The details are pretty well worked out now. Muni’s E-Embarcadero historic streetcar line will operate Saturday and Sunday, August 25 and 26, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. in conjunction with the America’s Cup World Series event.
The E-line’s vintage double-end streetcars will run from the Fisherman’s Wharf F-line terminal at Jones and Beach Streets along F-line tracks past the Ferry Building, but where the F-line turns west to head up Market Street, the E-line cars will continue south on track built years ago just for them, connecting with the Muni Metro N and T lines where they emerge from the subway at The Embarcadero and Folsom Street. From there, the E-line cars will share tracks (but not platforms–see below) with the N and T trains to a terminal at the Caltrain Depot.
1914 Muni streetcar No. 162 seen through the window of a double-ended PCC as both traverse the E-line at Mission and The Embarcadero during special demonstration service in September 2008. Rick Laubscher photo. Click to enlarge.
South of Folsom, the E-line cars will use low-level platforms on the right side of the streetcars, with ramps for wheelchairs. These are separate from the center platforms used by the Breda light rail vehicles on the N and T lines. Market Street Railway is helping Muni put up temporary signage to make the distinction clear to riders.
We’re also joining with the South Beach-Rincon Hill-Mission Bay Neighborhood Association to post volunteers at key stops during the service to help riders and offer information about our advocacy for making the E-line permanent. If you’d like to volunteer, click here. Thanks to Bruce Agid, Nick Figone, and Paul Lucas for all their efforts on the volunteer activity.
The streetcars expected to be used for the service include two 1914 Muni streetcars, Nos. 130 (returning to service after an extended absence) and 162. They are likely to be joined by vintage 1928 Melbourne tram No. 496. Double-ended PCCs will round out the service, all from Muni’s original 1948 group of these rare cars. Nos 1007, 1010, and 1015 have been in regular F-line service for more than 15 years, and No. 1008, recently returned after rebuilding, may possibly have been accepted for service by that date.
There will be five streetcars at a time in E-line service on those dates; headways (time between cars) are expected to average 15 minutes.
Pass the word around to friends and turn out for this very special operation and show your support for the permanent E-line, one of our top priorities.
Click here for the complete SFMTA brochure showing all the special services (and bike tips!) for America’s Cup World Series events. You can download a PDF there as well.
Why all this controversy about using the double-ended cars on the E line?
Couldn’t the line just fo out to Dogpatch at 26th & 3rd and tuen around at the Muni yards there?
Running streetcars to Metro East, where the turning track you mention is located, would add 4.4 miles to every trip. That’s about 20 minutes a trip of “deadheading” — running empty –since the stations along that route are not (yet) able to handle low-level boarding.
So the short answer is that it’s not practical.
Oooo. great. Still hoping to see the extension to Ft. Mason. And if there, why not on to Crissy Field? (yes the tracks are still there under a thin layer of sidewalk asphalt–and they run under the platform edges of the old warehouses in the eastern Presidio).
(Maybe there would be some objections by the owners of the fancy mansions along the yacht club waterfront, but artistic trolley-wire poles are known.)
I believe an extension there would be of great use to the Presidio.
We at Market Street Railway have studied this closely for ten years, and while it may irritate some of our rail fan friends and members, we don’t agree that it’s a good idea to extend the streetcars to Crissy Field. The Presidio is, and will remain, a very low-density part of San Francisco, not ideal for rail transit. Yes, the old freight (single) track is still there, though chopped up by recent improvements to the walking path. A technical feasibility study years ago found that single track alignment undesirable for safety and operational reasons, so it would require a complete rebuilding of Marina Boulevard. We don’t think that’s desirable or necessary, since at least half of residents along Marina Boulevard and other northern Marina streets are within walking distance of a Fort Mason streetcar terminal anyway.
We think a much better solution is to make the permanent terminal Fort Mason Center and reroute the federal government-funded PresidiGo shuttles to connect with the streetcars. That would provide efficient connections to every significant destination in the Presidio, without incurring the capital cost for the city, nor burdening Muni with the operating costs to serve the Presidio.