Muni bus ‘on the wrong track’

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Oops, they did it again …

Typically, it’s cars that end up on Muni Metro tracks, eliciting a nails-on-a-chalkboard reaction … in me, anyway. What?

This time, as Streetsblog SF reports, a Muni bus made the boo boo. To be fair, it was hella raining Sunday morning. Which means what, I am not sure.

It’s unclear how the bus ended up on the tracks. Paul Rose, a spokesman for SFMTA, only said that, “The operator of the bus drove on the tracks at that location. We had to get a tow truck to remove it. Shuttles provided service through the area to West Portal.”

Check out Streetsblog for more on this unfortunate event.

Photo by Daniel Pinko via Streetsblog SF

Category: News

An ode to one of our favorite buskers

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Jesse Morris was better known as “Punk Rock Johnny Cash” — if you had the fortune of seeing him at downtown BART stations, you’d know his breathtaking rendition of “Folsom Prison Blues.” Jeff took this photo in an alley off Valencia yesterday, a simple honoring of this musician who made our Muni and BART rides just a little more special.

In 2011, riders told us that Jesse had passed away, and more than 60 people wrote us about how much he made their day every time they saw him at BART.

Two of the letters that we got from readers at the time:

“When my sister turned 40 a few years ago, I gave Punk Rock Johnny Cash $10 to sing happy birthday to her on my phone.”

“For the past four years, I looked forward to seeing Jesse at BART. When my Mom was dying from cancer, I got her one of Jesse’s CDs, She loved Johnny Cash, and she loved SF, and he was kind of a bit of both.”

Jesse’s bandmates and friends organized a benefit concert for him at the Uptown in Oakland. Here’s a video of Jesse singing at BART — it’s easy to see why he made such a big impression on everyone.

RIP Jesse Morris, indeed.

Category: BART

Adorable 1960s Sign for a Retiring Cable Car Driver

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Is there anything sweeter? We found this adorable old sign from @kjerahus on Instagram, whose great grandfather was a conductor on the California Street cable car:

Sign from my great grandfather’s retirement in 1964. He was a conductor on the California St cable cars for years and worked on trolleys and trains since 1917.

Here’s a few more nostalgic finds:
Muni’s first schedule
Streetcar No. 1
Muni rapid in 1966

Got any more old timey finds? Tag us on Instagram at #munidiaries.

Category: Funny: Muni LOLs Tags:

Muni Diaries Live: 6 stories, 2 street birds, and 1 incredible evening

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Photo by Justina Wu

Last weekend we experienced what can best be described as a love letter to San Francisco when we saw more than 200 of you pack into the Elbo Room at Muni Diaries Live. I can’t say that we’ve recovered from election results, and perhaps we never will, but it warms my heart just knowing that there are still people who will cheer for your bus line and root for your success in getting a late-night transfer! Let’s count down the many ways that we celebrated getting from point A to point B.

The photo above is one of the surprising and awesome moments from the show: Grand News Stand owner Courtney Riddle shared her dream of becoming a streetcar driver one day. Look closely and you’ll see that she’s embroidered the Muni worm on her cardigan, and her dress is made from fabric that has streetcar prints on it! That’s some serious dedication. When she shared her streetcar dream with her partner, he won the Best Boyfriend awards by writing a rap song in her honor.

courtney
Photo by Melvin Wong

I mean…how much more awesome can people get?

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Category: Muni Diaries Live, Muni Diaries Live Shows

Vintage Muni: Geek out on this Bay Area transit ruin porn

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Sure, everything feels like this right now. But there is is still beauty to be had if we all look closely — or if you’re, say, just wandering around in Colusa County.
Hat tip to Jack, who found the mother lode of Bay Area ruin porn by doing just that. He said this appeared to be a facility where they restore buses, but he’s keeping the exact location close to the vest to protect the undoubtedly very cool work being done here.
This treasure trove featured old Muni buses — including the 18-Sloat pictured above; the artist currently known as the 18-46th Avenue, the East Bay’s AC Transit, and even the ye olde Key System.

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Category: Photos, reflection
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