OERHS
Equipment Roster
San Francisco
MUNI PCC's
# 1118 & 1159 |
Both built in
1946 by St. Louis Car Co.
 These
are PCC (President Conference Committee) cars built for
St. Louis.
They were numbered 1720 & 1726.
In 1957 they were leased by San Francisco
Municipal Railway (MUNI) and later purchase in 1961.
In SF they were renumbered 118 & 1159 respectively.
PCC's were the electric railroad's answer to the new
competition caused by buses and automobiles.
They ride
very smooth and accelerate quickly. The design was done
from 1928-34. They allowed some operations to continue
until the 50's. The PCC's were so innovative that some
patents are still being used today. PCC trucks are still
used today on some Heavy Rail transit lines in the US.
There were at least 5000 PCC cars built in the US, many
more in foreign countries.
 San
Francisco retired these cars in the mid-80's when the new
MUNI Metro subway opened. This subway converted 5
streetcar lines to light rail standards. The Subway was
no place for a PCC. The subway could only load from
"high platforms". Today SF has put PCC's back
in operation on Market Street on the "F-Market"
line. These PCC's were bought from Philadelphia and
refurbished. They are painted in colors of many different
former streetcar operators throughout the US.
| Top left photo: 1159 (8/98), middle right,
1159 with the front of 1118 (97), bottom left 1118 on car barn
lead (4/99). All photos by Mark Kavanagh, Click to enlarge |
|
