From 1947 to 1949, San Francisco abandoned over a dozen streetcar lines. One of them was only 17 years old. Opened in 1932, the 31-Balboa line was SF's last new streetcar line (before the 1990s). Despite being fairly successful and still in good condition, buses replaced it on July 2nd, 1949.

Showcase Weekend marked the 80th Anniversary of the Western Railway Museum. 80 years ago, young railfans spontaneously bought a chartered streetcar to save it from ruin. Today, we're proud to stand in front of it as volunteers of the museum it created. Here's to another 80 years of preservation!

A Muni double-ended PCC glides across the Hyde St. cable line on its way through North Beach. Last days of the F-line — Jan. 14, 1951 At the time, only 10 PCCs and 5 "Magic Carpets" made up Muni's modernized fleet. Most money from the 1947 Bond Issue went to buying buses, killing streetcar lines.

Though the Vallejo & Northern Ry. failed, it does live on! Notably: their big cut in Vallejo. They dug the cut in 1912 for a fast way to Vallejo's ports. But no trains used it until 1920, when the Napa Valley Route seized it for a new mainline. It was used by the California Northern RR until 2025.

The failed Vallejo & Northern Ry's only streetcar ran in downtown Sacramento. Here was the route: M & Front St. -> 8th St. -> J St. -> 19th St. -> K St. Upon the V&N's bankruptcy, the Northern Electric Ry. (its financier) integrated it into their line. They abandoned all track on 19th and K St.

In lieu of a Western Railway Museum bluesky account, here are the schedules for our upcoming Showcase Weekend! Made by yours truly, who will be leading all Carbarn #3 tours (and fiddling).

The Vallejo & Northern was a failed electric railway that aimed to link Sacramento and Vallejo. They only owned one streetcar. In downtown Sacramento, their only car was run to satisfy city franchises. From 1911 to 1914, it liberally ran from the M St. Bridge to the Western Pacific Depot. ca. 1912

Showcase Saturday is the one annual event I can freely advertise at the Western Railway Museum. So, how about some posters? No AI was used at all. See these posted on the WRM Account (which I jointly run) in the coming days!

Electric interurbans once served Denver Union Station. But before that, they ran downtown! From 1910 to 1922, huge Denver & Interurban RR trains dodged traffic down 23rd St. to an Interurban Loop at Araphoe & 15th. There, riders could transfer to the Denver Tramways' interurbans and streetcars!

Muni's "40-line" to San Mateo was quick in the countryside. But in SF? Painfully slow. Unlike buses, streetcars can't move around other traffic. On Mission St., sharing tracks with other trolley lines meant frequent delays; so much so that in early 1945 it was rerouted to nearby Valencia St.!

Iron Monsters referred to Muni's streetcars. These Big Subs were MSRY's big wooden interurbans!

Big interurbans once ran on SF's streets. Their size was their downfall. Weighing 75,640 pounds, the "Big Subs" were so heavy that they crushed track, broke sewers, and buckled pavement — as evident in this 1918 view at Randall & Mission! They were withdrawn in 1922, and never used again.

An electric railway once linked SF to San Mateo. One streetcar type dominated it: the 1225-class. Built by the Laclede Car Co., these speedy cars opened service on the San Mateo line in 1903. Leather seats, electric heaters, and spacious interiors made them popular until the day it closed in 1949.

Racing to San Mateo, a Market Street Ry. streetcar shoots past its sworn rival: a Southern Pacific commuter train — 1940. Watching the streetcar race their trains was a fun, daily ritual for Peninsula commuters, who'd bet on the victor. More often than not, it was the humble streetcar who won.

Diorama-esque angle of the Petaluma & Santa Rosa RR, in Petaluma perhaps? — 1935 At the bottom left is P&SR #504, a powerful 91,000 lb. steeplecab rated at 500 horsepower. Built for the ill-fated Ocean Shore RR in 1917, it came to the P&SR in 1921, where it ran daily and hard until retired in 1946.

One month after the end of interurban service, Napa Valley Route #61 solemnly awaits scrapping — Oct. 1937 Originally, this 1909-built car ran on the Visalia Electric, California's only other AC powered route. In 1920, it found its way to Napa, where it was well-received. It ran until abandonment.

In a world full of A.I. and tech, find yourself an Iron Monster.

Thanks to cars, the Oregon Electric Ry. died a slow death. In its prime, it ran dozens of commuter and regional trains. By July 24, 1932, only ONE train was left: a slow one-car Eugene-Portland local. On average, only 6 people rode it daily. It would be put out of its misery on May 17, 1933.

The Oakland, Antioch, & Eastern Ry. never got to Antioch. It was going to... until power intervened. In 1914, wealthy farmers wanted a branch to Dixon. The OA&E built it with rails meant for Antioch. But, in 1917, the Dixon Branch flopped! By then, the OA&E couldn't afford to build an Antioch line.

Just an East Bay historian sitting on some East Bay history. Nothing quite like volunteering at the Western Railway Museum!

On May 12, 1891, Oakland was propelled into modernity with their first electric streetcar! Courtesy of the Oakland & Berkeley Rapid Transit Co., streetcars linked UC Berkeley's west & south gates to Downtown Oakland. The 3'6" gauge cars were painted red or blue for what line they ran on!

A Muni C-line streetcar rolls past charming neon signs on Geary, on the way to the Transbay Terminal— Aug. 31, 1953. Often jam-packed during rush hour, the C-line did its best to alleviate congestion on the B-line, which also ran on Geary. Unfortunately, both were replaced by buses in 1956.

Weaving between traffic, a Key System streetcar rolls onto San Pablo Ave. from Grove St, the site of the East Bay's first streetcar line — 1940s. Opened by the Oakland & Berkeley Rapid Transit Co. in 1891, this line paved the way for electric streetcars to blanket the East Bay until 1948.

Climbing out of the subway, a Key System train lurches toward the Emeryville, on the way to Piedmont — 1930s. Designed for a never built line to San Jose, the length and ornate interior of these late series wooden cars earned them the affectionate nickname of "Apartments" among commuters.

Rushing to Downtown Oakland, a Key System streetcar races a bus down San Pablo Ave. in Emeryville — Nov. 13, 1948. Like other East Bay trolley lines, this route was supposed to be modernized. A loop was even built at Ashby Ave. for new PCCs! But, the pro-bus National City Lines killed that plan.

Frank Lloyd Wright once designed a second San Francisco Bay Bridge... the result was beautiful. Six lanes, walkways, and rapid transit would have been swept over the Bay on angelic arches. At the center? A "hanging garden," with sweeping vistas of Oakland and SF.

Drivers pounding, a morning Southern Pacific "Peninsula Commute" thunders into San Francisco, rounding the curve into 3rd & Townsend Station — 1953. Express #27 left San Jose at 7:03AM, stopping only at Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Atherton, and Hillsdale before arriving in San Francisco at 8:13AM.

Steam hissing and boiler humming, the Southern Pacific "Cascade" stops for passengers at Oakland's 16th Street Station — 1938. The "Cascade" left Oakland at 5:37 PM and arrived the next afternoon in Portland at 12:30PM. The trip took 19 hours, roughly the same as Amtrak today.

Retired and forgotten, derelict Key System interurbans languish before being scrapped; target practice for vandals — 1958. Formed in 1956, AC-Transit was meant to usurp the ailing Key System. However, due to lack of funding, they took over in 1960 — too late to save the transbay interurbans.

Despite plummeting ridership, the Sacramento Northern hoped to keep their passenger service... with brand new steel trains! Around 1929, President Harry A. Mitchell explored acquiring South Shore Line style steel cars to modernize the aging fleet. However, the Great Depression stopped that plan.