A Brief History of the T Third Part 1: 1860-2007

A Brief History of the T Third Part 1: 1860-2007
By Jeremy Menzies

Earlier this month, we launched free weekend shuttle service in the Central Subway. And come January 7th, our 4 new stations will connect directly to the rest of the T line from Sunnydale to Chinatown. Through this two-part blog series, we will look back at some of the history of the T from the 1860s to today!

In Part One, we’ll look over the first 150 years from the 1860s to the 2000s. Next month in Part Two, we will take a closer look at the history of the T and Central Subway projects leading up to today’s service.

The Horsecar Era: 1860s-1890s

Starting in the 1860s, transit service along today’s T Line was provided by horsecars. These were small rail cars (that looked much like a cable car) that were pulled along tracks by horses. Two companies, the Omnibus Railroad and the North Beach & Mission Railway, operated horsecar lines on parts of the path of today’s T. These lines were mainly meant to connect North Beach with the 3rd and 4th street corridors as far south as about Townsend Street.

Image of a busy intersection from the 1890's with horse drawn streetcars, pedestrians and a department building are seen

This photo circa the 1880s shows the busy intersection of Kearny, Geary, 3rd and Market streets, looking south to 3rd. In the foreground is a horsecar running up Kearny from 3rd.

Further south on 3rd (then called Kentucky Street), horsecars were operated by the Potrero & Bay View Railroad. Here the route ran over two bridges across Mission Bay and Islais Creek (known as “Longbridge”), ending near today’s 3rd & Gilman. This route served the industrial heart of San Francisco and opened up development in the Bayview but was not very profitable because of its length.

The Electric Streetcar Era: 1890s-1940s

The 1890s marked the dawn of the electric streetcar era in San Francisco. A new technology, electric-powered cars could carry more people over longer distances faster than both horse and cable cars. On top of that, they were cheaper to operate and increased profit potential for transit companies.

Two streetcars from 1911 shown with a person seen in the middle as well as a horse drawn carriage on the side

This 1911 photo shows two cars passing at 3rd (Kentucky) and 20th streets. On the left is a 16 Line car running to its terminal in the Bayview. At right is a 30 Line car heading north to 8th and Market.

In 1894, the first electric streetcar line began operating along parts of today’s T Line. Known as the 3rd & Kearny Line, it followed much the same route as the early horsecars from North Beach to the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot on Townsend Street. It was extended into the Bayview to 3rd and Palou and eventually was reformed into the 15, 16, and 29 Lines. Each of these served a different portion of the corridor covering differing needs of riders travelling through downtown or all the way out to the Bayview.

An old streetcar seen on the mainline with a few parked vehicles along the sidewalk and sundry stores in the background

A Muni F Stockton streetcar passes Vallejo Street in this photo from 1916.

Muni’s first streetcar line to serve a similar route to the Central Subway portion of the T was the F Stockton, which opened for the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. The F Line ran along 4th and Stockton streets to serve South of Market, Union Square, Chinatown and North Beach before heading out to end at Chestnut and Scott streets.

Buses along the Bay: 1950s-2000s

Following World War II, the 3rd Street corridor was among the many that saw transit service shift from streetcars to buses. By 1951, the 15 Kearny route served much of the area once covered by the 15, 16, and 29 streetcar lines.

Cars and buses seen traveling during the busy commute on a congested street.

Buses on the 30, 15 and 42 fight the morning rush northbound on 3rd Street in this 1959 photo.

Traveling along portions of today’s 8 Bayshore and T Third, the 15 route went from Powell and Jefferson streets all the way to Geneva and Mission. Eventually, it was extended to City College on Ocean Avenue. While not the only route to serve the area, the 15 carried the bulk of the load for people wishing to travel along this corridor.

On Stockton Street, the 30 Stockton bus took over for the F, following the same route through Chinatown, Union Square, and South of Market to 4th and Townsend streets.

An articulated bus and coach seen traveling on a busy street

Many long-time riders will recognize this view of a 15 bus on 3rd & Palou. Discontinued with the opening of the T Line in 2007, the 15 was revived as the 15 Bayview-Hunter’s Point Express in 2021.

Tune in next month for a closer look at the history of the T Third and Central Subway Projects.

Published December 01, 2022 at 05:38AM
https://ift.tt/sl8jVXa

Comments

Mumbai terror attack 12 years on: Remembering the heroes of 26/11 https://ift.tt/2J9bWA8

Floral tributes were paid on Thursday to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008. "Their sacrifice will never be erased from the memory of time and history. Today, we pay tribute to our saviours #2611Attack #2611Martyrs," Mumbai Police tweeted.

More trouble for Chinese cos as India changes trade rules in public procurement https://ift.tt/2EeBklg

Amid the border tension with China, the government has changed trade rules imposing restrictions on public procurement from China and other countries with the common border. According to the changed rules, the government has imposed restrictions on firms, companies from countries which share common land border after it amended the General Financial Rules 2017. An official statement on Modi government latest move said that this has been done on the grounds of defence of India, or matters directly or indirectly related thereto including national security. The Department of Expenditure has, under the said Rules, issued a detailed order on public procurement to strengthen the defence of India and national security, it said. Here what the order says: As per the order, it said, any bidder from such countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services (including consultancy services and non-consultancy services) or works (...

New top story from Time: Bomb Targeting Mosque in Kabul Kills a ‘Number of Civilians’

https://ift.tt/3Fg5SxS KABUL, Afghanistan — A bomb exploded in the entrance of a mosque in the Afghan capital on Sunday leaving a “number of civilians dead,” a Taliban spokesman said. The bomb targeted the sprawling Eidgah Mosque in Kabul, where a memorial service was being held for the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who later tweeted the attack had claimed civilian lives. Taliban fighters were not been harmed in the attack, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi told the Associated Press. Those killed in the attack were civilians outside the mosque gate. He did not provide a figure for the number killed and said an investigation was ongoing. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Emergency NGO, an Italian-funded hospital in Kabul, tweeted it had received four people wounded in the blast. The area around the mosque was cordoned off by the Taliban, who maintained a heavy security presence. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, since the Tal...

Biking by the Numbers: San Francisco’s 2019 Biking Statistics

Biking by the Numbers: San Francisco’s 2019 Biking Statistics By Bradley Dunn Bicycling moves people around San Francisco using less space per person than when people go by driving. The SFMTA encourages bicycling and makes yearly ridership and trend data public. While Bike-to-Work day has moved to September this year due to the ongoing pandemic, we are excited to share San Francisco’s 2019 citywide bicycling data that we usually release in May. The SFMTA uses a variety of bicycle infrastructure and data metrics as indicators of a healthy and growing bicycle network. In 2019, the Agency prioritized the development of a robust data management system, improving high-quality bikeway infrastructure to make bicycling less stressful and more appealing, and expanding access to bikeshare services across the city. As in past years, 2019 data is pulled from the SFMTA’s automated bike counters, annual manual count data, operator-provided bikeshare data, and the US Census. Here are some key fin...

New top story from Time: Thousands of People Are Fleeing Into Thailand Following Air Strikes in Myanmar

https://ift.tt/3u7UFJB YANGON, Myanmar — Thai authorities along the country’s border with Myanmar are bracing Monday for a possible influx of more ethnic Karen villagers fleeing new airstrikes by the Myanmar military. Myanmar aircraft carried out three strikes overnight Sunday, according to Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian relief agency that delivers medical and other assistance to villagers. The strikes severely injured one child but caused no apparent fatalities, a member of the agency said. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on Monday acknowledged the problems across his country’s western border and said his government is preparing for a possible influx of people. “We don’t want to have mass migration into our territory, but we will consider human rights, too,” Prayut said. Asked about people who have already fled into Thailand, Prayut said, “We have prepared some places, but we don’t want to talk about the preparation of refugee centers at the moment. We won’t ...

New top story from Time: The Fight for a $15 Minimum Wage Is Our Selma

https://ift.tt/37oF2Ez After the public lynching of George Floyd last summer, his cry of “I can’t breathe” galvanized a movement for Black lives that won majority support among Americans . Floyd wasn’t the only one gasping for breath. While Americans watched a police officer choke the life out of Floyd, we also witnessed Black Americans contracting a deadly respiratory disease at three times the rate of our white neighbors , according to an August report from the National Urban League. The growing public consensus that we as a nation must address systemic racism has led to serious soul-searching in families, churches, universities, corporations and political life. But just as the Selma campaign became a symbol during the civil rights movement of the need for legislation to expand voting rights, the $15 an hour minimum wage proposal in Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan represents the possibility that our government can take decisive action to make racial justice real tod...

1st reported US case of COVID-19 variant found in Colorado https://ift.tt/38DY5uc

The first reported U.S. case of the COVID-19 variant that’s been seen in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday, adding urgency to efforts to vaccinate Americans.

New top story from Time: How to Hold Onto Pandemic Gratitude Now That the Crisis Is Almost Over

https://ift.tt/3yzPZzd <strong>And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.</strong> Well hello! I’m so glad you’re here. As always, you can send comments to me at: Susanna@Time.com . —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Let’s admit it. We’re already getting used to the things we yearned for during the pandemic. They’re becoming ordinary again, maybe even underappreciated. I have to close my eyes to picture how desolate my neighborhood looked last year, with most everything closed and the near-constant wail of ambulances in the background. The one thing I wanted to take from this very terrible time was gratitude for everything–my reasonably good health, my kids, drinks with friends clustered around tiny tables, my local coffee shop, or any coffee shop. I thought we’d be like that Depression-era...

New top story from Time: Cleveland Baseball Team Reportedly Dropping Indians Name After 105 Years

https://ift.tt/2LpSBeG (CLEVELAND) — The Cleveland Indians are changing their name after 105 years. Citing three people familiar with the decision, The New York Times reported Sunday night that the team is moving away from a name considered racist for decades. The Indians have been internally discussing a potential name change for months. A team spokesman told The Associated Press the franchise has no immediate comment on the report. The Times said the team could make a formal announcement later this week. It’s not known when the name change will take affect or if the team has settled on a new moniker. Cleveland’s move away from Indians follows a similar decision earlier this year by the NFL’s Washington Football Team, which was previously known as the Redskins. For years, Native American groups and others have protested against Cleveland’s use of Indians as its name as well as other imagery used by the American League charter franchise founded in 1901. Last year, the ...

Meet the People who Keep You Safe on Muni

Meet the People who Keep You Safe on Muni By Mariana Maguire Next time you ride Muni or see a Muni vehicle, keep an eye out for the faces of some of the people of the SFMTA working to keep customers and fellow staff safe on Muni, day to day. They include members of our Muni Transit Assistance Program , Proof of Purchase team, our Muni operators, as well as our head of Safety, Security and Investigations. Staff in our Muni Transit Assistance Program ride Muni \ to help address conflicts.Our Proof of Purchase team, Station Agents and Transit Inspectors support customer safety by providing an extra presence on Muni vehicles, at stops and in stations and assistance if issues arise. And our Muni operators provide the first line of safety for customers. While their primary responsibility is to operate their vehicles safely, they can also help address conflicts onboard when necessary and when it is safe for them to do so. In the case that it’s not possible or safe for an operator to...

My precise view

Search This Blog