🚀 go-pugleaf

Robert Gordon wrote in message <36A0B974.31AC6EB9@erols.com>...

>The original poster was asking about a cutback on Market Street that
>would require front pole operation.  That wye is an emergency cutback
>at 11th and Market. I've seen it in use during the PCC era (cars
>carried a "X-11th Street" destination sign).

It wasn't just for emergencies, it was the scheduled turnaround point for
all cars pulling out/in to/from the J and N lines back when the Twin Peaks
Tunnel was the only route from the carbarn to downtown.  In fact, the
"X" line designation was put in specifically because so many people were
boarding cars without noticing the portion of the destination sign that
indicated they were only going to 11th Street.

>A track map in the "Inside Muni" book shows wyes also at 30th & Judah
>on the N, 35th & Taraval on the L and Broad & Plymouth on the M
>(as of April 1981).

Also one at 30th & Church on the J line.  None of these required front pole
operation, however, as they all had frogs in the overhead wire that allowed
for backpole operation when backing up.  (So did the turnaround at 11th
street, but it was determined it was too risky to backpole there on a
regular
basis).  The front pole was needed to turn cars around at places like West
Portal Station and Duboce & Church, and most of all, at the Geneva Carbarn,
where nightly parking involved backing the cars onto 20 different tracks.