The People's Railway: The History of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco [Hardcover]

Anthony Perles (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Interurban Press; 1st edition (December 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916374424
• ISBN-13: 978-0916374426
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,325,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good History Badly In Need Of Updating . . ., January 14, 2002

By 

Paul Dana (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The People's Railway: The History of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco (Hardcover)

This is a history -- and a thorough, well-written history, at that -- of San Francisco's Municipal Railway, documenting its growth from early inception (its first streetcar line, the B-Geary) through its early-day struggles with the already established Market Street Railways, which it eventually absorbed (or, as Perles poses the question, was it the other way around?), up to its then-current existence as it struggled with the upheaval caused by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District's (BART) renovations of downtown San Francisco.

A personal note: I grew up on Muni, born just a shade too late to experience the "roar of the four" as Muni and Market Street Railway contended for passengers, but soon enough to remember Muni's 'iron monsters' as they rumbled and grumbled and lumbered their way through the Twin Peaks Tunnel. To this day, more than 50 years later, I can still smell the creosote in that tunnel as the old streetcars made their way through, the same way I can still smell the dieselized fumes of the old gas-powered White buses which Muni used on its supplementary routes . . .

To complement these memories, there's Perles' "The People's Railway," which more than adequately details how those memories came to be. Supported by solid, well chosen photography, Perles delineates Muni's history from its earliest days, detailing the inception and subsequent opening of each streetcar line (invariably piloted by Mayor James "Sunny Jim" Rolph, replete with his own Muni operator's cap, at the throttle of each first car) up to what was then Muni's current day.

Twenty-five years later, however, that "current day" has changed . . . by more than a little. Muni has extended and revitalized its trolley-bus operations, for one thing; it has also extended its fixed- (or, current term, "light-")rail operations to include a new streetcar line, as well as having extended its already-extensive trolley-bus operations (which, in at least two or three instances, includes having placed previous bus routes "under wire" for the first time), in addition to an annual summer "trolley-fest" program which features vintage cars festooned in a variety of liveries from around the country (in addition to cars from its own past and from Milan, New Orleans, etc.). Muni, in other words, has kept growing beyond the rather nebulous future upon which Perles was forced to base his concluding remarks in "The People's Railway."

That's no criticism of him. By the same token, this excellent history is more than deserving of an update to cover the subsequent 30-plus years of Muni's history.

Let's hope that happens.

5.0 out of 5 stars The People's Railway by Anthony Perles, October 5, 2010

By 

Graeme - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The People's Railway: The History of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco (Hardcover)

A wonderful book! Choc-o-block full of info & photographs. Very nice dust jacket also! A must have for the person who admires San Francisco's Municipal Railway!

5.0 out of 5 stars great book for bus historians, August 2, 2010

By 

A. Weiss - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The People's Railway: The History of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco (Hardcover)

If you were born and raised in San Francisco and used the public transit system to get around town, then this book is a real great resource to understanding the wonderful transit system that was in place before the automobile took over. Great historical info and pictures of San Francisco's Municipal Railway system at the height of it's glory.