Posts Tagged ‘railway’
Monday, October 1st, 2012
How would you like to volunteer as a docent helping out with the new-school / old-school E-line on October 6-7, 2012?
First, some background about how busy the 415 will be this weekend:
“Looking at what’s scheduled for that weekend, there might not be room in the city for many more people, much less cars. First, there’s the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, a three-day event that drew about 800,000 people last year. That Sunday afternoon, the 49ers play the Buffalo Bills at Candlestick Park, while the Giants are hoping for weekend playoff games at AT&T Park, all guaranteed sellouts. About 60,000 people typically attend the Castro Street Fair, scheduled for that Sunday, while thousands more will jam North Beach for the annual Italian Heritage Parade at 12:30 on the same day. A different crowd will probably be at the Burning Man Decompression street fair, also that Sunday afternoon. To add to the fun, two mega cruise ships are expected to dock at Pier 35 over the weekend, disgorging thousands more tourists. Then, of course, there’s Fleet Week, which brings thousands of sailors and as many as a million visitors to the waterfront for the weekend.”
So you’ll be needed to help out all the visitors moving around on the Twin Torpedos, streetcars 1006 and 1008:
“We need several more docents to work the stops along the E-line on October 6 and 7, helping riders find the right platform and providing information about the service. We have docent books prepared by Paul Lucas, so it’s easy to learn what to do. If you’re interested, send us an email and we’ll get back to you.”
Click to expand
Act now.
Tags: 1006, 1008, 49ers, airplanes, Americas Cup, at&t park, baseball, boats, Buffalo Bills, burning man, Burning Man Decompression, candlestick park, car, cars, Castro Street, Castro Street Fair, Conductor, cream, cruise, cruise ships, Decompression, docent, DPT, driver, drivers, Embacadero, fair, Festival, fleet week, football, free, giants, golden gate park, green, hardly strictly bluegrass, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, help, Italian Heritage Parade, jet, jets, marin, market, mta, Muni, navy, north beach, paint, painted, Paul Lucas, pier 35, playoff, playoffs, railway, regatta, ride, SFMTA, ships, street, streetcar, top, train, trolley, Twin Torpedos, volunteer, volunteers, white, world series
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Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
Click to expand
Tags: 1057, 2011, 7th, bay area, bikes, california, christmas, green, inbound, market, Muni, railway, San Francisco, SFMTA, street, streetcar, transit, yellow
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Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
Learn all about San Francisco’s Historic Streetcars at Market Street Railway.
Now, you’re a Trainspotter.
Click to expand
Pick up this poster at the Museum in SoMA not too far from the Ferry Building, why not?
After all, Christmas is coming…
Tags: 2011, bay area, Blue, california, colors, green, historic, Historic Streetcars of San Francisco, market, mta, Muni, museum, old, poster, railway, red, San Francisco, SFMTA, street, streetcars, trolleys, yellow
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Friday, November 18th, 2011
Get all the deets right here, and here at the Richmond District Blog, and below.
This show will run through April 15, 2012.
Check it, Playland at the Beach ephemera:
All photos by Nina Sazevich – click to expand
“Take a trip down memory lane as a bygone era of seaside amusement comes to miniature life in this season’s Conservatory of Flowers garden railway exhibition
November 18, 2011 – April 15, 2012
Step right up for a ride back in time as the Conservatory of Flowers presents an all new garden railway display celebrating the legendary Playland at the Beach and a bygone era of seaside amusement that was located on San Francisco’s West End. In a dazzling display landscaped with hundreds of dwarf plants, model trains and trolleys wend their way past the famed Sutro Baths, zip around a replica of the Victorian-era Cliff House and whiz through a fantastic mini version of San Francisco’s beloved Playland at the Beach.
Playland at the Conservatory, the conservatory’s 4th Annual Garden Railway, is an entirely new layout that resurrects the heyday of San Francisco’s west end, an area that flourished as a destination for fun and thrills after a new railroad built in 1884 made travel out to the ocean affordable. A dozen San Francisco landmarks, now mostly lost to time, are recreated in miniature and set in a landscape of hundreds of dwarf plants that bring the rocky cliffs and sandy shores of the area to life. Sutro Baths, the fantastical 7-pool swimming complex built in 1896 by eccentric mayor Adolph Sutro, nestles under Sutro’s other attraction, the Cliff House, which he transformed in that same year into a 7-story Victorian chateau.
No doubt the recreated Playland at the Beach will be the star of the garden railway. Young and old alike will marvel at the sight of Playland’s most famous attractions in miniature, all in swirling motion and bright with twinkling carnival lights, while the sounds of the arcade and even Laffing Sal’s boisterous voice transport visitors right back to the midway. Wee rollercoaster cars climb the steep tracks of the Big Dipper, Playland’s biggest thrill ride from the 1920s to the 1950s, while a mini Airplane Ride spins and spins in circles. Other attractions include the treacherous Diving Bell, the Fun House and Playland¹s famed food arcade where hungry revelers could grab an enchilada at the Hot House or a sweet at the Candy Factory.
As in past years, these replicas are all creatively crafted in miniature from recycled and repurposed materials. Playland’s historic 1906 carousel was created from a discarded light fixture, a slide carousel and a record player. The individual cages of the Rock-O-Plane are made from old pencil sharpeners.
The exhibit also includes real memorabilia and photographs from Playland and beyond in a fascinating display that tells the story of San Francisco’s lost ocean-front treasures. Original wool bathing suits from Sutro Baths, the toothpick amusement park made by San Quentin inmate Jack Harrington that was displayed in the museum at the Baths, a Dodger bumper car, an original Playland sign and more provide visitors with an engaging way to experience and learn about San Francisco’s past. Period arcade games offer a hands-on history lesson with a chance to get your future from Zoltar, step into a vintage 1960s photo booth or goof around in the fun house mirrors, while a special scavenger hunt spinning wheel is a great, interactive way for young children to explore the exhibit. Portions of the popular documentary “Remembering Playland” will also be showing in the gallery.”
All right, see you there!
Tags: 2011, Annual Garden Railway, bay area, california, cliff house, conservatory of flowers, exhibition, Garden, golden gate park, model, plants, Playland at the Beach, railway, San Francisco, show, Sutro Baths, ticket, trains, West End
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Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Or the Castro, whichever.
From the year 1924, Number 798 is the last of its kind.
Via Troy Holden:
Click to expand
Tags: 1924, 798, association, bus, chrsitmas, flickr, holiday, Line, market, Muni, north pole, railway, street, streetcar, Troy Holden
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Monday, November 9th, 2009
Adapting the classical Kübler-Ross model to San Francisco yields Four Stages of MUNI Passenger Grief:
1. Denial — “I feel fine.”; “This can’t be happening, not to me.” Passengers in this stage look expectantly in the direction of the next MUNI vehicle.
2. Anger — “Why me? It’s not fair!”; “How can this happen to me?”; “Who is to blame?” Passengers in this stage fight each other, or, like Akit, go Full Martin Luther, calling for Nat Ford’s head, as soon as they get home.
3. Depression — “I’m so sad, why bother with anything?”; “I miss my loved one, why go on?” Passengers in this stage enter shoe-gazer mode, hanging their heads in despair.
4. Acceptance — “It’s going to be okay.”; “I can’t fight it, I may as well prepare for it.” Passengers in this stage sit down in the middle of the street, instinctively conserving energy for the long wait ahead. Thusly:
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Yes, that’s the right train but it’s headed the wrong direction. It’s going to be a loooooong night, once again.
Oh well.
Tags: bus, denial, grief, judson true, judson true lies, Kübler-Ross, mta, Muni, municipal, n judah, nat ford, railway, San Francisco, SFMTA, stages, transit
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Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Here’s California Street looking west from the Financial District / Chinatown area. When the light’s just right, the cable car rails shimmer all silv’ry in the relative darkness created by high-rise buildings.
Thusly:
Click to expand
Did you know that Paris is gay? That’s what Tony Bennett (and Frank Sinatra) said:
The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gay,
The glory that was Rome is just another day,
I’ve been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan,
I’m going home to my city by the bay.
I left my heart in San Francisco, high on a hill it calls to me
To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.
The morning fog may chill the air, I don’t care.
My love waits there in San Francisco, above the blue and windy sea,
When I come home to you, San Francisco, your golden sun will shine for me.
Climbing from Montgomery to Kearny to Grant to Stockton to Powell and finally up to Mason.
Whew.
Tags: agency, cable, california, cars, climb, frank sinatra, halfway, heart, left, little, mta, Muni, municipal, railes, rails, railway, San Francisco, SFMTA, silvery, stars, street, tony bennett
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Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Hours after yesterday’s collision and brouhaha in the Castro involving two historic F-Line streetcars (making up the bread part of an SUV sandwich), MUNI workers were still on the job about a half-mile away near the Duboce Yard in the back of the Church Street Safeway.
In technical terms, them wires up there done fell down. So the crew of an awesome yellow truck (with a scissors lift in the middle) came along and started winching things back together high above Market Street, with a quickness. Hurray!
Click to expand:
To the MUNI recovery crew:
For all you do/
This Bud’s for you
Tags: 162, accident, agency, authority, car, castro, circling, cream, district, duboce, F, f-line, helicopters, historic, lift, light, Line, market, Muni, municipal, nissan, noe, pathfinder, rail, railway, recovery, safeway, San Francisco, sandwich, scissors, SFMTA, street, streetcar, suv, transporation, truck, workers, yard, yellow
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Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Last night’s meeting on the proposed Geary Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Project was co-hosted by District One Supervisor Mar and the San Francisco Country Transportation Authority. Lots of people showed up, including at least one blogger – read all about the meeting here at the Richmond District Blog.
They’re still working on some major details, so it’s not too late for citizens such as yourself to get involved. Just saying.
San Francisco Country Transportation Authority Principal Transportation Planner and Geary BRT QB Zabe Bent taking questions along with Eric Mar:
Yes, this event WAS well-attended, with about seventy-something souls at the Rec Center on 18th Avenue. Some of them didn’t look or sound too happy. Crossed arms was the order of the day:
So, the long-running BRT Battle continues. Read all aboot it here, courtesy of “Don’t Call Him Crazy” Rob Anderson, and here, courtesy of Rescue Muni, and you might as well get up to speed with all the deets of this project here, from the Official FAQ.
As they say, Go Geary!
Tags: 18th, 27, 27th, ave, avenue, bent, blvd., boulevard, brt, bus, corridor, country, cta, district, eric mar, geary, geary bus rapid transit, inner, july, meeting, middle, Muni, municicpal, outer, railway, rapid, rec center, recreation, richmond, sfcta, SFMTA, Supervisor, system, transit, transportation authority, zabe, zabe bent
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
You can tell by looking at this scene that these putative San Francisco Municipal Railway riders have been here a long time – just look at them. People are standing on McAllister Street, trying to will the next bus into existence.
These days, what with smart phones and such, people are less likely to be in the dark, information-wise. They know about The Plan from MUNI to get buses to them. (In this case, The Plan deals with the Asian Heritage Street Celebration in the Civic Center blocking the electric-powered #5 Fulton line at Larkin.) The problem is that this particular Plan is taking a while to get going.
If it were me, I’d just walk a few blocks perpendicular to the bus line with the hope of catching a ride – that’s be much more tempting than queueing up here, with the risk that the next coach would be already full with others affected.
Click to expand.
Of course that’s easy for me to say as it would be no problem for me to hoof it up the slopes of Cathedral Hill. Or down to Haight, which has a lot of lines.
Anyway, that would be my coping strategy in this situation.
Tags: 5, bus, five, fulton, mta, Muni, municipal, railway, San Francisco, SFMTA, stop, wait
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