The N-Judah Chronicles

Some of you may have wondered where flamboyant, wealthy, and wacky former Mayor Willie Brown has been doing since he left the Mayor's office. Well aside from being a lawyer for folks, and making the big retainers and fees, he's also decided to take on a new career, writing science fiction. For those of you who are afficiandos of the genre, you really should take a look, as his work rivals some of the major folks in the business.

Now, mind you, Mayor Brown is not writing manga comics, or cyberpunk, or space opera. Instead he's writing stories in the realm of alternate history, and his new book, co-written by sci-fi fan and former Examiner writer P.J. Corkery, is really interesting. It's an alternative history of San Francisco in the 1990s, one in which MUNI was made into a perfect system, primarily under his personal direction. It's an amazing work, well written, and ranks up there with alternative histories by Philip K. Dick or Harry Turtledove.

In this alternate history, the years of budget shenanigans and the transfer of boom times wealth to his friends never happened. MUNI was well run and never cut training, maintenance or raised fares and cut service. The book serves as a "what might have been" type of read, and given the author's knowledge of San Francisco, makes for a fun read since his use of locations is almost as good as Armistead Maupin's in those Tales of the City books. (BTW, the N- Judah makes an appearance in Maupin's latest book, but I digress.)

For anyone wondering how the boom years of the late 90s could have turned out had those in charge been a little more concerned with using taxes for the benefit of the taxpayers, not their well connected friends with money, read Mayor Brown's book. Maybe they'll get J.J. Abrams to do a movie, or get Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica fame to do a miniseries on Sci-Fi channel! And they can film it here!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The seriously cool local phenomenon known as Telstar Logistics which combines coolness, local history, and a dose of kick-ass all in one once again alerts us to some awesome investigation on their part.

Already, we've talked about their blasts from the past, but today, Telstar Logistics tells a story about the the good citizens who make our F-line cars rock like no other.

Lighter lit because once again Telstar Logistics rocks - and once again we're alerted to the good citizens who do the things that make Our Fair City the kind of place that we want to live in.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several people have asked me why it is the N-Judah makes the infamous left turn onto 9th street in the first place, and doesn't just continue on Irving, OR stay on Judah/Parnassus. Aside from the obvious (it wouldn't be the N-Judah if it was on Irving, it'd be the N-Irving), the reason you have this detour is because it's a relic from the olden days of multiple service providers in San Francisco running rail lines.

Quite awhile back we had a photo of the old 6 Parnassus streetcar and the N on Carl Street. MUNI and the private operators avoided sharing rails whenever possible, hence the split we have to this day, even though the 6 Parnassus ceased to be a rail line decades ago.

Many of the bus routes of today are leftovers from when the Market Street Railway merged with MUNI, and from other smaller providers of transit service, when various companies would attempt to duplicate service. And yet if you try to change anything there's usually someone demanding it all stay the same. That's why the Transit Effectiveness Project is trying to analyze how people actually use and don't use the system, so they can revise it to make things run for today's needs, not for 20+ years ago's needs. Hopefully.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Recycled Burlingame Bus Sign

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

MUNI Apology, 1981

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you've read the N Judah Chronicles for any length of time, you know that one thing I have consistently advocated for is a more stable source of funding for the service so it just works, instead of having it go down the "no money, cut budget, no money, cut more" toilet bowl.

In both today's Chronicle, and today's Examiner, some new ideas were proposed for discussion, ranging from the usual (increase parking ticket costs, and meters) to the dumb (automatic fare increases, charging for "transfers") to the wild-eyed (selling sodas at rail stations and jacking up random taxes for fun).

Eeeeeyeah.

Realize, that this comes on the heels of Mayor Newsom's fanciful proposal to eliminate all fares, which gets the excitable folk in town all happy and smiley at the concept. Of course there's no way to pay for it, aside junkie logic about how "collecting the money costs too much." But hey! It made people feel good, right?

And to add to the cavalcade of "good feelings" we had the proposal to cut bus passes for the oppressed 18 to
24 21 year olds, because we "should" - and the "money" will just "appear," right?

Continue reading "MUNI "Exploring" New and Improved Ways to Pay for Service - But Seems to Forget Some Basics" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

If you've not already checked out the blog/Flickr phenomenon known as Telstar Logistics, you're missing out on a blend of history, photography, and more that's difficult for me to classify and do it justice. Just go there and check it out!

Today, they feature the curious case of a stash of MUNI PCC Streetcars that have ended up sitting in a yard in South Lake Tahoe. In the process, you get a small history lesson about the end of PCC cars in San Francisc, how some ended up sitting in a yard in Northern California, and how some ended up coming back to SF, reincarnated on the F-line.

Best of all you can see old pictures of the now-stranded cars as they looked when they were in service on the N-Judah line. Hooray!

All in all, worth checking out. Hey, it beats working on a sunny day like today, doesn't it?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Loyal Readers: Today we introduce our first t-shirt design to help support the N-Judah Chronicles. Mason Powell came up with an interesting design to test out the service provided by the good people at GoodStorm.com.

I'd always wanted to offer some swag for the site, so we decided to test things out with GoodStorm to gauge interest and test out their system..

The design of our first shirt, "The N is Near" (get it?) is courtesy of Mason Powell, an occaisional contributor and our MUNI historian/ photographer here at the site.

We'll have more in the future but for now, try out the service, buy a shirt, and let us know what you think!

Update: Based on feedback from readers we've modified this design since we introduced it on Friday. The updated shirt went online yesterday. Thanks to all so far who've bought a shirt! We appreciate it!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here's an old photo I came across the other day, and it seemed like more fun to share this than gripe about broken doors on the N and people drinking malt liquor on the steps in front of the working ones.

This is the N-Judah and 6-Parnassus (known then as the 6-Haight/Masonic) near Carl and Cole. Today, Burgermeister would be on the left, just outside the frame. The N and 6 once shared tracks on Carl between the Sunset Tunnel and Stanyan, back when rail was king.

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Posted by Mason Powell at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

"Mason Powell" was kind enough to provide these scans of some very interesting pages from the old Market Street Railway employee magazine, the "Inside Track" which featured the their own version of Goofus and Gallant, conductors "A. Lert" and "I.M. Tired," among others.

It is an interesting look at how management communicated in a more informal fashion the ideal behavior of employees. Perhaps the next time you are riding MUNI you can decide if your driver is an "A. Lert" or an "I.M. Tired." Click on each thumbnail to enlarge and read each one!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This morning's papers are full of news about our MUNI. They're starting to do test runs of the T-Third Line, which is due to open on weekends January 2007, and for full service later in 2007. There's the fallout from the Spare The Air Days (both positive and negative), and the inevitable call for free rides every day, all day.

All interesting, to be sure, but what stuck out today was this peculiar editorial in the billionaire out of towner owned Examiner suggesting that privatizing MUNI would make the system run better.

Umm...yeah. Right. That will improve things. I look at the oh so brilliant innovation and customer service of big monopolies like AT&T, Comcast, and the like.

After dealing with customer service by way of New Bangalore when I have a billing problem, and put up with mediocre, overpriced service that profits a handful of execs, you'll pardon me if I don't sign up for privatizing a service that inherently can't make money without cutting off service to a vast number of neighborhoods and people.

But that's not the point. What's most surprising is that a paper that was once a part of San Francisco History and a former flagship paper for the infamous Hearst Corporation, can't seem to remember San Francsico's own long history of competing streetcar lines. Nor does it seem to remember that consolidation of these many systems into one devoted to the public interest, not personal profit, was necessary for the city to be served properly.

And, it seems the out-of-town editorial writers didn't read any of SPUR's analyses which point out that much of the inefficiency of today's MUNI is left over from duplication of service left over from the old systems, which need to be addressed.

If someone can show me a city where they have a privatized system that serves the entire public equally and cheaply, hey, sign me up. But when a private, chain owned paper that's supposedly been a part of the City for the last 100+ years can't even remember some basic facts of San Francisco history, well, perhaps that's just one more reason we shouldn't rely on large, out of town interests to work in the public interest.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hey San Franciscans (and visitors too) - tomorrow, April 18th, you can ride Muni for FREE! Since there will be all sorts of big events for Earthquake Day, Muni has announced that all buses and Munis are free so you don't have to drive to anything.

Communters beware that there will be some delays, and some stops will be relocated so beware. And enjoy the parade and festivities too!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend checking out the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association website. They have all sorts of good information and some very in-depth studies on how to improve Muni. I've added a link on the link list to the right to their section on transit issues.

However, what was most interesting was a snipped of a statement on Muni made by SPUR which had some very pertinent points about Muni. You can read it in its entirety here, scanned in from a book on Muni entitled "The People's Railway: the History of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco" by Anthony Perles.

Here's a sample:

"Second, everyone must recognize that transit is an essential public service just like schools, streets, and fire protection. In this context, referring to a 'deficit' is nonsense; no transit system in the nation supports itself from the farebox. If you ever hear a politician refer begrudgingly to the 'Muni deficit,' he will have failed the test

Third, the Mayor and Supervisors must adopt a a strictly enforced 'transit first' policy. Even if Muni is fully budgeted and if management proves itself extremely capable, service will still be poor because of transit's inability to escape congestion caused by autos, double-parked trucks and construction. New legislation is needed to establish a transit street system, giving transit top priority in any conflict."

Now what's most interesting is that this was written in 1973. Yet you could make this (and other arguments SPUR made in 1973) today, and it would be as relevant to the ongoing Muni situation.

I think it is a chance to give SPUR its props for having some incredible foresight over 30 years ago. But it is also a time for us as citizens to ask why it is we let our elected officials get away with rhetoric and hot air, and why we as citizens feel it's ok to accept mediocrity, instead of the best. Remember, we can bitch about Muni and those doofus gummint folks, but in the end, they're our responsibility, and it's up to us to kick 'em in the butt until they get it right.

Otherwise I'll never be able to get home from Kennedy's on time!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I read with some amusement (and some horror) at the Municide Blog's experiences with the 48. If you haven't already checked it out, it's got photos, annotations and a map. It's definitely a tale of urban woe.

What's funny is that my brother recently sent me a copy of a letter to Muni from 1930 that details the same thing. Here's a reprint of the letter's text:

Get this. I live on Jones and Union Streets, and when I want to get to work on time, I have to walk two blocks to Mason and get on the Market Street cable car, transfer at 5th and Market, in order to get to 8th and Brannan.

This morning I had a sore food, so I took a chance on the "E" car, which stops in front of our house. I left the house at 12 minutes to 8 and at 8 o'clock I was still standing there. I hopped down to Mason and just then three "E" cars rounded the corner, all in a bunch, and God knows a person can only use one at a a time. You can't tell me this just happens once in a while. It is the custom and anything else would be "once in a while." You sure have a lot of inspectors, writing figures in little books. It seems as if some of them were put to work running cars, there wold be better service, as all their inspecting doesn't seem to do any good, since conditions remain the same. I certainly am curious to know what all those figures are going to be used for, when they are finally accumulated.

When I take an "E" car and transfer to an "H", with less walking, it takes me 45 minutes to get to work. On the Market Street lines, I can get down in 25 minutes, so pick the seeds out of that.

Very Truly Yours,

MM

An interesting letter. Written on the letter are some notes indicating a possible answer as to why this had happened, owing to a delay in the "wholesale district" that day.

Anyway, a fun little piece of Muni history...certainly not all of it is bad, and some of it can be quite interesting and fun. But in light of Municide's recent post, as well as the slap back they got from Muni, I thought it might be fun to post nonetheless.

Muni Letter Photo scanned in from the book "Tours of Discovery"
by Anthony Perles

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Someone asked me the other day why the "N-Judah" was called the "N-Judah" and not something else. Some confuse the letters with the name of the system - for example, the railway system is Chicago is often called the "L" or "El" - but that is an abbreviation of "Elevated" (since these are elevated rail systems).

Anyway, what was the question? Right, the "N-Judah".

If you look at a map of the Muni System, the rail car lines are the J-Church, the K-Ingleside , the L-Taraval, the M-Ocean View and of course, the N-Judah. The letters are left over from when there were not just a few rail lines, but actually a LOT more, all operated in groups by different private companies. There once was an A-line, a B-line, and so on. Only the ones rolling remain in service. Hence the letters.

But what about "Judah?" The name comes from Judah Street, in San Francisco's Sunset District, where the line runs until it turns on to Irving (which, as you pass UCSF becomes Carl, even though you're on the same street) and on into downtown and beyond.

That's part of the answer, here's the fun part: the name of the street itself is named after Theodore Judah, who was the engineer who first conceived of the idea of a transcontinental railway. Often called "Crazy Judah" by his contemporaries, he nonetheless pursued his dream of one railroad system bringing the nation together. A short bio fills in some details, most notably that he did not live to see completion of the line due to yellow fever.

Bear in mind that San Francisco, and California for years were dominated by railroad tycoons - in fact many of the state's political insititutions were formed to fight against the domination of life by these guys. When you hear names locally like Crocker (once a bank), Huntington (as in Huntington Beach, Park Hotel in SF, and more) Stanford (as in University!) and more, you're hearing the names of the people who were dominant in contemporary life in the 1800s and the turn of the century.

Now you know - impress your friends at the bar sometime with your rapier like wit and knowledge of city history!

PS: And for an extra dose of trivia, take a look at this interesting review of San Francisco's "Carville" - an area on the west side of the city where people built housing out of abandonted cable cars after the 1906 quake. Some of these houses are still in use, although after 100 years they have been covered up with modern day flourishes.

There are also a few homes left that are left over from the many small houses built in Golden Gate Park to house people after the quake. Once their lots had been cleared, many peopel hitched up a horse team, and towed a couple of the small cabins back to their lot, and started over.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)