Getting a free ride on public transit is pretty cool. Getting a free ride on a 1934 Blackpool Boat Tram – a British-designed streetcar that looks like a pleasure ship, complete with illuminated masts and “Jolly Roger” flags — now that is something truly special.
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In an annual tradition that pleases folks of all ages, the Muni Heritage Weekend is back with a weekend full of transportation-loaded fun. Centered around the San Francisco Railway Museum, the bash features free rides on a number of historical vehicles from Muni’s barns. There’s Car 1, the first publicly owned streetcar in America, for instance, and a single-truck “Dinky” tram from 1896 (commuters rode these in the early days of Alameda Island).
A cable car that started life on Market St. in the 1880s will run on the scenic California Street line. Beyond trams, there are buses galore: a 1990 Orion 30-foot model giving rides to the Giants’ Oracle ballpark, and there’s a classic Mack bus from the 1950s and a teeny 87-year old White Motor Co. bus that chugged up to Coit Tower for nearly four decades. At the museum itself, visitors can sort through an epic amount of transit-and-railroad books and memorabilia. Note: While it’s free fare on vintage vehicles, the regular Muni system is still pay-to-ride.
Details: Event takes place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 20-21 at the San Francisco Railway Museum, 77 Steuart St., San Francisco; streetcar.org