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Operated as part of the city's municipal
transit system, San
Francisco Municipal Railway, the "F" line provides a direct rail link
between Downtown and the Fisherman's Wharf area. The line operates from
Market and Castro, down the surface tracks on Market St., and along the
northern waterfront to Fisherman's Wharf at Jones and Beach
Streets (near the terminus of the Powell-Hyde cable car line). The
"F" line has the highest ridership of any U.S. streetcar
line, with 25,000 daily riders by 2007 (well over 8 million riders a year). Muni is in the process of completing additional cars to increase
capacity on the "F" Line and expand service with the creation of
the new "E"-Embarcadero Line.
The "F" Line is public transportation with a definite
historic flavor; base service is provided with 17 refurbished PCC
cars and 10 'Peter Witt'-type cars imported from Milan, with a variety of other historic cars
from around the world filling in where needed. Each of the PCC cars is
painted in a different "vintage" color scheme, representing
classic paint schemes from cities around the country. It should also be
noted that while operating to and from the maintenance facility where they
are kept, the "F" line streetcars also share tracks with modern
streetcars. The new "E" Line service will also feature old and
new cars sharing the same tracks.
Serving in a
"friends of the streetcar" support role is the volunteer Market Street
Railway, providing assistance with historic car acquisition, restoration,
interpretation and serving an important general advocacy role. Through
their cooperative arrangement with the Muni, the MSR has a small office
and work area at Muni's Duboce Yard on Market Street, where volunteers
take on a variety of projects. In 2007, the MSR also opened the San
Francisco Railway Museum in a storefront at the foot of Market St.
There's nothing quite like riding one of Muni's
historic cars down Market St. Especially during rush hour when the street is
packed with traffic and the sidewalks crowded with humanity. The buildings
at the Embarcadero end of the line tower over the scene, creating a canyon
below for the the artery that is Market Street. It's a once commonplace scene
that was repeated daily in every big city in the United States- streetcars
faithfully moving the masses through the crowded urban center. And with
the public's overwhelming response to the new service, its a scene that
will be repeated daily for many years to come!
"F"
Line- Market Street
"F"
Line streetcars operate along the length of Market Street, a total of
three miles from the Castro Street terminal to the Embarcadero. Market
Street is one of the country's most famous "streetcar
thoroughfares", and was equipped with four tracks from the late
'Teens into the 1950's. Following completion of the BART heavy rail subway
and the streetcar subway above the BART tracks, surface operation of
streetcars on Market was scheduled to end altogether in 1982. However, the
start of the San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival the following year
changed that. The Trolley Festival had been created to provide an interim replacement
for the cable car system that was then being rebuilt. The festivals were
such a success, however, that they continued even after the cable car
system returned to operation. Regular "F" Line historic
streetcar service on Market began in 1995.
"F"
Line- Embarcadero
The
long-awaited extension of San
Francisco's "F" historic streetcar line opened on March 4, 2000,
combining the existing service on Market St. with an additional 2.8 miles
of new trackage along the
waterfront Embarcadero. Prior to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the
Embarcadero had been covered with a freeway. Instead of rebuilding the
heavily damaged freeway after the earthquake, the City instead re-visioned
the area and created a grand waterfront boulevard, with accommodation for
streetcar service in the median.
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| Nighttime
stop at the Ferry Terminal |
Car
130 in front of the Ferry Terminal Building |
A
Milan car turns back toward Market. |
A
Milan car turns onto the Embarcadero. |
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A
PCC car turning off the Embarcadero, while a shuttle car waits
in the background. |
The
junction is a remarkably busy place, not only streetcars
but plenty of auto traffic. |
Two
of Muni's double-ended PCC cars pass near the Embarcadero Plaza station. |
The
line is double track, with a single track loop
arrangement on separate streets at the Wharf end. |
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Much
of the trackway along the Embarcadero is lined with paving blocks that
discourage pedestrians from walking on the tracks, but
permit operation of buses when necessary. Much of
the route is also lined with palm trees, creating a
dramatic visual corridor. The photo at right illustrates
one of the mid-block pedestrian crossings. |
The
paralleling sidewalk is quite wide, providing further incentive for
pedestrians to stay off the trackway |
Service
is provided on very close headways throughout the day. |
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Signalized
left turn pockets are provided at all cross streets- a
necessity given the traffic volume. |
The
left turn phase in process. |
Left
turn phase ended. Note that the truck has stopped beyond
the curbside signal |
Redundant
signals across the street reinforce the no left turn
phase. Note the "streetcar coming" illuminated
sign. |
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Station
stops are simple affairs. A shelter is provided, along
with an ADA access ramp. |
Buses
fill in when there are not enough streetcars to carry the
load. |
The
Embarcadero is graced with a number of restored historic
buildings. |
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The route changes to a one-way loop
as it reaches Pier 39.Outbound
cars use Jefferson St. The tracks are in a shared right
lane, except for this brief section of exclusive lane. |
The
operator has deployed the bridge plate between the
hi-block platform and the car to assist two elderly passengers. |
A
short-turn loop has been built adjacent to Pier 39 to
allow cars to turn back early if needed. |
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Leaving
Pier 39- note the taxi encroaching on the streetcar. |
Leaving
Pier 39 on Jefferson. Note the shared traffic lane. |
Alcatraz
in the background. Note the median to prevent last- second
right turns in front of the streetcar. |
Car
1 on Jefferson. The ADA access ramps in the wharf area are
more ornate than on other parts of the line. |
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Traffic
can get quite heavy in the Fisherman's Wharf area. |
These
two automobiles have illegally pulled in front of the
streetcar in order to make right turns. |
The
Fisherman's Wharf terminal at Jones St. is a simple
affair. |
The
Blackpool Boat Car at the Wharf |
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Inbound
along Beach St. Note the ornamental additions to the
trolley wire bracket arms. |
Closeup
of the ornamental addition to the trolley wire support
arms. |
A
Milan car boarding on Beach St. |
Passing Fisherman's Wharf |
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Cars
1 and 130 are among the oldest in the fleet, and are
typically used only along the Embarcadero, shuttling
between Market St. and Fisherman's Wharf. The photos
illustrate portions of the turning loop utilized at the
Market St. end. |
Historic
Car No. 1 inbound on Beach. |
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John
Smatlak photos
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"E"
Line- Embarcadero
The southern
portion of the Embarcadero was rebuilt with a connection to the Muni Metro
Subway, and currently hosts modern streetcars operating to the Caltrain
commuter rail station, a new ballpark, and the new Third Street
"T" Line. Plans call for extension of historic streetcar service
to the ballpark / Caltrain terminus, pending funding and the availability
of additional historic cars. Click
here for more information on the "E" Line.
John
Smatlak photos
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News
& Updates
8/01- Muni
is seeking to expand its PCC car fleet, and has already purchased
several additional cars.
 12/01-
Planning for Muni's next historic streetcar line, Route "E-
Embarcadero" continues. One proposal receiving consideration
is an extension of the route, beyond the current F-Line terminal at Fisherman's Wharf,
to serve the Fort Mason area. The Market St. Railway website has an
excellent write-up on the proposed service here.
Source and photo: Market St. Railway.
11/03
Newark PCCs purchased. The Market St. Railway, which
supports Muni's Vintage Trolley operations, has announced that the
Muni has reached a deal to purchase 11 PCC-type trolley cars which Newark
retired in 2001. Link
to Newark PCC story. Over the last few years, Muni has
purchased a number of other PCC cars from various owners
around the country, and in addition to the 11 Newark cars, now
owns 31 unrestored PCC cars/carbodies. Link
to story on Muni PCC acquisitions.
At
minimum, the Newark cars will require several modifications prior
to being used in San Francisco, but their acquisition demonstrates
Muni's ongoing commitment to its popular Vintage Trolley operations.
03/05
Update. In late 2004, Muni awarded a contract to Brookville
Equipment to refurbish the eleven PCC cars it acquired from New
Jersey Transit . The cars will hopefully begin arriving in late
2005, adding badly needed capacity to the F-Line, which continues
to carry record numbers of riders.
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06/06
Update. Brookville
Equipment Corporation is making excellent progress on the refurbishment
of the eleven PCC cars acquired by Muni from New
Jersey Transit. Based on the experience of refurbishing the first
of the cars in 2005, the scope of work was expanded to cover
additional needed work. The cars are now expected to enter
service later in 2006, adding badly needed capacity to the F-Line, which continues
to carry record numbers of riders.
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eleven PCC streetcars now being refurbished will continue
the San Francisco tradition of painting each one in a different
heritage paint scheme, representing cities throughout
North America. |
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07/08
Update. As ridership on the "F" Line continues to
grow, the Muni is working to field additional cars to meet
the demand. The eleven PCC cars overhauled in 2005-2007
are now scheduled to receive additional work, including
complete rewiring and conversion of control systems to
match the balance of Muni's PCC fleet. Additionally, four
more double-ended PCCs are to be rebuilt, along with
historic PCC 1040 (the last PCC car built in America,
delivered in 1952) and Muni historic car No. 1. A pre-bid
conference for the contracts to perform the aforementioned
work was held in late July, with bids due in August. Work
is expected to take approximately two years.
In other historic car
news, Muni Car 162 is poised to re-enter service following
a multi-year restoration effort. The car was acquired by
the Muni in 2003 from the Orange
Empire Railway Museum in Southern California with help
from the MSR. Restoration was a cooperative venture
between Muni and MSR. The car made its debut for the
American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Rail
Transit Conference, hosted by San Francisco in June of
2008. The car is expected to enter regular passenger
service shortly.
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| Car
162 at the Ferry Terminal loop, Embarcadero & Market,
June 2008 |
John
Smatlak with car 162 |
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| 162
returns to the historic Geneva Carhouse |
162
on an evening trip for the APTA Heritage Trolley and
Streetcar Subcommittee, June 2008. |
John
Smatlak photos
5/09
Update. Muni has awarded a $1.9M contract to Brookville
Equipment for the complete overhaul of historic streetcar
No. 1. Work is scheduled to begin this summer. In
anticipation of the car being moved to Brookville PA., it
was moved to the new Muni Metro East facility where it can
be stored under cover until it leaves for Pennsylvania. Click
here for an entry on the Market Street Railway blog
covering the news.
Market Street Railway
Photo
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Links
Historic
Streetcar Extension.org (Ft. Mason extension)
San
Francisco page on the APTA Heritage Trolley site
Market
St. Railway
The
Cable Car Homepage
Muni
Historic Streetcars page
This page was last updated on
5/8/09
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