The F Market line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike the other LRV lines, the F line is operated as a heritage railway using exclusively historical equipment both from San Francisco's retired fleet as well as from cities around the world. Whilst the F line is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, that operation is supported by the Market Street Railway, a nonprofit organization of streetcar enthusiasts which raises funds and helps to restore vintage streetcars.

Contents

1 Cars 2 Stations on the F Market line 3 Extensions 4 Trivia 5 External links

Cars

Included in the equipment are:

• PCC streetcars from San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Newark, many painted in the color schemes of some of the cities which have operated PCC streetcars including:
  • San Francisco
  • Boston
  • Philadelphia
  • Illinois
  • Los Angeles
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Cincinnati
  • Chicago
  • Louisville
  • Baltimore

• Peter Witt streetcars from Milan, Italy

• Other cars from:
  • San Francisco (Older cars from Muni and other S.F. railways)
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Osaka, Japan
  • Porto, Portugal
  • Blackpool, England
  • Johnstown, Pennsylvania
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Kobe, Japan
  • New Orleans
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Brussels, Belgium

(Not all cars are currently in service)

Stations on the F Market line

The trolleys operate continuously, reversing direction at the ends of the line. The stations are as follows (transfers to other rail transit are noted):

• Jones (near Piers 45 and 47, the waterfront end of the Powell/Hyde cable car line, and the San Francisco Maritime Museum)
• Taylor (only when approaching Jones)
• Mason (only when departing from Jones, near the Waterfront end of the Powell/Mason cable car line))
• Stockton (only when departing from Jones)
• Pier 39 (near Fisherman's Wharf)
• Bay
• Chestnut
• Greenwich (near the Filbert steps)
• Green (near the Fog City Diner)
• Broadway
• Washington
• Ferry Terminal
• Steuart

At this point, the line leaves the Embarcadero and turns southwest, passing briefly through a private right of way known within Muni as Don Chee Way before coming onto Market Street. Here also is a turning loop capable of turning cars coming off either the Embarcadero or Market Street, and a non-revenue connection to the lines of the Muni Metro N Judah line further east along the Embarcadero. The nonprofit Market Street Railway will be opening a museum and gift store celebrating San Francisco's historic streetcars and cable cars adjacent to the Steuart Street stop in the first quarter of 2006.

• Main and Drumm (near the Embarcadero end of the California Street cable car line, and the Embarcadero BART/Muni Metro station)
• 1st and Battery
• 2nd and Montgomery (near the Montgomery BART/Muni Metro station)
• 3rd and Kearny
• 4th and Stockton
• 5th and Powell (near the Market Street end of the Powell/Hyde and Powell/Mason cable car lines, and the Powell BART/Muni Metro station)
• 6th and Taylor
• 7th and Jones
• 8th and Hyde (near the Civic Center BART/Muni Metro station)
• 9th and Larkin
• Van Ness (U.S. Highway 101; near the Van Ness Muni Metro station)
• Haight and Gough
• Laguna and Guerrero
• Delores and Duboce
• 14th and Church
• 15th and Sanchez (near the Church Street Muni Metro station)
• 16th and Noe
• 17th and Castro (near the Castro Muni Metro station)

Extensions

There are plans to extend heritage streetcar operation in San Francisco:

• From the foot of Market Street to the Caltrain depot at Fourth and King Streets, using the existing non-revenue connection with existing Muni Metro tracks on the Embarcadero east of Market, then sharing those tracks with N Judah line. Other than a turning loop at the terminal, this would require no additional tracks, and was scheduled for introduction in 2004. Due to equipment and budgetary shortages, this has now been postponed until at least 2005.

• From the vicinity of the existing Jones Street terminal, across the front of the San Francisco Maritime Museum beside Aquatic Park , and then through an existing but disused railroad tunnel to Fort Mason . This is a rather longer term possibility.

If and when these extensions happen, the intention is to operate them with a new heritage streetcar line E, leaving the F to operate on its current route.

Trivia

• The cars of the F Market line contain typical advertising from their places and times of origin.

• The F Market line operates a car dedicated to Herb Caen, the noted columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle perhaps most famous for coining the phrase Baghdad by the Bay to describe The City. The car contains wood paneling and is decorated with many quotes from Caen.

• In the Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry, Harry Callahan runs through the railroad tunnel under Fort Mason , emerging at the eastern portal facing Aquatic Park . This is the tunnel which may be used in one of the future extensions of the historic streetcar line(s).

External links

• Market Street Railway website