Former San Francisco MUNI Boeing Vertol LRV sold

[BCL]

Apparently sold for $5000 but on the condition that they were going to do something with it and not just sell it for scrap.

Rare 1970s Muni streetcar finds a new home (and you may be able to visit)

An ultrarare, once-reviled 1970s Muni streetcar has been sold — to a Geyserville couple...

www.sfchronicle.com

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

There's something cute about that Vertol peeking out shyly!

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

AFAIK the only other Boeing Vertol car saved is the set at Seashore Trolley Museum. There was talk about trying to restore it to running condition but that has been on the very back burner lately.

 

[cirdan]

a pity MUNI didn't keep one for its heritage fleet.

 

[BCL]

a pity MUNI didn't keep one for its heritage fleet.

I don't think they wanted to deal with all the problems. And then there's the lack of repair parts. They would have to have a fleet of them to cannibalize for parts. I think the old PCC cars are pretty easy because they can do that if needed, and I'm guessing that a lot of the repair parts are mechanical and can be machined in house if necessary.

I think a lot of the older cars they have are reasonably simple and generally reliable. However, they are manually operated. I remember being on one of the old PCC cars and when a wheelchair passenger got on, the operator flipped over a metal ramp by hand.

 

[BCL]

AFAIK the only other Boeing Vertol car saved is the set at Seashore Trolley Museum. There was talk about trying to restore it to running condition but that has been on the very back burner lately.View attachment 31637

There are a few of the San Francisco MUNI cars in railway museums. Here are two:

San Francisco Municipal Railway 1258 - Western Railway Museum

Description San Francisco Municipal Railway 1258 is a Boeing–Vertol Light Rail Vehicle. It is a three-truck, articulated, lightweight, steel car designed for either high or low platform loading. History With the end of the Vietnam War, the U.S. government had to come up with new ways to keep its...

www.wrm.org

 

[BCL]

San Francisco Municipal Railway 1213 apparently still moves on its own power, or at least did 4-1/2 years ago.

 

[BCL]

AFAIK the only other Boeing Vertol car saved is the set at Seashore Trolley Museum. There was talk about trying to restore it to running condition but that has been on the very back burner lately.View attachment 31637

Just curious as to what's with the doors. I guess they rebuilt it with something else. I don't believe any of these came with bifold doors. They only came with outward sliding doors.

 

[Willbridge]

This brings back memories! Memories from 1977 of people telling us that it was dumb of Edmonton Transit to buy the Siemens-DuWag cars, because they would be orphans when there'd be big fleets of the US SLRV or the Canadian CLRV to join. An UMTA visitor was particularly dismissive.

As things unfolded, I began to get the feeling that my colleagues had made the right decision. After a test drive in an icy Edmonton night and conversations with a couple of our young mechanical engineers, I wrote the attached article for Rail Travel News. It was sort of snarky but based on facts.

Glimpses of night test runs led to rumours that trains were running. Here, a test run at the obscure 115th Avenue trolley coach crossing.

 

[EchoSierra]

San Francisco Municipal Railway 1213 apparently still moves on its own power, or at least did 4-1/2 years ago.

Lets hope they kept operating it through the years. One of the main reasons why the one at Seashore will never operate again is that the electrical equipment will corrode over time if left de-energized for too long, so they risk frying the thing if they ever hooked it up to power. This is also the reason why PCCs don't store very well either.

Just curious as to what's with the doors. I guess they rebuilt it with something else. I don't believe any of these came with bifold doors. They only came with outward sliding doors.

The plug doors were overly complicated and did not work well with New England winters, so they replaced them with bi-fold doors during rebuild (They were rebuilt by Amerail in the late 90s). I rode them back in the plug door days and they were indeed troublesome. Every time they closed the door, it was a loud slam.

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

For a while the MBTA had 3 LRVs used as work cars. One of them 3417 came out to play in 2012 in conjunction with a trolley meet being held in Brookline on the Green Line C branch. Unfortunately all 3 cars have now been scrapped. Notice that it still has the original doors.

 

[GiantsFan]

The one at the western railway museum was still working as of last year!