Neoplan Bus #8350 - ActiveAsleep
Bus #8350 is the sole remaining bus of a total of 200 40-foot Neoplan buses purchased at a cost of $323,000 each in 2002-2003. Along with an order for their 60-foot brothers, these were most likely the last “standard” high-floor buses ordered by Muni. Early ones arrived in Landor Muni colors, while later ones arrived in red and gray colors. Many were rebuilt to extend their service lives, but all were retired by 2019.
GMC Bus #3287 - ActiveAsleep
Muni was the last large transit agency in the U.S. to buy GM “New Look” buses when they finally acquired 391 vehicles at $38,500 each in 1969-1970. Also known as “Jimmies” and “Fish Bowls” due to their large front glass windows, 142 went through an early 80’s rebuild and lasted for another decade. The last bus was retired in 1995. Although the rebuilt units were painted in Landor Muni colors, #3287 retains its original colors of maroon and gold based on Cal cable cars.
Fageol-Twin Coach Bus #0163 - ActiveAsleep
Muni bought 10 Model 44D buses in 1947 as planned replacements for cable cars at a cost of $15,187 each. Built with two engines and an automatic transmission, they were unreliable and all were gone by 1953. After years in storage, #0163 was restored for service in 2022 in time to celebrate the 150th anniversary of cable cars.
Mack Bus #2230 - ActiveAsleep
Muni leased (not bought) 450 Model C-49DT Mack buses between 1955-1960, at a cost of about $25,000 each. The buses were leased because Muni didn’t have the capital to buy them. When the lease was over in 1969-70, Mack had stopped making buses and didn’t want them back. Mack scrapped most of them. #2230 was reacquired in the early 2000s and a restoration was completed by 2018.
Blackpool Boat Tram #233 - ActiveAsleep
Boat Tram #233 was built in Blackpool, England in 1934, and was acquired by the Market St. Rwy. Museum for $20,000 in 2013. It seats 44 and is a fan favorite. Expect long lines to wait to ride the boat car, but the wait is worth it. Muni also owns boat trams #226 and #228, but both are under repair and not currently available for service.
Dinky #578 - ActiveAsleep
This is Muni’s oldest streetcar. It was one of 200 “California type cars” (half open/half enclosed) built in 1896 for the original Market Street Railway, but was converted to a work car after the 1906 Earthquake. It came to Muni with the merger of the 2nd Market St. Railway in 1944, and was restored to its original appearance in 1956. It has been on active roster since its restoration.
Muni Streetcar #1 - ActiveAsleep
Muni Streetcar #1 (known as a “Type A” model) was built by the Holman Co. of S.F. for $7,700 in 1912. One of 10 that first operated on Geary St., all were retired in 1951, except #1, which has remained on the roster without a break. The 48-seat car wears Muni’s original colors of red and gray, that returned to Muni vehicles in 1996. It was last restored for the Muni Centennial in 2012.
Melbourne Tram #916 - ActiveAsleep
One of the streetcars from down under, Melbourne Streetcar #916, was donated to S.F. in 2009 by the City of Melbourne, Australia. It seats 52 and features a “reverse California car” design, with an open center and enclosed ends, and beautiful woodwork throughout the entire streetcar.
Flyer Trolley Bus #5300 - ActiveAsleep
Over 300 of the very durable Flyer Trolley buses, including #5300, replaced the 1940s trolley bus fleet in the mid-1970s, and then lasted in service until 2007. They cost $74,000 and seated 50. These were the first new Muni transit vehicles to be painted in the Landor Muni colors of “sunset glow” (orange) & “poppy gold” (yellow).
“Baby White” Bus #042 - ActiveAsleep
Muni’s oldest in-service bus is “Baby White” #042, a 30-foot White Model 784 bus purchased for $10,161 in 1938. The “Baby White” name came to be after Muni purchased larger White buses in the late 1940s. #042 remained in service on the Coit Tower #39 route until 1975. It was most recently restored to the original orange and black paint scheme (which has nothing to do with the S.F. Giants baseball team) in 2011.
Muni Streetcar #1006 or #1008 - ActiveAsleep
Muni Streetcars #1006 and #1008 were built by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1948. Each cost $27,500. They were the first Presidential Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars at Muni and had 60 seats. They are rare double-end cars that operate in either direction without needing to turn around. Nicknamed “Torpedoes”, they ran until the Market St. subway opened in 1982, and were stored. They were restored at a cost of $2 million at Brookville, PA, and returned to service in 2012.
Market St. Railway Streetcar #1011 - ActiveAsleep
This is a streetcar – that sort of never existed! Originally, “Torpedo” #1011 operated for Muni from 1948-1982. When “tribute” colors of former streetcar lines were picked, the Market St. Rwy. color scheme was chosen for this car, but Market St. Rwy. never operated PCC cars, because they couldn’t afford them in the late 1930s.
California Cable Car #55 - ActiveAsleep
The latest cable car restoration to be completed by Muni is Cal Cable #55. Originally, this was Cal Cable Car #8, but it was renumbered when the current cable car routes were finalized in 1957. It was damaged in a 2006 accident and has been out of service for nearly 20 years. It has been painted in “green and cream” colors, which it wore briefly in 1956, but then was repainted in Cal Cable maroon. It is the only “green and cream” California St. car.
Marmon-Herrington Trolley Bus #776 - ActiveAsleep
MH #776, which seats 40, was one of over 100 trolleybuses purchased for $17,800 with 1947 bond funds, and was in service from 1948-1976. After years in storage it was renovated in the 1990s as one of the first major projects championed by the Market St. Railway Museum. It currently wears a “green and cream with wings” color scheme.
Milan “Peter Witt” Car #TBD - ActiveAsleep
In 1998 Muni acquired 11 “Peter Witt” model streetcars that were built in 1928 in Milan, Italy – at a cost of $30,000 per car. These cars along with the PCC cars were the backbone of F-Line service for 20 years. Known as “Milano’s” – after the popular cookie – they are colored white, orange and green to represent different service eras in Milan. Inside, they feature beautiful woodwork and perimeter seating, and a unique horn instead of a warning bell.
Brussels Streetcar #737 - ActiveAsleep
The multi-personality Streetcar #737 is a modified PCC design, built in Brussels, Belgium in 1951, although it is painted to represent the same type of car that operated in Zurich, Switzerland in the same era. It was acquired by Market St. Railway and Muni for $25,000 in 2004, and has been in service in S.F. since that time.
Sacramento-Clay Cable Car #“Big 19” - ActiveAsleep
Cable Car #Big 19 is the oldest U.S. public transit vehicle in active service. Built in 1883 at SPRR Shops in Sacramento, it ran on both the first and second Market St. Railway companies, and on United RR’s in between. It operated on Market St., and after the 1906 Earthquake, it was on the Sacramento-Clay cable car line until it closed in 1942. Muni sold it as surplus in 1948, but it was donated back to Muni in 1966. In 2019, after 77 years in storage, and a rebuild, it returned for use in special service, so you can ride it this weekend.
O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde Cable Car #42 - ActiveAsleep
Cable Car #42 also only operates in special service. Built in 1907 for the California Cable RR by the Holman Co. in S.F., it was sold as surplus in 1955 and was on a private ranch railroad in Santa Maria, CA for 20 years. It was donated back to Muni in 1993 and restored to an early 1900’s appearance for the 2012 Muni Centennial. It has been on the active roster for the past decade.