In the days of strong competition between our namesake, Market Street Railway, and Muni, Muni sometimes had an employee at the Ferry Building loop promoting its K and L lines by saying “ALL the way out Market” (which many San Franciscans of the day pronounced “MAH-ket”). Of Market Street Railway’s lines, only the 8 went all the way to Castro Street..and the trolley buses that succeeded the streetcars on that route gave way to the F-line streetcars in 1995.
But that’s the past. On Sunday, July 19, you have the chance to go all the way out Market (well, to Noe Street anyway), and then ALL the way out the J-line, through newly renovated Dolores Park, over the famous “backyard route” across Dolores Heights, on Church through Noe Valley, and then along San Jose Avenue on the private right-of-way through the historic Bernal Cut, created by the Southern Pacific for steam trains!
This special charter will then loop through Cameron Beach Yard, where the historic streetcar fleet is normally housed (diverted temporarily to Metro East during construction), and then back downtown on the J and F lines. A 13-mile round trip!
To make it even better, it’s going to take place on Muni’s famous open-top 1934 Boat Tram from Blackpool, England.
The tour runs from 1:30-3:30 pm, starting and ending at our San Francisco Railway Museum, 77 Steuart Street across from the Ferry Building.
Sign up today for $50 per person. (Market Street Railway members receive a 25% discount, so please consider joining us before you buy your tickets…you can get the discount on two tickets!) Seating capacity is limited, and the last boat tram tour, which stayed on the F-line, sold out, so move quickly.
Your ticket purchase provides the funds required to charter the streetcar from Muni, so all ticket sales must be final. All proceeds go to support Market Street Railway in its work to keep San Francisco’s transit history alive.
