Municipal Railway Vintage Scrapbook

Look back in time to the “Muni” after WWII to the 1980s. See the days when the “Iron Monsters” were the rule on Market Street and watch the Muni PCC cars of long ago when they were run as double-ended cars and the newer single-ended fleet as it expanded and replaced the Iron Monsters by the late 1950s. We bring the J, K, L, N & M lines from a long-lost era.

We bring examples of the long-forgotten Market Street Railway streetcars after the Muni took over those lines after WWII. Early examples of the A, B, K and L type streetcars abound in this presentation when they ruled Market Street and all the outbound lines.

Don’t miss the old B, C, D, F and H lines and how Market Street looked generations ago. Learn the Muni’s history over the years up to the BART subway project and more! See firsthand the effects of the Market Street Subway construction and all the changes to the West Portal Tunnel, the Phelan Loop of earlier times and the Transbay Transit Terminal.

Visit the old Transbay Transit Terminal operations in the 1950s to the 1970s. learn How the Eastbay electric trains of the Key System, and the SP IER, used the Bay Bridge to the San Francisco Transbay Transit Terminal.

Hear the city and rail sounds to better appreciate the way San Francisco was over the decades. This video has narration to bring a better understanding of the way things were and how they were shaped into the present day.

Review the expansion of the PCC fleet and see these cars in the 1950s from other cities before they were bought by the Muni. Examples are from cities that sold PCC cars to the Muni such as St. Louis and Toronto as well as those that almost became Muni cars. The early beginnings of the Historic Streetcar fleet will bring a wealth of visual surprises.

When the LRVs came to the Muni we show the sister LRVs in Boston and review the similarities, differences and the startup problems.

See cable cars of the California Street Railway long ago and the Muni and from post-WWII to the early 1980s in great color.