It's strange to think that an electric commuter rail line rivaling BART in efficiency, speed, and comfort ran over 100 years ago between San Francisco and San Mateo, but run it did. The 40 Line, or San Mateo Interurban, began in 1892 with an initial segment operating between Market and Steuart Streets out to the county limits on San Jose Avenue. Three years later, the line reached Baden in present-day South San Francisco, and by 1903 service was opened all the way to downtown San Mateo. During the line's heyday, there was talk of extending it down the peninsula from San Mateo to Palo Alto to connect with the Peninsular Railway to San Jose. The 1906 earthquake put this plan on hold. Following much the same route as today's Mission Street, El Camino Real, and Caltrain, the San Mateo Interurban carried over four million passengers a year along its main and spur lines until 1949, when the system was shut down amidst much fanfare.

A Fleet History of the San Francisco Municipal Railway is a book that lists every transit vehicle that has been used in regular Muni service since 1912. The format includes a listing of key data for each vehicle, such as size, passenger capacity, manufacturer /cost and years of service, a short summary of the service history of the vehicle, and a photo (if available). All four modes are covered: rail (streetcar and LRV), bus, trolley bus and cable car, with one section covering each mode. Two additional sections include information on all Muni operations facilities, and a figures and graphics section. The figures and graphics section includes information on the four modes of transit, plus information on historical data in the areas of ridership, fares, farebox recovery, logo and agency structure and leadership. A short summary history section precedes the fleet history sections, and a photo credits table is included along with the blbilograpy. The completed document represents the first compilation of many of these pieces of information in almost 40 years. With over 200 pages and over 400 photographs, it is an excellent reference and history book both for experts and for people with a casus interest in the history of San Francisco Municipal Railway.

Maybelle was a cable car a San Francisco cable car. . . She rang her gong and sang her song from early morn till late at night. . . . By recounting the actual events in San Francisco's effort to keep the city's cable cars running, this classic story illustrates how the voice of the people can be heard in the true spirit of democracy. Virginia Lee Burton's original art for Maybelle the Cable Car was retrieved from the archives of the San Francisco Public Library to re-create this edition with all the vibrant charm of the original, which was published in 1952.

This biography by a distinguished California historian gives an underappreciated artist and his work recognition long overdue. Focusing on Grafton Tyler Brown's lithography and his life in nineteenth-century San Francisco, Robert J. Chandler offers a study equally fascinating as a business and cultural history and as an introduction to Brown the artist.