A beautiful new mural has gone up at the corner of Church & 15th Streets in San Francisco, depicting the history of urban transit along Market Street, in incredible detail, from the turn of the 20th century to the present day, and beyond.
With apologies to Brian Wilson, an ode to cable car No. 2 to the tune of the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe”.
About a year or so ago, I was heading inbound on Powell Street & California when a little girl and her mother got on my car. They were locals, out for an evening of cable car joyriding. The mother turned to me and said, “We’ve been riding the cars all day, and we’ve given them all names. What is this cable car’s name?”
Market Street Railway photo.
Working at the Cable Car Division is different than being at a regular Muni division. After a while, it becomes easy to forget that you’re responsible for a world-famous, National Historic Landmark. Episodes like the one I’m about to describe help to remind you that this is definitely not the 38-Geary.
History came home on July 10, 2003. After more than 45 years away from its home tracks, 1914 Muni streetcar No. 162 returned to San Francisco, thanks to the generous donations of Market Street Railway members and friends (see list below). The car was transported to Market Street Railway’s ‘Mint Division’ restoration facility at Duboce & Market from the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Riverside County, which had acquired it from Muni in 1958, when the car was originally retired.
by Rick Laubscher, Project Manager of the 1980s Trolley Festivals and Market Street Railway President
Editor’s Note: This article, by Marshall Kilduff, appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on March 15, 1979. Maurice Klebolt went on to become a board member of Market Street Railway and one of the forces behind the Historic Trolley Festivals from 1983-87 that led to the permanent F-Market and Wharves vintage streetcar line.
With considerable support from Market Street Railway, Muni has dedicated historic streetcar No. 130 to the late Herb Caen, the longtime Chronicle columnist widely known as “Mr. San Francisco.” Not so widely known was his strong affection for the City’s streetcars and his celebration of the F-line.
One proposal for extending historic streetcar service would use the tracks of the F-line and N-line to reach Ninth Avenue and Irving Street, then head north on new tracks into Golden Gate Park with a terminal at the park concourse to serve the rebuilt deYoung Museum and California Academy of Sciences.
