The Oldest Streetcar Tracks in San Francisco, and an Even Older Train Station ~ Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The Muni's L Taraval line originally ran straight down Taraval all the way to the beach. Later on, the route was changed, so that it turns south a few blocks short of the beach, to a turnaround loop by the zoo. This left a two block stub of non-revenue track, which is occasionally used for car storage, but little enough usage that it's never merited rebuilding.

So the original, cobblestone-lined rails from the early 20's remain, a curiously preserved relic of the Muni's original construction.

I snapped a few pictures on a trip to the beach last weekend (weather's warming up--yes!).





Every stub track in San Francisco has flange grooves past end of the rails, ground in by the occasional car that wasn't stopped in time.

We also visited Golden Gate Park, where there's an even older bit of transportation history.





This was once the terminal of a steam dummy line, a subsidiary of a cable car company. The railway has been gone for a century now, leaving this station as an obscure victorian gateway to the park.