Tag: san diego trolley

Looking to the future at SANDAG Community Fair!

What will the San Diego region look like in the future?

Glimpses were provided today of future possibilities during a free family event at Ruocco Park. The SANDAG (The San Diego Association of Governments) Community Fair brought together a variety of public and private entities who are advocating and working for change–primarily when it comes to mass transit.

The projects previewed include a future Central Mobility Hub, which will connect regional transit to San Diego International Airport; a solution to relocate train tracks that run near eroding bluffs in Del Mar; and the upcoming Otay Mesa East Port of Entry. I also saw intriguing plans for a trolley station in Tijuana, Mexico.

Other SANDAG initiatives include advancing digital equity in neighborhoods, the Youth Opportunity Pass Pilot Program of MTS, and the creation of affordable housing.

I saw lots of charts, maps, infographics and smiles. I asked some questions and learned a few things.

I also walked by the kid activity stations, picked up a new bike map, learned about the trails of San Elijo Lagoon, and learned about butterflies, birds and replenishing beach sand.

Then I got some free popcorn and flavored ice, and watched Hanna paint a cool mural, which would eventually depict a scene of San Diego’s beautiful environment.

The SANDAG Community Fair was a great way for the public to interact with those making plans to shape our shared future. Public input, including concerns, were welcome.

And it all was fun, too!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Mass grave seen from San Diego trolley.

Ride the San Diego Trolley’s Orange Line through Mt. Hope Cemetery and you might observe something strange. A group of collected headstones is set in concrete just south of the tracks.

This very unusual memorial is the site of a mass grave–a “grave” filled with discarded gravestones!

Back in the 1980s when the trolley line was new, passengers noticed that many tombstones had been dumped in a ravine at Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Earlier, in the 1970s, the City of San Diego had removed about 800 tombstones from old Calvary Cemetery in Mission Hills and callously thrown them into this ravine. Unbelievable, right?

Today the peculiar memorial you see in the above photograph recalls an infamous moment in our city’s history.

You can learn more about how old Calvary Cemetery was converted into today’s Pioneer Park in Mission Hills by clicking here.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

The Vintage Trolley: A Labor of Love.

Last weekend I rode the San Diego Trolley’s old PCC streetcar 530. I traveled a few stops on the Vintage Trolley’s downtown Silver Line loop.

As I looked about the interior of the restored 1940’s streetcar, I noticed a sign that I’d never seen before. Several paragraphs pay tribute to Ed Lindstrom, who was instrumental in restoring the Vintage Trolley vehicles operated by MTS.

Ed worked as a Light Rail Vehicle Project Coordinator and Electromechanic. Restoring the two streetcars that now run on the Silver Line–cars 529 and 530–required parts that are extremely difficult to find. According to the sign, Ed relentlessly sought the necessary parts from other transit agencies, collectors and museums. With some harder-to-find components, Ed got creative. He reverse-engineered and produced them specifically for the project!

To learn more about the PCC streetcar restoration, and see photos of how the old cars once looked, click here!

If you ever ride one of these nostalgic streetcars on a weekend, you can thank Ed and many others who’ve worked countless hours making a beautiful dream come true.

A LABOR OF LOVE.

Operation of the vintage streetcars in San Diego…began as a dream of Harry Mathis… A cadre of volunteers, led by our restoration manager, Dave Slater, has contributed more than 11,000 man hours of work on our fleet of PCC’s…

As a resident of downtown San Diego who loves riding the Vintage Trolley cars, thank you!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Riding with evil: Doom Breaker and Moriarty!

Are you ready to face overwhelming evil? Have you the courage to ride with terrifying monsters or a brilliant criminal mastermind?

During 2022 Comic-Con, you might need all of your strength and wits should you jump aboard the Doom Breaker bus from WEBTOON, or the Moriarty: The Devil’s Game trolley from Audible!

I spotted both of these vehicle wraps today while walking around downtown.

The Doom Breaker bus appears to be for charter; the awesome Moriarty wrap on the San Diego Trolley is the latest of many cool trolley wrap designs this year!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Comic books on a trolley! Anime on a bus!

If you’d like to read comic books on the San Diego Trolley, there’s a special car just for you!

The latest Amazon Prime Video trolley wrap for 2022 Comic-Con states: Comic Crushing – See Where It Takes You.

Get on this car, dive into a big stack of comic books, and you’ll be taken to the next station!

The San Diego Trolley will provide a Special Event Line all during Comic-Con. I posted information concerning that here.

And check out this cool anime wrap on an MTS bus that promotes Crunchyroll! Anime is for everyone!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Orcs are welcome on a Comic-Con trolley!

If you’re a hideous, bloodthirsty orc (or goblin), the San Diego Trolley welcomes you during 2022 Comic-Con!

That’s the message provided by the newest Comic-Con trolley wrap!

ORCS WELCOME is another (the third I’ve spotted) nerdy message on trolley cars that promotes Amazon Prime Video.

There will no doubt be hordes of orcs rampaging through Middle Earth in Prime Video’s upcoming series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

I imagine there will be monstrous trolls, too. But whether or not trolls are welcome on the San Diego Trolley, I’m not really sure. They might not fit through the doors.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Crossover Cosplaying on a Comic-Con trolley!

A new trolley wrap has appeared for 2022 Comic-Con! This one celebrates crossover cosplaying!

Over the years, I’ve seen all sorts of cool cosplay mash-ups, utilizing some of the most unexpected character combinations. I suppose that during Comic-Con this year, some of that crossover cosplay magic might be found while riding the San Diego Trolley!

This is another wrap promoting Amazon Prime Video. It appears they will have a major footprint at Comic-Con. Of course, their epic series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is highly anticipated by many, particularly lovers of Middle Earth and Tolkien’s class novels!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Paper Girls appear on a Comic-Con trolley!

Here come the 2022 Comic-Con trolleys!

I spotted a new trolley wrap this morning. It promotes the upcoming Amazon Prime Video science fiction television series Paper Girls. The show is about four young paper girls who become involved in an epic adventure. They must save the world when they find themselves in a war among time-travelers!

As more Comic-Con trolley wraps appear, I’ll post photos!

Comic-Con is now about a month away, and more and more cool stuff should be appearing in San Diego. Stay tuned!

UPDATE!

A couple days later I got more pics…

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

ABC’s Abbott Elementary trolley debuts for Comic-Con!

A new trolley promoting ABC television’s mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary has debuted for 2022 Comic-Con!

The trolley has been wrapped to appear like a school bus, transporting the show’s main characters, who teach at Philadelphia’s Willard R. Abbott Elementary School.

This year the San Diego Trolley will be featuring 40 cars decorated for Comic-Con! The huge, international pop culture event will be held at the San Diego Convention Center and around downtown from July 21 to July 24.

(Are you excited? I am! My camera is ready!)

ABC’s Abbott Elementary has been renewed for a second hilarious season! You can also watch it on Hulu.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Silver Line trolley returns to San Diego!

The nostalgic Silver Line trolley has returned to San Diego!

I saw historic, restored PCC streetcar 529 pulling into America Plaza this morning, and I had to jump aboard. The old trolley cars that run in the downtown Silver Line loop are definitely a very cool San Diego sight!

The Silver Line resumed service today after not running for most of the COVID-19 pandemic. I learned the line will be operating on weekends from this point forward.

I want to give a special shout out to the driver and another MTS employee on the streetcar during my ride. A distressed passenger at one station informed the driver she’d been accidentally separated from some of her belongings. As I looked on from a seat in back, the attentive, friendly MTS guys immediately got on the phone and quickly resolved the situation! The belongings had been found and awaited the passenger at the next station, under guard of an MTS Ambassador! I don’t know the name of the trolley driver, but he and his buddy are totally awesome!

If you like historic old streetcars, watch for the distinctive Silver Line cars running in a loop downtown and jump aboard!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!