Muni Heritage Weekend Celebrates City’s Transit History
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates the Municipal Railway (Muni), is inviting the public to get a taste of the city’s public transit past by offering rides on vintage motor and trolley buses from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 1 and Sunday, November 2. Also operating those days will be a special cable car and historic streetcars rarely seen in regular service with free rides on a non-service loop from in front of the Railway Museum.
“We are always proud to partner with Market Street Railway to create opportunities for San Francisco to cherish Muni’s colorful and historic past,” said Tom Nolan, Chairman of the SFMTA Board of Directors. “The Muni Heritage Weekend is another exciting opportunity to celebrate over 100 years of service.”
The vintage buses will leave from the San Francisco Railway Museum, which is operated by Muni’s non-profit preservation partner Market Street Railway and located on Steuart Street between Market and Mission streets, across from the Ferry Building. They will supplement regular Muni bus service, following this circle route that loops around the Union Square area: outbound via Market, Sutter and Mason back to Market, returning inbound via Market, Spear, and Mission to Steuart. The buses will pick up and drop off passengers at the terminal and at Market and Powell streets only.
In addition to rides on historic vehicles there will be exhibits of Muni from the past, present and future with children’s activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and free family gift bags for the first 100 families each day with passes, memberships, gifts and discounts from sponsors PIER 39, Ghirardelli Chocolate, the Exploratorium, SF Conservatory of Flowers and the de Young and Legion of Honor Museums. From Noon to 2 p.m. there will be bell ringing demonstrations, live music, and readings from the works of Maya Angelou, who was an SF Railway street car conductor at age 16.
“Muni is America’s first publicly owned transit system, now into its second century of service,” said Edward D. Reiskin, Director of Transportation for SFMTA. “This heritage weekend gives our customers the chance to experience a full taste of Muni’s past, while demonstrating the unmatched diversity of vehicles that have carried San Franciscans to work, learn, shop and play over the decades.”
“San Francisco has been a great transit city for 150 years,” said Rick Laubscher, president of Market Street Railway. “We’re proud to support Muni Heritage Weekend to give the public a rare chance to actually ride the full array of our city’s historic transit vehicles, buses as well as streetcars and cable cars, all of them truly museums in motion.”
Historic Buses
Below is a description of some of the buses that will be operating on the Union Square route during the Muni Heritage Weekend.
Bus No. 042: One of the small gasoline coaches built by White Motor Company in 1938 that served Coit Tower on the 39-line for almost 40 years. Overhauled by Muni’s shops and restored to its original orange and black paint scheme and its original fleet number as part of Muni’s centennial.
Bus No. 776: A 1950 Marmon-Herrington trolley coach, which served virtually all of Muni’s trolley bus lines during its quarter-century of service. It is painted in its original green and cream “Wings” livery.
Bus No. 3287: Built by General Motors, purchased by Muni in 1969, and restored to its original maroon and yellow livery inspired by the cable cars.
Bus No. 5300: A 1975 Flyer trolley coach painted in the white and two-tone orange paint scheme created for Muni by famed San Francisco industrial designer Walter Landor, who also created Muni’s current logo, known to many as “the worm” for the twisting lines that spell “Muni”.
Bus No. 506: For display only on Steuart Street, this trolley bus built in 1941 was one of Muni’s first ten trolley coaches that operated on what was then called the “R-Howard” route. It is currently awaiting mechanical restoration following a successful cosmetic restoration into its original yellow and blue livery.
Historic Streetcars
Muni’s F Market & Wharves historic streetcar line will also have some special additions as part of the weekend celebration. Some of the vehicles that will be out on the line that operates between the Castro and Fisherman’s Wharf are listed below.
Streetcar No. 1: Muni’s very first streetcar, which inaugurated Muni service on December 28, 1912, running out Geary Street from Market to 10th Avenue, with Mayor “Sunny Jim” Rolph at the controls. Streetcar No. 1 wears Muni’s first paint scheme of gray and red, with gold trim.
Streetcar No. 1040: The very last streamliner “PCC” streetcar built in North America. These famous streetcars, the core of today’s F Line, once operated in 33 different cities across the continent. Muni’s No. 1040, built in 1952, was recently restored to its original green and cream livery as part of a complete rebuilding.
Streetcar No. 578: The oldest streetcar operated by a North American transit agency, built in 1896 for a Muni predecessor. Converted to a work car after the 1906 earthquake, No. 578 was restored by Muni crafts workers to its passenger configuration and original yellow livery in 1956 as part of the city’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the earthquake. No. 578 will operate between the San Francisco Railway Museum and Pier 39 along The Embarcadero.
Other vintage streetcars that spent their first careers on Muni tracks are expected to operate as part of regular F-line service.
Cable Cars
The iconic cable cars are an important part of the heritage of both Muni and San Francisco. The California Line, which runs on California Street between Market Street and Van Ness Avenue will have a special addition during the Muni Heritage Weekend.
Cable Car No. 42 is the last cable car bearing the markings of the O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line, which was closed in 1954. Reacquired from a private party in the 1990s and subsequently restored to its 1906 appearance by Muni’s cable car maintenance team with assistance on cosmetic work by volunteers from Market Street Railway. This double-ended car will operate from Market Street to Van Ness Avenue on the California Street cable car line from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Regular cable car fares will apply.
Market Street Railway Museum
At the San Francisco Railway Museum, at the Steuart Street F Line stop, the terminal point for the historic bus trips, and one block from the California Street cable car terminal, there will be a special sale of transit books and memorabilia both days to benefit Muni’s non-profit preservation partner Market Street Railway. Talks on San Francisco’s transit history will be given at the museum at 2 p.m. both days. Visitors to the free museum can also see an exhibit on the Historic Trolley Festivals of the 1980s that gave birth to the F Line.