Market Street Railway (transit operator)

Market Street Railway Company
Company type	Private company
Industry	Public transport
Predecessor	Market Street Railroad Company, Market Street Cable Railway Company, United Railroads of San Francisco
Founded	1860
Founder	Thomas Hayes
Defunct	1944
Fate	Assets acquired by San Francisco Municipal Railway
Headquarters	San Francisco, United States
Area served	San Francisco, California
Products	Streetcar and bus transit services

The Market Street Railway Company played a prominent role as a commercial operator of streetcar and bus transit services in San Francisco, taking its name from the city's principal thoroughfare, Market Street. It was also known under various titles, including the Market Street Railroad Company, Market Street Cable Railway Company, and United Railroads of San Francisco, and at one time stood as the largest transit provider within the city. The company discontinued operations in 1944, after which its assets were incorporated into the municipally owned San Francisco Municipal Railway. Numerous routes originally managed by the company continue to function today, predominantly served by bus lines.

This entity should not be confused with the present-day Market Street Railway, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving San Francisco’s historic streetcar lines; it has no legal affiliation with the original company.

Steam and Horse-Drawn Era

The franchise that evolved into Market Street Railway was initially awarded in 1857 to Thomas Hayes. Operations commenced on July 4, 1860, under the name Market Street Railroad Company. The first route extended along Market and Valencia Streets to Center Street (later renamed 16th Street), utilizing steam dummy locomotives hauling trailer cars. Four Portland gauge tank locomotives were locally produced by Albion Foundry, specifically built for passenger and baggage transport. Additional steam dummies were acquired from Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1880 for a standard-gauge line extension that operated until 1888.

By 1867, horse-drawn vehicles began supplanting steam traction. By 1895, the company offered horse cars for sale, some of which contributed to establishing Carville-by-the-Sea, a community formed from repurposed streetcars.

Cable Car Development

Following the introduction of the cable-powered Clay Street Hill Railroad in 1873, there was increased interest in converting San Francisco’s horsecar lines to cable traction. In 1882, Leland Stanford and his partners acquired the Market Street Railroad Company, transitioning it to cable operation and renaming it the Market Street Cable Railway Company (MSCRy). This made it the city’s largest cable car operator, managing five routes that all met at Market Street near the Ferry Building. During rush hours, cable cars departed as frequently as every 15 seconds. The principal line launched in August 1883, running from the Ferry Building along Market Street to Valencia and Twenty-Ninth Streets. By 1888, additional lines serving McAllister, Hayes, Haight, and Castro Streets had been added.

Transition to Electric and Formation of United Railroads

Electric streetcars soon demonstrated greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness compared to cable cars while being capable of navigating nearly all city inclines. After Stanford’s passing in 1893, control transferred to Southern Pacific Railroad, which rebranded the enterprise as Market Street Railway Company and initiated conversions to electric traction. In 1895, MSRy introduced the Fillmore Counterbalance line—a unique combination of funicular and electric streetcar technology designed for steep slopes.

In 1902, Southern Pacific divested its San Francisco transit assets to eastern investors led by Patrick Calhoun’s Baltimore Syndicate, which consolidated these holdings into United Railroads of San Francisco (URR).

Resistance from property owners such as Rudolph Spreckels delayed approval for overhead electric wires on key streets. Nonetheless, the rebuilding efforts following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake expedited modernization, enabling URR to replace most cable car routes with electric streetcars.

On May 14, 1906, despite public opposition accusing URR of exploiting disaster conditions, city supervisors authorized installation of overhead trolley wires on Market Street. URR swiftly implemented overhead electric power throughout its system during this period. Concurrently, the San Francisco graft trials revealed extensive corruption involving city officials and business entities connected with transit franchises.

Consolidation and decline

Throughout the years, numerous independent rail lines were incorporated into the system, such as the Clay Street Hill Railroad, San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway, Presidio & Ferries Railway, and Ferries and Cliff House Railway. Although the 1906 earthquake initially provided some advantage, it indirectly contributed to the company's downturn when the city took over the independent Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway in 1912, initiating the creation of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). By June 3, 1914, horsecars had been completely removed from city streets. The introduction of new tunnels beneath the city's hills by 1918 enabled Muni to challenge URR directly along Market Street. Each operated its own set of tracks—Market Street Railway’s positioned on the inner side and Muni’s on the outer—resulting in what became known as the "roar of the four."

The combination of rivalry, labor disputes, and a significant accident in 1918 led to URR reorganizing as the Market Street Railway Company. This entity continued running electric streetcars, Powell Street cable cars, and an expanding fleet of buses. Nevertheless, tensions with the municipal authorities overseeing their franchises escalated until a 1944 public vote approved a $7.5 million ($ adjusted) acquisition of Market Street Railway’s assets, transferring control to Muni.

Surviving vehicles

Remaining vehicles from Market Street Railway include:

Passenger Cars

Car 578, constructed in 1896 by Hammond Car Company, is a single-truck California car featuring open ends with an enclosed central section. After serving as a work vehicle for several years, it was restored by Muni for use in special occasions and charter services.
Car 798, built in company workshops in 1924, was initially scrapped after World War II but later converted into a home and retail space. It was reacquired in 1984 and is currently undergoing restoration for intermittent operation on the F Market line.
Car 755, resembling car 578 and manufactured in 1895 by Hammond Car Company, was sold to Presidio & Ferries Railroad in 1906. Following franchise expiration, Muni obtained it in 1913; it remained in passenger service until 1922 before being converted into a work car. Decommissioned in 1946, it is now stored at Western Railway Museum awaiting restoration.
Car 974 was produced internally and acquired by the Bay Area Electric Railway Association but was lost to fire before entering service at Western Railway Museum.
The parlor car "San Francisco," originally built in 1901 by St. Louis Car Company as San Francisco & San Mateo 61, was remodeled into a luxury charter vehicle but later repurposed as a school car due to reduced demand. Its limited charter use ceased during World War II; after being sold for scrap in 1951, it functioned as a hot dog stand before being donated to Western Railway Museum in 1980.

Maintenance Vehicles

Constructed in 1891 by O'Brian and Sons, Car 0109 originally served as a passenger streetcar featuring a hybrid open and enclosed layout reminiscent of a Powell Street cable car for the Metropolitan Railway. Following the Metropolitan Railway's acquisition by Market Street Railway in 1894, the vehicle was transformed in 1900 by the WL Holman Car Company into a motorized side dump car. In 1912, it was adapted into a rail grinder, later becoming part of San Francisco Municipal Railway's fleet in 1944. It functioned as their grinding car until it was loaned to the Western Railway Museum during the 1970s and officially became museum property in 2019.
Built in 1904 by the United Railroad of San Francisco's workshops, Car 0130 started as an electric crane. It was designated Market Street Railway 0130 in 1921 and transferred to San Francisco Municipal Railway ownership in 1944 before being acquired by the Western Railway Museum in 1973.
Car 0304 was manufactured by Hammond in 1900 as a double-truck California-type passenger car for the San Francisco & San Mateo Electric Railway. Later renamed United Railroads of San Francisco 673 in 1902, it was rebuilt into wrecker number 0673 in 1907. By 1910, it had been converted into an overhead lines maintenance vehicle and renumbered as Car 0304. The car subsequently passed through Market Street Railway and then San Francisco Municipal Railway control by 1944 and remains part of Muni’s inventory.

South San Francisco Line

United Railways operated streetcar services in South San Francisco through its subsidiary, South San Francisco Railroad and Power Company. This line linked with the San Mateo interurban at Leipsic Junction and extended along Grand Avenue to Fuller Paints. Operations ceased on December 31, 1938.

Routes

By 1949, the company had either terminated or converted its final streetcar routes to bus or trolleybus service. Two former cable lines were incorporated into today’s San Francisco cable car system. Notable routes included:

16 |3rd and Kearny| 18 | Daly City and Cemeteries | | Regular streetcar runs ended by 1935; limited service briefly persisted afterward. 19 | Ninth, Polk, and Larkin | Streetcar, motor coach | Streetcars discontinued in 1945; replaced by the 19 Polk bus route. 20 | Ellis and O'Farrel | Streetcar | 21 | Hayes Street | Streetcar | Ceased streetcar operation in 1948; transitioned to trolleybus service. 22 | Fillmore Street | Streetcar | Ended streetcars in 1948; trolleybuses took over thereafter. 23 | Fillmore and Valencia | Motor coach | 24 | Mission and Richmond | Motor coach | Ended streetcars by 1935; replaced with trolleybus route. 25 | San Bruno Avenue | Streetcar, motor coach | 26 | Guerrero Street | Streetcar, motor coach | 27 | Bryant Street | Motor coach | Converted to bus service. 28 | Harrison Street | Motor coach | Terminated streetcars by 1940. 29 | Kearny and Broadway | 30 | Army Street | 31 | Balboa Street | Streetcar | Streetcars ended service in 1949; replaced by trolleybuses. 32 | Hayes and Oak | 33 | Eighth and Park | Trolleybus | Converted to trolleybus operation during 1935; became Ashbury/18th St. line. 34 | Sixth and Sansome | 35a | Howard Street | 35b |24th Street Motor coach | 36 | Folsom Street | Streetcar, motor coach | 40 | San Mateo Interurban | Streetcar | Route formerly operated by San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway. 41-43 |||||| Various streetcars phased out by early-1940s. 50-55 |||||| Motor coach lines replacing older routes, including Sacramento Cable line closed in 1942 (Muni continued until 1982). 59-60 |||||| Cable car lines incorporated into present-day San Francisco cable car system. Additional minor routes encompassed Fillmore Counterbalance (closed in 1941) along with South San Francisco services. This evolution from streetcars toward buses and trolleybuses represented a deliberate strategy shift favoring more adaptable urban transit options under municipal oversight.

No.	Name	Service type (1943)	Notes
1	Sutter and California	Streetcar	Streetcar service ended in 1949 under Muni; continued as the 1 California bus until merging with former route 55 Sacramento in 1982.
2	Sutter and Clement	Streetcar	Streetcar operations concluded in 1949 under Muni.
3	Sutter and Jackson	Streetcar	Streetcars ended service in 1949; replaced by the 3 Jackson trolleybus.
4	Sutter and Sacramento	Streetcar, motor coach	Streetcar service ceased in 1948 under Muni.
5	McAllister	Streetcar	Streetcars discontinued in 1948; succeeded by the 5 Fulton trolleybus.
6	Haight and Masonic	Streetcar	Streetcar operations ended in 1948; transitioned to the 6 Haight/Parnassus trolleybus.
7	Haight and Ocean	Streetcar	This route merged former Haight cable and Park and Ocean Railroad lines; streetcars ended in 1948 with trolleybus service continuing until 2009.
8	Market and Castro	Streetcar	Streetcar service stopped in 1949; reinstated as the historic F Market streetcar line beginning in 1995.
9	Valencia Street	Streetcar	Streetcars discontinued in 1949 without subsequent replacement.
10	Sunnyside	Motor coach	Streetcar service terminated in 1942.
11	Mission and 24th Street	Streetcar	Streetcars ended operations in 1949.
12	Ingleside and Ocean	Motor coach	Streetcars ceased running in 1945.
14	Mission Street	Streetcar	Streetcars ended service in 1949; replaced by the 14 Mission trolleybus.
15	Kearny and North Beach	Motor coach	Streetcar operations concluded in 1941.