Streetcar Found at Lost Hills!

Rick Laubscher

1008 Lost Hills CA 072012 Paul Lucas photo.jpeg

PCC No. 1008 on Interstate 5 at Lost Hills, CA, en route to San Francisco, July 20, 2012. Paul Lucas photo.

Well, we guessed wrong on the route the first restored double-end PCC would follow to get back to Muni from Pennsylvania. Our volunteer charter coordinator, Paul Lucas, was surpri…wait, we’ll let him tell it (from our Facebook Group).
> “I’m driving down to LA on I-5 and pull off to grab some food. While walking back to my car, something catches the corner of my eye: it’s a streetcar! It’s #1008 sitting on a flatbed truck parked at a gas station. It’s just north of Bakersfield [at Lost Hills]. This seems kind of out of the way if it’s supposedly coming on I-80 from Pennsylvania. Still, talk about a chance encounter!”
We don’t know why this southerly route either, but doesn’t matter. Thanks, Paul, for the nice photo and reporting.
UPDATE: Our board member Jeremy Whiteman reports that No. 1008 arrived at Muni that evening (July 20, 2012) safe and sound and was unloaded the following morning. Our guess is that it will be rapidly entered into the testing phase in preparation for the still-planned America’s Cup weekend service August 25-26.

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Comments: 6

  2. I notice what seems to be a first for San Francisco on this car, an auxillary trolley rope, a/la Philadelphia, Baltimore, & Boston. Is this a coming attraction or something Brookville just added?

  3. Random guess on the route. Maybe because they didn’t want to take a chance on going over the Sierras or Rockies? It would suck to have a runaway truck (trolley) on I 80 west of Truckee, or the Rockies as well.
    2800 miles v. 2600 miles. The 200 mile differences was probably made up by being able to go avoid 35 mph climbs.

  4. What kind of headlight is that on # 1008? It almost looks like a Golden Glow. Is it a modern reproduction? I know they’re available, from a company called Bob Drake Reproductions. If it is a repro Golden Glow, it looks great !! I’d like to see all of the MUNI’s PCC cars get that style headlight. Sure looks better than the sealed beam headlights. I like the “Cats Eye” tail lights on # 1008 too. The only thing missing are the original style metal windshield frames, instead of that rubber channel. Then the car would be totally awesome.
    I’m also pleased to see that the car number was placed in the correct location {and correct font/color} on the ends.

  5. Market Street Railway strongly recommended that the double-end streetcars, along with 1040, be returned as closely as possible to their original configurations, while meeting modern safety and accessibility standards. Despite efforts made to fit original “Golden Glow” units with modern bulbs that meet the state’s minimum visibility standards, it was necessary to find a substitute housing that worked, which Muni and the contractor did. We believe the overall result is, as you say, awesome.

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