Where Have All the Streetcars Gone?

Soon after we disembarked from the Vallejo Ferry on our first trip into San Francisco, we saw these two streetcars (Photos #1 and #2) on the route past the Ferry Building.

I was interested in the fact that these older streetcars had been restored and given a new life. At the time, I didn't make much of the color differences between the two cars in the same city.

We had come to the Farmers' Market at the Ferry Building, and since the whole experience of the area was new, I also didn't take notice of the different shapes of the cars.

However, our next trip into the city took us to Fisherman's Wharf, and it was here that we were briefly re-united with some "old friends."

One of our favorite activities in New Orleans is to ride the St. Charles Streetcar and right in front of us was one of the Crescent City's streetcars (above).

We knew that New Orleans' Canal Street line had been discontinued within the past few years and now wondered if this car had previously traveled that route.

But when we saw this car (left), I broke into song:

Where have all the streetcars gone?
World wide over
Where have all the streetcars gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the streetcars gone?
Gone to San Francisco town
When will other cities learn?
When will they ever learn?*

Yes, indeed: "Where had some of the Philadelphia streetcars gone?"

Well, at least one had gone to San Francisco. Much to our regret--we miss the old streetcars.

And "Have other streetcars gone to San Francisco?"

The answer to this question is also, "Yes." This streetcar from Boston (right) has joined our former Philadelphia car on the F Line in San Francisco.

In fact, the San Francisco Municipal Railway (aka "Muni") operates a historic fleet of restored streetcars along the F Line, which runs from the Castro District, down Market Street, along the Embarcadero, to Fisherman's Wharf.

The cars are restored by Muni employees and volunteers, and supported by a nonprofit foundation. The fleet consists of three basic types: one-off historic cars drawn from around the world; a dozen or so Peter Witt cars from the 1920s that were acquired from Milan, Italy; and 28 streamlined PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) cars that were first introduced during the 1940s.

(The yellow car, right, is from Cincinnati and the orange/ cream car, left, is from Boston.)

The restoration work of Muni employees and volunteers seems to have been quite successful: the F Line fleet has 85 streetcars, and just over 50--representing 30 different cities around the world--are operating. Twenty are on the streets on any given day.

Another verse traveled through my mind as we watched passengers emerge from and board this older San Francisco streetcar :

Where have all the riders gone?
World wide over
Where have all the riders gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the riders gone?
Tourists, natives flock to them
When will other cities learn?
When will they ever learn?

Well, a good number of riders could be found on this 1960s model (below) streetcar that has been part of the San Francisco stock.

The idea of an historic streetcar line was first floated in the early 1970s as a way of preserving the city's heritage when officials were preparing to take the mass-transit system underground in the downtown area. The city collected vintage streetcars throughout the 1980s and ran them during summer Trolley Festivals, which proved popular.

Milan is second in number of streetcars behind San Francisco, with 10 cars from the 1920s in operation. Milan's green and orange cars are shown here.

Washington DC, operated PCC streetcars from 1937 to 1962. When ownership passed from Capital Transit to DC Transit in 1956, the new owner repainted the cars in this unlikely combination for the nation’s capital, because they were his wife’s favorite colors.

This open car comes from Blackpool, England, and is one of twelve built for that city in 1934.

We were very disappointed to see the streetcars leave Philadelphia, but we applaud San Francisco for preserving these noble means of transporta-tion.

* From "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" words and music by Pete Seeger.