Muni Breaks Out 78-Year-Old Super Bus' That Was Supposed to Replace the Cable Cars for Muni Heritage Weekend

"But the Chronicle has a fascinating report on a restored, vintage bus that used to roam these seven-by-seven miles in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and has not been seen since. It's technical name is the Fegeol Twin Coach Model 44-D, with that old-time Pepsi ad still slapped on the front, and this model of buses was supposed to replace the cable cars when introduced in 1947."

"The Chronicle admits they ran the January 29,1947 headline Cable cars on way out; city orders super buses, reporting that these green monsters could carry more passengers than cable cars, and were supposed to be better at handling hills. That was thanks to their twin gas-powered engines, seen as revolutionary at first, but it turns out they kept breaking down. Meanwhile, the local Women's Chamber of Commerce and a group calling themselves the Cable Car Ladies ran a successful public relations campaign."

The Fegeol Twin Coach Model 44-D buses were built in 1947 and intended to replace San Francisco cable cars. The buses used twin gas-powered engines that were initially praised for hill-climbing and higher capacity but suffered frequent breakdowns. Public opposition and a campaign by local groups preserved the cable cars. The Hillclimber buses were reassigned to other routes and made obsolete by diesel engines, with the last retired in 1953. Market Street Railway located two surviving units, purchased them, and spent about seven years restoring one to operating condition. The restored bus, bearing period Pepsi advertising, ran full San Francisco routes during Muni Heritage Weekend.

Read at sfist.com