SFMTA is starting to publicly share some of the details of Muni Heritage Weekend, September 24-25.
As in past years, bus and streetcar activity will be based near our San Francisco Railway Museum across from the Ferry Building. Vintage streetcars including Muni Car 1, 1948 double-end PCCs 1006 and 1008, and others still to be determined will be part of regular E-Embarcadero line service that weekend, and we expect the last PCC built in North America, the 1040, to be in regular service on the F-line all weekend. As a special treat, we also anticipate having 1952 Brussels, Belgium PCC 737 (painted to honor Zurich) on the F-line. This car has not operated in some time, and this is contingent on ensuring a trained operator is available.
The oldest streetcar in the fleet, 1896 “dinky” 578 will again provide special excursion shuttles between our museum and Pier 39 along The Embarcadero, joined by one or both of our 1934 Blackpool, England open-top boat trams.
The theme this year is “Green Machines”, emphasizing Muni’s zero-emission vehicles, especially their trolley coaches, which this year celebrate their 75th anniversary as part of Muni’s fleet. One of Muni’s first ten trolley coaches, the 506, should be curbside for walk-throughs, housing a photo display of trolley coach history. Two trolley coaches from succeeding generations, 776 (Marmon-Herrington, 1950) and 5300 (Flyer, 1975), will recreate Muni’s very first trolley coach route, the R-Howard. Most of that historic route is still under wire that is today only used for non-revenue (no passenger) movements, but on this weekend, you’ll be able to ride a vintage trolley coach out Howard Street and down South Van Ness Avenue and back through the Mission District. We’ll have full schedule information readily available at the museum when you arrive at the event.
Motor coach arrangements and route are still pending; we’ll offer those details as we have them.
As for cable cars, our 25-year campaign to help Muni bring back all the historic liveries that the Powell Street cable cars have worn since 1888 reached its conclusion recently with the ninth and final tribute livery launched on Powell car 12. All nine of the tribute cars will be on the Powell lines all weekend (barring unanticipated maintenance issues); it’ll be a great opportunity for shutterbugs. And, continuing its tradition, O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde cable car 42, restored in a joint effort by our volunteers and Muni crafts workers, will again operate in regular service on the California Street line.
At the museum, we’ll have an array of new merchandise including our 2017 calendar with some fantastic photos including vintage shots of the J-Church line, whose centennial we’ll be celebrating next year. We’ll also have special chances to meet key MSR and Muni leaders and ask them questions. Watch this space for more information on that, and other events for members and friends that week. We’ll keep you informed here.
For anybody who values the history of public transit in America, Market Street Railway is owed a humongous debt of gratitude.
Thanks so much, George!
Thanks very much, George!
It is nice to have a photo display in 506 to cover up the emptiness of this mostly unrestored coach.
I’d love it if 506 could possibly be restored in time for next year’s Heritage Weekend. I don’t know how feasible that is but I’d like to see it operate in special service on the R Howard line in 2017. Hopefully 5300 and 776 will operate on the R Howard line again next year, along with 506.
Restoring 506 to operating condition turns out to be a tall order. It needs a differential and a bunch of lesser but necessary parts, and we have been unable to locate any compatible historic buses that could be used as donors. We are going to explore the feasibility of trying to retrofit parts from a current Muni trolley coach (when retired) onto the body of 506. A long shot, but we don’t see other alternatives.
How about rolling back to prices?