Reproduced with permission from the Market Street Railway’s Inside Track newsletter.
It is the most significant development for pre-PCC streetcars since the Historic Trolley Festivals of the 1980s that led to the permanent F-line. Muni’s parent, SFMTA, is preparing specifications to restore seven historic double-end streetcars and six Milan trams, bringing them to performance and reliability levels enabling their daily use on the F- and E-lines.
“We’ve been advocating for the full restoration of historic streetcars for decades. This is the culmination of our endless efforts,” said Rick Laubscher, Market Street Railway president. “We strongly support SFMTA in its efforts to preserve as much historic fabric of these streetcars as practical while creating a fleet that can operate reliably and regularly.”
Double-end need
To recap San Francisco’s historic streetcar fleet, Muni has already restored 32 streamlined PCC streetcars built between 1946 and 1952, which provide the bulk of the service on the F-line and all the service so far on the E-line. They have also restored the flagship of the fleet, their very first streetcar, Municipal Railway Car 1, built in 1912.
The already-restored cars are all single-ended, except for Car 1 and just seven of the 32 PCCs. But the E-line requires double-end cars because its current southern terminal, at Sixth and King Streets, lacks a loop or wye to turn single-end cars. Additionally, double-end cars can add needed flexibility to the F-line by being able to switch back, if necessary during line blockages, at the three existing crossovers along the line.
The flexibility of double-end cars has led Muni to focus its next streetcar restoration contract – likely the last contract for a long time – on seven historic double-end streetcars, plus six of the 1928 single-end “Peter Witt” trams from Milan Italy. To achieve the everyday reliability they require for regular service, Muni wants to standardize the operation and maintenance of these cars to the greatest degree possible, avoiding situations where a requirement to manufacture replacement parts would put a vintage streetcar out of service for months on end, as has occurred in the past.
This presents a major challenge: balancing the historic look and feel of these pre-World War II streetcars from around the world with the need for the maximum feasible standardization. It is a challenge that Market Street Railway is working on closely with Muni staff, trying to achieve consensus.
The Cars in the Contract
These are the seven vintage streetcars currently scheduled for full renovation. It is possible one or two of them near the bottom of the list could change, depending on further examination of the vehicles.
Where feasible, these cars (probably excepting Car 130) would be adapted to allow them to be run by a single operator. It has proven nearly impossible to get streetcars that require two operators scheduled for regular service in the past few years, both because of a recurring operator shortage and training requirements.
The seven double-end vintage streetcars are listed in the order of importance to Market Street Railway, from the point of view of their historic value to San Francisco and their future utility in the fleet.
“Lucky 130”
This 1914 original Muni streetcar got its nickname because it was saved from scrapping in 1958 by the legendary San Francisco transit historian and Muni shop foreman Charles Smallwood, who tucked it away at the back of the Geneva Car House, believing it would be needed as a work car to tow broken down PCCs on the J, K, L, M, and N lines. He was right. He even stored its passenger seats in the basement of his Richmond District home, hoping it would be restored to passenger service someday, which it was, during the first Trolley Festival in 1983.
The 130 has never left Muni’s tracks in 103 years, and is now as rusted and worn out as Car 1 before its restoration for Muni’s centennial. Because it shares Westinghouse components with restored Car 1 and with its twin, Car 162 (about which, more below), on which Muni has already performed considerable restoration, Market Street Railway feels strongly that the 130 should be restored to match Cars 1 and 162, preserving this irreplaceable part of Muni history with components shared by all three. We recommend, and will help, Muni acquire spare components that could be used on all three of its original streetcars.
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/130
The Sole Survivor
Car 798 is the only one of 250 streetcars built by San Francisco labor in the shops of our namesake, Market Street Railway Company. Leaders of our non-profit rescued it from planned destruction in the Sierra foothills in 1984 and brought it to San Francisco. Almost 20 years ago, Muni spent some $300,000 to restore its body but never finished the job. Market Street Railway volunteers have also put in many hundreds of hours on the car body over the past 30 years.
Car 798, built in 1924 at Elkton Shops (now Muni’s Green Light Rail Division) is the only surviving Market Street Railway passenger streetcar from the era when the late author Maya Angelou worked as the city’s first African-American female streetcar conductor during World War II. We propose dedicating this streetcar in her memory.
This car is a great candidate for a standardized propulsion system if the control housing and other visible components maintain a historic look.
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/798
Our Own Desire
Because Muni never acquired title to New Orleans Car 952, a classic Perley Thomas product from 1932 that operated many New Orleans lines back in the days of the “Desire” streetcar line, Market Street Railway helped Muni acquire its identical twin, Car 913, from the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Southern California in 2005. Running in flat New Orleans, these cars only needed two motors, but that makes this car very slow, especially running to its once-and-future barn, Cameron Beach Yard, at the end of the hilly J-Church line. A modern propulsion system, with four motors, would be fitted on the 913. As for the 952, its future is uncertain but it’s still owned by New Orleans Regional Transit (NORTA).
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/952
Small Town to Big City
Johnstown, Pennsylvania ran both traditional streetcars and PCCs well into the 1960s, allowing several of its classic arch-roof double-end 1926 cars to be preserved in museums. Market Street Railway obtained Johnstown Car 351 from a private party in rural Sonoma County who never realized his dream of building track to run it on. For decades, we hoped to restore this car with transparent panels that would let riders actually see some of its traditional components, like the complex “K” cam controllers used by the operators, with their hundreds of hand-machined parts. But Muni very much wants to minimize the number of components for which parts are no longer readily available. This car, full sized, double-ended, and easy to operate with a single crewmember, should be straightforward to restore with standardized modern components. We will look at alternative ways to teach traditional electric streetcar technology to interested people.
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/351
More Modern Melbourne
Muni’s 1929 Melbourne, Australia tram, W2-class Car 496, has been a stalwart part of the fleet since 1984. Six years ago, Market Street Railway helped Muni acquire a later version of this iconic streetcar, 1946 SW6-class Car 916. Melbourne had made incremental improvements to the W-class trams over the years, including doors on the formerly open center platform. This makes 916 more suitable than 496 for all-weather operation, and offers the prospect of single-person operation, as Melbourne itself now does with its vintage trams on its City Circle line.
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/916
Sister City Tram
Muni has two streetcars from Japan, both built in 1927 and similar in appearance. One, 578(J), ran first in Kobe, then, after the A-bomb attack, in Hiroshima. It ran here for several Trolley Festival seasons, but not since, having not been upgraded to meet the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. The other, 151, ran in San Francisco’s Sister City of Osaka, but arrived too late for the Trolley Festivals and has not carried passengers here.
The 151 has a big advantage, though: it has three doors on each side – front, center, and rear – while the 578(J)’s doors are center and rear when operating on the right side of the street, as it does in the US (Japan drives on the left). The Osaka-San Francisco Sister City Committee has asked Mayor Ed Lee to restore this streetcar as a sign of the cities’ long standing friendship. The future of the 578 has not finally been determined, but if it is not kept by Muni, it would be offered to museums.
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/151
Our Prize from Porto
Like Osaka 151, Porto, Portugal tram 189 would contribute more international flavor to San Francisco’s vintage streetcar operation. Also like the Osaka car, the Porto tram enjoys support from its home country, in this case from the Consulate-General of Portugal in San Francisco, which has asked Mayor Lee to restore it.
This cheery, built by Porto crafts workers in 1929 to an early 1900s design by Brill, the American streetcar maker, was one of the most popular cars in the Trolley Festivals of the 1980s. Fifteen years ago, Muni started to restore it, completely rebuilding the frame and restoring the motors and controllers before work was halted. The car is now disassembled but complete, its gorgeous interior woodwork waiting to shine again. New propulsion might be challenging to fit onto this car’s single truck, a task that will be evaluated.
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/189
The Milan Trams
The exact six Milan cars to be restored will be determined based on a close examination of their body condition, particularly the frame. It is likely that each of the three traditional Milan liveries – yellow, green, and orange – will be applied to two cars each. The future of the remaining five Milan trams owned by Muni has not yet been determined, though two have long been out of service following accidents and may be disposed of. One or more of the others would be held for possible future restoration.
More information: streetcar.org/streetcars/1895
What About the Others?
As we mentioned, the mix of cars in this forthcoming contract is aimed at maximizing the number of double-end cars in the operating fleet. Here’s a rundown of the remaining cars in the historic streetcar fleet:
- Muni’s own 1914 Car 162 (the twin of 130 but painted in the later, 1950s “Wings” livery) is currently being repaired and should return to service early in 2018. It will be maintained in its current configuration. More about the 162 in “Short Turns”, p. 15.
- Muni’s two 1934 open-top Blackpool, England “boat trams” are both in operating condition and will be maintained as is. The modifications made on the boats to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act make them single-ended in passenger service, and they require a crew of two. Nonetheless, Market Street Railway will continue to be aggressive in getting these cars, numbers 228 and 233, into regular service more frequently.
- 1929 Melbourne W2-class 496 is operational and will be maintained as is. Though it is double-ended, its open center platform makes it leas functional than its younger sibling 916, on the restoration list. Its twin, 1930 W2-class 586, which was primarily acquired for parts and has never run in San Francisco, will be maintained in that capacity.
- 1952 Brussels PCC 737 (painted to honor sister city Zurich, Switzerland) is operational and will be retained. Though it shares some PCC components, it has many non-standard parts and requires individual training of operators. This has kept it in the “back of the barn” for the past several years. We have encouraged Muni to operate it more frequently.
- 1954 single-end Hamburg tram 3557, the first international streetcar to come to San Francisco (imported in 1979 by Maurice Klebolt, without Muni’s knowledge or permission) is not operational and faces a challenge in successfully being modified to meet ADA requirements. Its unique operating system would require individual training for operators and maintainers unless it could be somehow standardized.
- 1912 Moscow-Orel, Russia, single-truck 106. This car, nicknamed the “Streetcar Named Desire for Peace” when Maurice Klebolt led its acquisition in 1986, faces the most challenges of any car in the historic fleet. It is very small, single-ended, currently requires two crew members, cannot easily be modified to meet ADA requirements, and has a unique hinged single truck and propulsion system for which no parts are available. Market Street Railway and Muni will explore all options which could lead to the preservation of the car, either locally or possibly even back in its home country.
- Muni’s two remaining vintage work cars, 1916 motor flat C-1 and 1900 overhead lines car 0304, will be retained.
- Muni’s “reserve fleet” of unrestored PCCs was covered at length in the last issue of Inside Track, and we will have an update in the next issue. The plan remains to cull half of the fleet – about 12 cars in the worst structural condition – offering them free (except for transport) to interested museums first. (Authorized representatives of museums interested in one of these PCCs can receive more information by sending a note to .)
GOING FORWARD
As has always been the case in this massive preservation effort of historic transit in San Francisco, the devil is in the details.
If modern streetcar propulsion systems are a requirement for restoring these unique streetcars from around the world and from our own city’s history, Market Street Railway wants the look and feel of the cars to stay as close as possible to normal.
This means housings for the operator controls that are approximately the same shape and size as traditional “K” controllers on the cars that had them, other modern components housed out of sight of passengers and onlookers (except required items such as stop request signs, security cameras and the like) and trucks that closely resemble – or actually are – the originals for that streetcar.
As mentioned, the balance between easy maintainability and operation and historic preservation will be difficult to achieve, but we believe striving for this balance is the best way to get these streetcars restored. Without the confidence that these cars can operate reliably in daily service, Muni leadership is more than likely to keep them sidetracked, operating rarely if at all. That serves no one’s interest.
MSR President Rick Laubscher is closely focused on achieving the best outcome possible from this forthcoming contract and will be devoting the majority of his time to its formulation and approval, fully respecting Muni’s role as owner and operator of the historic streetcar fleet but also fully aware of MSR’s obligation to history. Rick welcomes comments and opinions from members on this important matter, and can be reached at .
