With the forthcoming death of several MUNI lines, I suppose transit is on the brain. More after the jump…
I found the above image in a publication called the San Francisco Call, Volume 77, Number 167, 26 May 1895 [PDF]. Here’s the text from the associated article:
FOR SAVING LIFE.
Another Fender Invented Which Fits Directly on to the Truck of the Streetcar.Frank Hoffman and John Dahl have invented a car-fender which seems to possess considerable merit. Tha arrangement has been submitted to the railroad companies, Model of a Streetcar Fender, who report that, although the invention is a good one, it is too expensive. The two inventors propose to take the fender before the Board of Supervisors.
The fender is designed to fit upon the car truck. It is made of iron throughout, and is so designed that when the front portion strikes an obstruction two lids fall down, thus preventing the body passing under the wheels. The faster the car goes, it is claimed, the quicker will the obstruction be moved off the track. There is also provided an arrangement of wires, which is designed to prevent the body going over the truck.
The Call published from 1836 until 1913, when it was bought by William Randolph Hearst, who merged it with the Evening Post. In 1965, it merged with the Examiner. It employed Mark Twain between 1863 and ’64.
