Cable car heroes: 5 stars for the little cars

On August 2, the 150th anniversary of the first cable car, Market Street Railway honored five folks who made a big difference for San Francisco’s symbols. For the celebration luncheon, we made a video of these heroes — Andrew Hallidie, Friedel Klussmann, Mayor Dianne Feinstein, Fannie Barnes, and Tony Bennett. Take a look. We think you’ll find it worth seven minutes of your time.

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Poster Map of San Francisco Street Railways

“San Francisco Street Railways: A Cartographic History” is probably the most detailed map documenting all the rail transit lines in San Francisco beginning in the 19th century up to present day. Meticulously researched and exquisitely drawn by historian Stephen Watson, this is the ultimate piece of San Francisco railway transit history, sure to settle an argument or two. Color print is 23.5″ x 34.5″ and ships rolled in a tube ready for framing. Read More…

2024 Museums in Motion Calendar

Our 2024 calendar contains 12 vibrant color photos of San Francisco Municipal Railway’s unmatched fleet of cable cars and historic streetcars, shot by members of Market Street Railway, Muni’s nonprofit preservation partner.

The design continues our traditional attractive layout. The size, 14×10 inches, is designed to keep shipping costs low, but is still plenty large enough to let the photos shine!

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DVD, Rails of the Golden City (Catenary Productions)

Rails of the Golden City: 150 Years of Cable Cars, Streetcars, & Steam Trains in San Francisco. Extraordinary film footage by a variety of rail historians from 1873 to present day showing rail operations in the Bay Area. Documentary includes 8 Cable Car lines, 6 Market Street Railway lines, 3 abandoned Muni Streetcar lines, Southern Pacific Steam in 1955, Shops, Carbarns, Maps, and the 1906 Earthquake & Fire. Contains rare motion picture footage from the Western Railway Museum Archive and the Prelinger Archive.

DVD is 65 minutes long, in color and black & white, fully narrated. Produced by Warren Haack with Catenary Video Productions.

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Waterfront vintage streetcar service, summer 2023

UPDATE, July 9 — Today and tomorrow (July 9 & 10), a Milan tram will be the vintage vehicle on the waterfront. Pull out from Cameron Beach Yard at 9:20 a.m. It will shuttle between the Ferry Building and Pier 39. It’s not supposed to linger at Pier 39 or go all the way to the Wharf, so it can cover the heaviest part of the line more efficiently. Please send us an email (feedback@streetcar.org) if you see something different.

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San Francisco Cable Car Poster, Artist John Wullbrandt

This lovely poster titled “Powell & Hyde Line” (pulled from our archives, printed in 1983) was created by San Francisco artist John Russell Wullbrandt to celebrate San Francisco’s iconic national landmark – the Cable Car – during the major rebuild of the entire system in 1982-1984.

It is part of our series of fine art posters honoring the City’s historic transit vehicles, including our delightful Blackpool Boat Tram, wonderful San Francisco Streetcar #1, and perfect PCC Streetcar #1040. Look for these other posters in separate listings.

This limited edition poster is printed on lithographic paper, measures 30″ x 15″ and ships rolled in a mailing tube. Read More…

Cable Car Heroes Luncheon, Wednesday, August 2, 2023

150 years to the day from the first cable car trip in history, the nonprofit Market Street Railway honors cable car heroes at a fundraising luncheon August 2 with a reception at 11:30, lunch at 12 Noon at Historic John’s Grill, 63 Ellis Street, just a block from the Powell & Market cable car turntable.

Proceeds defray our costs of staging the six-month long civic celebration that’s focused on drawing more people from near and far to rediscover the cable cars and the neighborhoods they serve, helping our city’s businesses.

We’re gratified to say this event has sold out! 

However, if you want to support these cable car heroes and our efforts to support the cable cars, you can make a fully tax-deductible donation at this special link. Alternatively, you can send a check to Market Street Railway, 870 Market Street, Suite 803, San Francisco, CA 94102. Your generosity will be recognized at the lunch and online.

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