Blog On Tour ~ San Francisco

At long last I have managed to sort the numerous photos and I am pleased to bring you the report on transportation in San Francisco

The city is one of the few places in the world you can ride on cable cars. They are manually operated and are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. I was fortunate in seeing one of them being turned at the Bay Street terminus of the Powell & Mason Line.

1950's style San Francisco Street Car 1006 which reentered service in October 2012 following 'rehabilitation'

In addition to running three cable car lines, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) runs a fleet of buses, trolleybuses and historic streetcars - including an example from Blackpool although I saw no evidence of it in service

Dallas Railway & Terminal Company liveried 1009 which was refurbished in January 2013

Double-end streetcars were built 1948 for the San Francisco Municipal Railway. Although two of the original ten cars in this class were scrapped in the 1970s, three of those remaining are painted in tribute to other U.S. transit operations that once ran double-end PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) cars

Streetcar 1893 built in the 1970s and painted in the orange Milan livery

Only a single example of the Peter Witt Class streetcar was noted; these were of an american street car design exported to Milan in Italy. Further information on the streetcars can be found HERE

Trolleybus 5447 on its way to Stockton on the 30 route

On our walk from the hotel to Fisherman's Wharf, I took the opportunity to snap many of SFMTA's trolleybuses and buses. I was also fortunate in stumbling across the operator's depot at Stockton Street with the camera capturing the scene

Stockton Street depot - situated close to one of the city's main attractions, Pier 39

A wide variety of open toppers offering sightseeing tours are also in abundance

If you are visiting the city, its an enthusiasts' dream with cable cars, buses, trolleybuses and historic streetcars on view. For wrinklies like me, it costs a dollar each to ride with a return included within a certain time period. Well worth a visit

Roy