New Melbourne Tram Dedication October 7

Rick Laubscher
Melbourne, Australia tram no. 916 in front of San Francisco's Ferry Building

Muni’s latest vintage streetcar, 1946 Melbourne tram No. 916, will formally join the historic fleet Wednesday morning, October 7, at ceremony to be held in the Embarcadero median across from the San Francisco Railway Museum at 9:45 a.m.
The ceremony, just south of the Ferry Building, will feature No. 916 and sister tram No. 496, along with speeches by officials from the Victoria State government, which owns Melbourne’s trams, and San Francisco city officials. A small number of invited officials will then take a quick ride along The Embarcadero on the tram, after which it will return to Geneva Division.
The tram is not yet ready for regular passenger service, as the door controls must be reversed from the left-side operation of Australia. While there’s no opportunity for the public to ride tomorrow, Market Street Railway is exploring the possibility of a charter for our members before the car enters regular service. We will keep members informed on this. Meantime, an official welcome to San Francisco, No. 916!

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Comments: 7

  2. What does it mean that door controls need to be reversed? Is there some rule specifying that doors must be controlled via right hand vs left hand??

  3. I think you will like this tramcar. The leaf-spring trucks give a gentle rolling ride and it has plenty of space. I rode this tram to school and university many years back when it was based at Essendon depot. I’m looking forward to my next visit to SF to renew the experience!
    Mal Rowe in Melbourne

  4. Pleased to see 916 return to traffic as I drive this tram when it was in service im Melbourne
    John Walker ex MMTB driver No 1161

  5. Robert, i gotta tell you…(as i told someone else today too), it just wasn’t the same without you there.

  6. @ Martin, traffic moves on the left in Australia, as in Britain and Japan, rather than on the right as here. So the doors are set up so that when the motorman in the front cab throws the switch, the doors on the LEFT side (their curb side) open. That has to be reversed for operation here.

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