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San Francisco Municipal Railway fleet

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Blow of Light (talk | contribs) at 00:28, 26 December 2007 (→Cable Cars: add cable car pic, looks historic.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The San Francisco Municipal Railway, or Muni as it is commonly known, runs one of the most diverse fleets of vehicles in the United States. Roughly 1,000 buses, 200 streetcars, and 40 cable cars see active duty. A summary of the current and historic vehicles follows below.

Current Operating Fleet

An Orion VII bus operating in San Francisco. These vehicles entered service in 2006.
Type Manufacturer Ordered Number of vehicles (Current)[1]
40ft. Diesel Bus North American Bus Industries 1999 45
Neoplan USA 2000-2003 206
40ft. Diesel-Electric Hybrid Bus Orion Bus Industries 2007 56
30ft. Diesel-Electric Hybrid Bus Orion Bus Industries 2007 30
Articulated Diesel Bus Neoplan USA 2002-2003 124
Trolleybus ETI Skoda 1999-2003 240
Articulated Trolleybus New Flyer Industries 1992-1994 60
ETI Skoda 2003 33
Light-Rail Vehicle Ansaldobreda, S.P.A. 1997-2003 151
Historic Streetcar Various 1912- 41
Cable Car Various 1873- 40
40ft. Double-decker Diesel bus Alexander Dennis Limited[2] 2007 1[3]

Historical operating fleet

Muni's Diesel Fleet.
Retired Orion Buses at the scrap yard
Manufacturer Date of Retirement Stored Wheelchair accessible?
New Flyer Industries (8926) 2007 Woods Yard Park Yes
Orion Bus Industries 2007 Various Yes
Flyer Industries 2007 Potrero Division No
Flyer Industries (4574) 2005 Woods Yard Park Yes
MAN AG (6099) 2002 Marin Division Yes
GM (3287) 1995 Woods Yard Park No
Flxible (4009) 1995 Woods Yard Park No
AM General (4154) 1990 Woods Yard Park No
Twin Coach 1978 Various No
Marmon-Herrington (776) 1978 Potrero Division No
White 1975 Various No
Unknown (0163) 1982 Various No

Buses

Diesel buses

Muni's active diesel fleet contains vehicles from Neoplan (now defunct), NABI (the American arm of Ikarus), and Orion. There are a handful of Gillig Phantoms in reserve duty. The most recent Orions, the Orion VIIs, are hybrid diesel-electric buses. Muni also operates an articulated diesel fleet comprised of Neoplans AN460s. Historically, Muni has run articulated buses from MAN (retired in 2002) and New Flyer, which were retired earlier in 2007. All of Muni's active diesel buses meet ADA standards.

Electric Trolleybuses

A Muni New Flyer articulated trolley coach

While many cities have replaced their electric trolleybuses (ETB) with diesel powered vehicles, Muni continues to operate ETBs all across the city. In fact, Muni's ETB fleet is one of the largest in the nation. Initially the ETBs were met with resistance, as residents preferred the uncluttereed skylines that the streetcars provided. However, after the 1906 earthquake, ETBs were seen as a cheaper option than rebuilding the cable car infrastructure. Indeed, there are plans in the works to electrify existing diesel lines.

Muni's active ETB fleet consists of articulated coaches from New Flyer and ETI Skoda, as well as standard 40ft coaches from ETI Skoda. Historically, Muni has run ETBs from Brill, the St. Louis Car Company, Twin Coach, Marmon-Herrington, and Flyer.[4]

Cable Cars

Main article: San Francisco Cable Car system
A cable car at Lombard Street.

Around the turn of the century, there were numerous cable car lines providing service to many sections of the city. Currently only three lines and forty cars remain.

Streetcars

Contemporary light rail vehicles

Main article: Muni Metro
A Muni Boeing Vertol car at Duboce Yard

The Muni Metro has run two types of light rail vehicles. Originally, Boeing-Vertol cars were used. However, these proved extremely troublesome and were phased out of service begining in 1997. The Boeing cars were replaced by Italian built Breda LRV2 and LRV3 models. Initally the Breda vehicles were hailed as more reliable and easier to service than their predecessors. However, deferred maintenance and design defects have taken their toll on Muni riders.

Historic streetcars

Main article: List of F Market & Wharves Streetcars
File:Car130OnFMarketAndWharvesAtTerminalFrontQueProfessionalQueImage-1.jpg
Muni Car 130 at Jones Street terminal.

Historic streetcars are run on the F Market & Wharves line. Formally introduced in the 1990s, the F line started out as a replacement tourist attraction for the cable cars, while major cable car infrastructre maintenance took place. The F line is comprised mostly of PCC cars painted in livery from cities around the United States, as well as vintage Peter Witt cars from Milan. Streetcars from many other cities, including London round out the vintage fleet.

References

  1. ^ "Fiscal Year 2008 Short Range Transit Plan: Chapter 7" (PDF). San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Double Decker Bus Trial SFMTA Fact Sheet". San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "SFMTA Explores Double Deck Bus Option press release". San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Tom's Trolley Bus Pictures San Francsico CA Fixed Frame". Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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