Muni Derailed by Wall Street?

October 22, 2008August 9, 2014 Rick Laubscher News

The Los Angeles Times ran a troubling story saying that many large transit agencies, Muni among them, could face big-time financial problems because of rail car lease deals gone sour in the current economic meltdown. The Times noted that between 1980 and 2003, many transit properties sold their rail cars and leased them back, reaping a one-time cash infusion. But in the case of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, at least, the leases — with the troubled financial services giant AIG — may have to be paid back suddenly, which would require drastic service cuts.

The End of the Innocence: Market Street, 1957

October 22, 2008August 9, 2014 David Dugan History Spotlight

Few felt it, but a seismic shift in American culture had begun. Grandfatherly Ike was President, friendly dairyman George Christopher was Mayor, stalwart Republicans both. Most white, middle-class San Franciscans (the majority then) saw these as comfortable times, and change as not terribly threatening.

Cable Car to Castro

October 7, 2008August 9, 2014 David Dugan History Spotlight

As part of our mission, Market Street Railway creates displays on-board the historic streetcars to educate San Franciscans and visitors on interesting aspects of the city’s transit history. We call it the Museums in Motion project. This is an online version of one of those displays.

See the ‘Dinky’ Streetcar at Castro Street Fair

October 3, 2008August 9, 2014 David Dugan News

Market Street Railway will be operating a booth at the Castro Street Fair this Sunday, October 5, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and we’re happy to announce that we will be showing off one of the seldom-seen members of Muni’s historic streetcar fleet: Market Street Railway Co. streetcar No. 578.

Cable Cars Get Their Due

October 1, 2008October 11, 2014 Jamison Wieser History Spotlight

San Francisco history podcast Sparkletack returned a few weeks ago from a long hiatus with a weekly time capsule. Each episode normally tells just one story from local history, but host Richard Miller is using these time capsules to cover nuggets from San Francisco’s past that don’t quite warrant an entire program of their own.

What Might Have Been

September 25, 2008May 10, 2020 Rick Laubscher History Spotlight, Route Histories

In our last post, we looked back on the last days of streetcar service on the B-Geary line. In this post — an updated version of a story that appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of our member newsletter, Inside Track — we take a broader look back at the demise of streetcars in San Francisco in general, including the original F-line.

What Might Have Been: Geary

September 22, 2008May 10, 2020 Rick Laubscher History Spotlight, Route Histories

A recent post over at the Transbay Blog on the old B-Geary streetcar line inspired us to republish and update the following story from our Fall 2002 member newsletter, Inside Track. In a previous issue, we had looked at the decisions made — and not made — that doomed streetcar service on the original F-line (today’s 30-Stockton bus) and the old H-line (on Van Ness and Potrero Avenues). Their demise at the beginning of the 1950s left San Francisco with just seven streetcar lines, down from a high of around 50. And the clock was ticking for two of them…

1040 – San Francisco Municipal Railway (1950s)

This is a special streetcar in several ways. No. 1040 is the very last of almost 5,000 PCC streetcars manufactured in North America. It was delivered to Muni in 1952, completing an order of 25 PCCs from the venerable St. Louis Car Company. Of all the single-end PCCs in Muni’s current active fleet, it is the only one that has worked in San Francisco its entire life.

Streetcar Rebuilding Proposals Delayed

September 17, 2008October 11, 2014 Rick Laubscher News

Muni has two major requests for proposals to rebuild vintage streetcars out on the street. One proposal would renovate sixteen streamlined PCC streetcars to double the existing fleet of that type of car. The other would restore Muni’s flagship streetcar, vintage-1912 car No. 1, to its original glory in preparation for Muni’s centennial in 2012.

Important Muni Meeting Tuesday

September 15, 2008August 9, 2014 Rick Laubscher News

Muni has been working on its Transit Effectiveness Project for two years now, trying to make service more effective. This is an important project, because it will determine which lines receive the most operating and capital funding, based on how they fit into the overall network and how many people they carry. “Rapid” is the highest category. We at MSR are pleased to see that after staff initially classified the “F” line as “local” service (even though it met every criterion they set out for “Rapid”), they looked more closely and reclassified both the F and the future E-line as Rapid.