The Iron Monster

These cars will probably be less familiar to those of you outside of the Bay Area, but they are an important part of streetcar history.

The San Francisco Municipal Railway was the first publicly owned and operated transit system in the US, and these were the first streetcars it purchased. Built by W.L. Holman starting in 1912, these steel-bodied cars would go on to have several iterations built by different Bay Area companies, collectively referred to as the Iron Monsters.

My modernized version features low-floors and traction based on the Siemens Avenio tram. It is the same dimensions as the new Muni S200s. The destination plaque refers to efforts underway to convert SF's Great Highway into a park, The Great Walkway.

The Iron Monster unpainted The original Muni paint scheme, as seen today on the original Muni number 1, preserved and operated by the Market Street Railway The 1930s-era Muni Blue and Gold scheme. An excellent design that Muni should return to. Another excellent Muni scheme, the iconic Green and Cream scheme from 1956. The mediocre grey on grey scheme that Muni has used for the past 40 years. Depressing, but perhaps persuasive to Muni that they should grow up and convert to low-floors.