When I was in
San Francisco, the MUNI--or Municipal Railway, as I think was its full name--was in a pretty decrepit state.
The buses was Mack Truck buses--very old Mack buses. I always wondered at the back engine access covers--they seemed to be open all the time; anyone could have thrown a monkeywrench in at any time.
And the way the drivers careened up and down Diamond Heights, where I lived (just above Castro Valley) was more then a little frightening, until I got used to it. There were never any accidents I remember--and it was exciting.
But what I liked most, were the streetcars. These electric raiway cars ran on two rails in the street. They drew their electricity from an overhead cable. Except for their color--which was green--they were exactly like the streetcars run by the TTC in Toronto.
In San Francisco, there was what they called a subway, but different from the one in Toronto. It was just the streetcar running under the hills of San Francisco.
Only the few lights inside the car were the illumination. Beyond it was so cool, and damp, as the streetcar ran silently through the darkness.