picking up some great transit-related merchandise in our online store, including this new t-shirt we designed with PCC 1040, the last streetcar of its designed to be built new in America, 68 years ago.
To all of you who are Market Street Railway members or supporters, thank you for helping us keep the past present in San Francisco.
