MUNI celebrates another restored cable car
Written by Douglas John BowenSan Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Wednesday celebrated the return to service of a restored Powell Street cable car, Car No. 26, built in 1890.
Acquired by MUNI in 1944, Car No. 26 has been restored to the paint scheme the Powell cable cars wore in 1947. That year, Mayor Roger Lapham proposed the replacement of the Powell cables with buses, a move soundly defeated by San Francisco voters after a campaign led by civic activist Friedel Klussmann, SFMTA said.
A ceremony Wednesday marking Car No. 26’s inauguration was slated to occur at the historic Cable Car Barn at Washington and Mason streets at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. SFMTA said following the ceremony, the car would “immediately enter into passenger service and will run every day in regular service for the rest of the week.”
SFMTA’s restoration work on cable cars is ongoing and is largely conducted in-house. In May 2008, the agency returned Car No. 25 (in photo above) to service.
