Riding around San Francisco in vintage 1976 Muni trolleybus number 5300

A look at, and ride on, San Francisco Muni trolleybus number 5300 during #MuniHeritage Weekend 2016. This is a 1976 Flyer Industries model E800 #trolleybus. Includes a nice ride eastbound down Market Street at the end, looking out the front of the bus.
Recorded September 25, 2016. Published November 27, 2016.
Music credits (in order of appearance):
"Firmament" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
"Window Office" from FreeStockMusic.com
"Son of a Rocket" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Changes were made

[@MikstyOnYt]

Haven’t rode a bus like that in years!

[@exoressdelivers70]

At 3:06 that button switch on the floor below the turn signal button switches was the bright light button switch.

[@David-mi1tz]

Well, that was an enjoyable trip whilst having my early lunch, thanks for the insight.

[@PartyOfTheThirdPart]

What was for lunch today?

[@David-mi1tz]

Hey there, I will confess it was the left overs of the night before... that being spag bol, nothing fancy but filled the belly. Whilst I have You, just wanna wish You a HNY hoping to catch up on the Conversation on the Street videos (good to see Jeremy is well) and making my way over to the Hospital Construction channel, when I get back early in the new year. Keep safe, David,

[@PartyOfTheThirdPart]

Thanks, David, HNY to you as well!

[@Tchristman100]

3:00 is the high beam light. I know I had a 1977 10240B from Portland Or that I made a motorhome out of.

[@Tchristman100]

I took the air assist steering off (7.5 turns lock to lock) and installed Sheppard hydraulic steering (3.5 turns lock to lock).

[@derrickw3021]

The buses radio with all the zeros across the screen displays the route and run number . When the driver checks in with Muni Central Control when he or she goes to work , they program into the radio their route number , coach number , run number , and driver identification number to be put into the computer system . When the driver calls Central Control , the computer and dispatcher knows who is calling .

[@PartyOfTheThirdPart]

That's good to know -- thank you very much!

[@derrickw3021]

Party of The Third Part : When Central Control calls a particular driver , a series of beeps sound until he/she answers the radio . The radio conversation is just between the driver and the radio dispatcher . A long beep over the radio is a system wide alert usually used for emergencies or general messages . My great uncle used to drive for Muni a long time ago and I know a few of the transit operators . I wanted to be a Muni driver but my great uncle said to me , " It's a hard job and you put up with a lot of crap and it's for people that don't have a lot of brains . "

[@KandiKlover]

Nope. No radio here.

[@jessealvarez779]

Thanks for explaining that! It makes perfect sense now.

[@Emdsd45T]

thanks muni they kept the original General electric air compressor on it only thing missing are the split rims love & miss these buses got to ride 5001& 5002 flyer prototypes before they retired those they were cool

[@MADLeon13]

I wish these old busses would still run with new ones.

[@thebuffalodude]

I remember riding in those in Edmonton! Very cool buses! I don't think they were a favorite amongst the operators though..

[@richardgiron123]

The next generation of Flyers (Xcelsior) will take over the Muni trolley fleet by the end of 2019....Time flies.

[@jessealvarez779]

Those Xcelsior models must have some kind of shock dampening on acceleration because I don't feel like I'm going to go through the rear windshield or lose a tooth like I did on these.

[@Emdsd45T]

as many people have stated these buses are rough whenever driver lifts off the accelerator these flyers were 10-11 yearsold when i rode them for the first time i remember them being herkyjerky back then as well i wonder if this is something that a rebuild would fix

[@michelflorent1613]

ABSOLUMENT FANTASTIQUE SF AND TROLLEYBUS TO DAYS AND MUSEUM AND AND AND MAGIC MERCI POUR CETTE VIDEO VERY VERY GOOD

[@jessealvarez779]

Those old beauties were always dropping their poles at the turns and crossings! I'm wondering how the got onto 4th St from Market St. I'm guessing west on Sutter then south on Stockton?

[@rome58415]

Pretty cool driver hahaha

[@uioned]

I drove this type of trolleybus in Vancouver BC I liked them but they were jerky , the switch on the floor ahead of the turn signal switches is the high beam switch. When we had these to work the overhead switches it went this way, if you wanted to power a switch you stepped down on the power peel to coast a switch you let your foot off the power pedal. It was challenging at times.

[@RaymondHng]

Jerkiness is caused by a controller that does not use make-before-break contacts.

[@uioned]

RaymondHng Ya the ones we had were fitted with used T44 Brill Trolleybus moter and components, fitted into a new flyer bus body with a air throttle. They weren't chopper control, which would make them smooth like are 1982-84Flyer E901s that came in the 80s. I didn't mind the E800 but most didn't like to drive them especially when you came to a switch to power some would shake bad. I see this one isn't to bad.

[@shaneinkster4775]

Saskatoon Saskatchewan used to have buses like that when I was a kid .Same look same spoiler at the top back except they were diesel buses they were retired and put out of service in the early 1990s

[@kyoakland]

remind me of when I was a kid

[@arctics4]

Were skateboarders around? Lol... I knew guys that would hold onto the back of the 22 Fillmore of this bus in the early 80s to tow them up from the Marina on Steiner and Broadway St.

[@basictransportenthusiast4386]

Lol who came up to put a roll sign saying nowhere particular?

[@pizzasubs]

when you showed the drivers side panel on the left side, two of them I need explaining if I could please, the one switch that says Hill Holding, and the push button next to it which says, Push to climb, that one I am going to take a guess and say that when the driver pushes that one, it gives the bus a little biut more extra power for hills, am I right? now on the drivers front panel under the steering wheel, there is a switch for the skid control and it say to press it to test the dkid control, How does that actually work? One more thing if I may, is this the kind of bus that when its hooked up to the overhead electric wires, and it running on electricity at the time, if the power does go out, does this bus also have a backup gas motor so you could actually keep going if you needed to???? Thanlks

[@PartyOfTheThirdPart]

I don't know what the "hill holding" does, sorry. I also don't know what "skid control" does, sorry. Maybe someone else will respond to those. The "Push to climb", I don't know for sure, but my guess is that usually what it means for electric motors is that it disables the governor that limits the amount of power the motor can use, thus allowing it to generate more power for short periods. That's just a guess on my part. The bus does not have a backup gas engine. That's why you saw us stuck in the middle of intersections a couple of times in the video. They have a backup battery, but on those old buses those old batteries can't do much. The latest modern buses can go a fair distance on battery backup (at least enough power to get out of the traffic before re-attaching).

[@basictransportenthusiast4386]

It’s probably an extra parking break if a bus stop or light is on a steep incline

[@TheMira1]

@@basictransportenthusiast4386 no back up motor

[@jessealvarez779]

The hill climb was a power boost. I had a bus driver tell me that he pushed it when he was a trainee and the passengers had to hold on for dear life.

[@GSDubz]

This particular bus was really jerky, as I recall. Used to ride the 30 Stockton a lot.

[@kyoakland]

GSDubz I remember exactly it was very jerky

[@shaneinkster4775]

GSDubz I remember when I was very little my mom used to take me on the bus because we didn’t have a car we had busses like this I remember they were very noisy

[@mannysal1111]

actually made a profesional bus driver i miss driving the real buses today the driver are spoil with plastic power steering and soft brakes

[@jessealvarez779]

Yep, they'd jerk when the driver hit the accelerator and then rock back and forth when they let off. I rode them on the 30 Stockton, too to Caltrain on 4th and Townsend with my parents as a kid.

[@MetalTeamster]

Is this the bus type used in Mrs Doubtfire?

[@norbertovalladares3870]

Nope. It's a different bus type, kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZ2TeGejfbh8aLs

[@colombiandude8420]

I think that was a 1988 New Flyer D800 ??

[@mrceleb2006]

No Detroit Diesel engine in this trolleybus...wow!

[@wyattlopez4688]

looks like a AM General, but no huck bolts...

[@jessealvarez779]

We had those AM General diesels in SF way back when that looked just like these except that they were "fun sized". I remember riding them up the hill on Point Lobos on the 18 Sloat if I was too tired to walk and my dad was too tired to carry me.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

This is a Flyer. Only places that had AMG Trackless-Trolleys were us (Philly), and Seattle. Everyone else had either AMG or Flyer buses, or Flyer TTs.

[@KandiKlover]

Most people just be getting on riding like it's a regular day, maybe once thinking "oh a different bus". Not aware of the nerdism and event going on hehe

[@binkyboo1964]

More room on them buses then the cramped new one's to date

[@blacknationalfreedomfighte6682]

Wow I can Probably Say that those Seats don't look to Comfortable

[@mannysal1111]

@@agems56 we call them toilet seats we have to filling with newspapers

[@jessealvarez779]

Originally, some of these had vinyl padding on the seats that were eventually refitted due to wear and vandalism. I remember one of them had burgundy upholstery that surprisingly didn't stink. I think it was based out of Presidio Division because I was in the Richmond District back then.

[@Rubycon99]

@@jessealvarez779 Yeah, I remember those padded seats were always slashed. People seemed to like cutting them open for some reason. I never saw a bus that had a complete set of them, it was always random seats here and there.

[@danglingbooger3865]

The diesel version of this particular bus, the shorter AM General, sucked going up hills. Those buses ran the less populated routes, such as the 35, 36, 66 etc. I grew up in San Francisco, and back then, they had Boeing LRVs, the articulated M.A.N. bus, and ALL the vehicles were painted like this one. Real ugly paint scheme. The old Flyer buses were pretty cool, numerically 4500-4600's. Also the GMC Fishbowls were my favorite to ride in. I hope to own one someday,

[@kyoakland]

DanglingBooger I remember seeing these struggle go up hills

[@jessealvarez779]

I remember those AM General too-shorts on the 18 Sloat. I loved the 4500-4600's, too. I loved the way they roared in the Stonestown underpass.

[@Rubycon99]

Ugly... paint scheme? :( How could you grow up in SF and think the orange buses were ugly? :P

[@rtd1409]

Stop talking! Would have been a neat video without all the blah-blah we want to hear the bus not your interview "Whats that?" omg.

[@rtd1409]

Thats almost a sentence but the guy making the video will not stop talking and its just irritating!

[@basictransportenthusiast4386]

Dude it’s a vintage trolley bus that has been retired since 2005. It’s a city icon because it was in service for 30 years. I would be asking questions. Plus this bus barely makes a sound. And he is toward the front which the most quiet.

[@kyoakland]

it's electric not going to hear much

[@exoressdelivers70]

Put the sound on mute if you don't want to hear anybody talking.