Meet Carole Gilbert, Vintage Streetcar Artist

Carole Gilbert with 1940s-era PCC streetcars at the Geneva Yard

Sometimes a job is just a job, and sometimes a job has the practical effect of making life a little more pleasant for everyone else.  Cops and firefighters are often lauded for this, but Telstar Logistics recently had the opportunity to meet a few of San Francisco's most under-celebrated civil servants: Carole Gilbert and the paint crew at Muni's Geneva Avenue streetcar maintenance yard.

Why give a shout-out to a bunch of painters? Who work for a public transit agency?

Simple: The folks at the Geneva Yard keep the city's vintage streetcars looking so spiffy -- and that's a service tens of thousands of San Franciscans have come to appreciate. The streetcars used on Muni's F Market Line, which runs from the Castro District to Fisherman's Wharf, are all unique. The fleet consist of three basic types: one-off historic cars drawn from cities around the world; a dozen or so Peter Witt cars from the 1920s that were acquired from Milan, Italy; and 28 PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) cars from the 1940s that have been restored after years of abandonment and neglect. 

The PCCs are particularly fun to see, because each has been painted in the historic colors of a city that once operated PCCs in regular service. So, for example, there's a green one from Brooklyn, and a yellow one from Cincinatti, as well as an orange one from Boston, a red one from Los Angeles, and a grey one from Philadelphia that looks like a package of cream cheese. As we wrote a few years ago, "Watching these old streetcars pass by is always a time-warp.  They're colorful, elegant, functional, and (no surprise here) very popular, which is why they're a terrific addition to the fabric of the city."

Carole Gilbert & Co. deserve much of the credit for this. Gilbert is Muni's streetcar paint shop supervisor, and working with her team of nine full-time painters at the Geneva yard, she maintains the appearance of Muni's vintage streetcars and oversees the historical research that ultimately results in each PCC car receiving its unique look.

This research usually begins with a copy of a rare book called, "Traction Extra #2 - The President's Car" that Gilbert keeps under lock and key in a filing cabinet near her desk. Inside the book, historic color photos of PCC streetcars taken during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s provide the reference images Gilbert uses to select paints and create custom logos and graphics:

From pages such as this, streetcars like No. 1080 are restored and repainted, so that they end up looking like this:

Or like streetcar No. 1078, a 1946 PCC painted to represent San Diego:

Or No. 1076, painted in the colors of mid-1950s Washington DC:

Neat trick, eh? Not surprisingly, Gilbert never envisioned herself becoming a stylist for vintage streetcars. She studied art in college and for a time planned to teach ceramic sculpture.  Destiny had other plans, however, so after a stint as an auto body painter, she landed at Muni in 1986 — where she's been ever since. And though she's also responsible for maintaining the appearance of Muni's modern fleet of Breda light rail vehicles, Gilbert has a soft spot for the vintage cars. "I like the older streetcars," she says. "All the detail makes them much more interesting."

But does she have a favorite? One colorful old streetcar that she prefers over all the others? Gilbert was reticent on this topic, but with some prodding she eventually offered up the secret: "The Blackpool Boat Car," she confessed. Naturally.

Keeping the old streetcars running and looking good takes a lot of work — it's a jungle out there on the city streets, and the cars take plenty of abuse. During our visit, for example, we saw streetcar No. 952, a vintage New Orleans streetcar, having work done in the body shop to repair a rusted lower window sill.

You can see some of the offending rust just below the passenger's elbow in this photo of No. 952 we took back in 2005:

The brand-new but as-yet-unpainted window sill is visible here (along with a camera-shy Muni body shop technician who also did much of the work):

In the paint shop we also had the opportunity to meet a few of the workers who keep the vintage streetcars looking so colorful. Allow us to introduce you to painters Carlos Montez (left) and Willie Alexander:

Telstar Logistics visited the crew from the Geneva Yard in late December. Since then, we've been paying closer attention whenever when we see one of the vintage F Line streetcars rolling down Market Street. As technological artifacts, they're as fabulous as ever, of course. Yet they look different to us now. Having had the opportunity to meet the people who keep them rolling, these old machines also seem a lot more human.

(Special thanks to the Market Street Railway for helping to make our visit possible!)

LINKS:
The Paint Crew at the Geneva Yard (Flickr photoset by Telstar Logistics)

Streetcars of the F Line (Market Street Railway historic profiles of San Francisco's vintage streetcars)

Market Street Railway Group (Flickr group dedicated to F Line streetcar photography)

PREVIOUSLY:
San Francisco's Streetcar Revival

Open-Air Public Transit in the Blackpool Boat Car

Municipal Railway Streetcar 1006, Then and Now

Vintage Streetcars Deliver Economic Development

Lost Streetcars of Lake Tahoe Fated to Become Diners and Sushi Bars in Missouri

(IMAGES: All photos by Telstar Logistics)

Comments

[David Dugan]

Very nice write-up of Carole and her team, Todd. I'm sure there are more than a few people here at Market Street Railway that would love to get their hands on that secret book of hers!

[Adron]

Hey...

that is a Perley Thomas car from New Orleans? When did SF/MUNI get that?

[Edward]

This is exactly why I love this blog...well done. My Mom always told the story of taking the streetcars to work in the 70s...when it was raining, half the passengers would keep their umbrellas up to stay dry. These guys keep them up better than they ever could have been when in service.

[Jamison]

New Orleans car no. 952 was leased to San Francisco in 1998 and repainted back to the olive and red colors. We've since purchased a second car, no. 913, which is being stored it can be restored as well.

[lomokev]

pretty cool but i would love to see the the mechanics who keep these old things going. be interesting to know how much maniacal maintenance they need compared to the modern cars

[earl]

Looks like MUNI/F line is taking real good care of the 952. Keep up the good work.
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the cable car we got in a swap.......sad situation. Of course we have bigger fish to fry trying to restore 30 streetcars that were flooded. On a happy note, this Sunday the St. Charles line will be open 100% with a celebration the following Saturday June 28th. Finally, the red cars are now getting motors, so the Perleys are not long for Canal and Riverfront. Best guess is when NORTA has 10/12 VonDullens ready, the second last run will take place. Plan on it being a big event possibly taking place Oct/Nov this year. The 972 will retrace its first last run in 1964 and instead of bus 208 taking over, red car 2008 will. Much happier ending..............
BYE from NOLA, Earl - New Orleans #1 fan