San Francisco Railway Museum
San Francisco Railway Museum
4
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The San Francisco Railway museum is the place to learn about the antique streetcars and national landmark cable cars that regularly run along the city's main arteries, and how rail transportation shaped development of the city. The museum is located at the Steuart Street F-line stop, half a block south of Market St., catty-corner from the Ferry Building, and only steps away from the California St. Cable Car terminal. Admission to the museum is free.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Top ways to experience San Francisco Railway Museum and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Neighborhood: Downtown San Francisco
How to get there
- Embarcadero • 3 min walk
- Embarcadero • 5 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
3,630 within 3 miles
Attractions
1,046 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
114 reviews
Excellent
38
Very good
46
Average
22
Poor
6
Terrible
2
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.
Frank dB
Arnhem, The Netherlands1,390 contributions
Sep 2024 • Couples
You can't call this a train museum with dry eyes. It's more like a shop around San Francisco's streetcars, with some nice historical movies and some information boards. There is no entrance charge, so if you are in the area it is worth a short visit.
Automatically translated
Written September 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
zendude
New Jersey51 contributions
Oct 2022
Small cozy museum and gift shop. Great for taking your time exploring the history of S.F. railways. Very friendly staff. Highly recommend for train lovers of all ages.
Written February 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PCCHQ
Yorkshire, UK144 contributions
Apr 2015 • Couples
The F Line Market Street trams stop right outside this museum and I recommend you jump off and pay a (free) visit. This is a small museum crammed with history, artefacts and informative displays. There is also a full size replica of a 1911 streetcar drivers platform - you can pretend you are actually driving. There are also lots of things to buy as a souvenir of San Francisco and its streetcars. Visitors from UK will be delighted to find out about the two Blackpool trams bought by SF to run on the F Line. The rolling stock consists of trams and streetcars from all over the USA (and Blackpool) and there is in fact only one original SF streetcar still running. Well worth a visit, as is riding the F Line between Castro and Fishermans Wharf
Written May 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rickmen
82 contributions
Sep 2019 • Couples
Not much bigger than a gift shop the displays were informative and the manager was every helpful in explaining the difference between a streetcar and trolley. I learnt something new today. Free entry always a bonus.
Written September 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
charlie1107
Cornwall65 contributions
Aug 2019
What a great find this was! Came across the museum by chance as we had stopped at One Market for lunch and saw the museum when waiting for a streetcar back to Fisherman’s Wharf.
It is only small but has loads of information about the streetcar system in San Francisco and also the streetcars from around the world now running along Embarcadero and Market.
There’s a mock-up of the controls which you can experience: perfect for kids both big and small where the staff explain everything and encourage use of the bell.
The biggest plus point for the museum are without doubt the staff who are all really friendly, extremely knowledgable and available to guide you wherever and whenever required without bein* at all overbearing.
Even picked up some tips for our drive south on highway 1 and a great little train ride from Santa Cruz.
Definitely worth a visit whether you are mad about streetcars or just have an interest.
It is only small but has loads of information about the streetcar system in San Francisco and also the streetcars from around the world now running along Embarcadero and Market.
There’s a mock-up of the controls which you can experience: perfect for kids both big and small where the staff explain everything and encourage use of the bell.
The biggest plus point for the museum are without doubt the staff who are all really friendly, extremely knowledgable and available to guide you wherever and whenever required without bein* at all overbearing.
Even picked up some tips for our drive south on highway 1 and a great little train ride from Santa Cruz.
Definitely worth a visit whether you are mad about streetcars or just have an interest.
Written August 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve40_12
Worcester, UK160 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
We visited the railway museum to have a look at the history of the trams and cable cars of San Francisco.
Very disappointing to say the least it has a number of old photographs on the wall and some text telling you about the history and that was that. Oh they did have a cab of a street car. We were in and out in 5 minutes it was really disappointing.
Very disappointing to say the least it has a number of old photographs on the wall and some text telling you about the history and that was that. Oh they did have a cab of a street car. We were in and out in 5 minutes it was really disappointing.
Written March 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your comment. Our organization's focus has always been on enabling visitors and residents to actually EXPERIENCE AND RIDE real vintage streetcars in their natural habitat -- the street -- rather than merely gazing at them as static displays in a room. These "museums in motion" run by our front door every day, and we use our modest space to interpret their history and meaning to our city. We are sorry that you didn't find our free museum of adequate interest to you. We hope you rode the actual streetcars (and cable cars, which we also support). That's why we exist.
Written March 4, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
IanfaeAiberdeen
Aberdeen, UK55 contributions
Jun 2017 • Couples
If you are into trams, take the F streetcar (they have cars from a number of different cities and we rode on cars from Milan and San Diego) to this little, free museum. If it's quiet (it was when we were there), a very knowledgeable member of staff can show you how to drive the car (it's only the platform and doesn't move). There is a good deal of information on the walls, though a lot of it is about the replacement of streetcars by buses, which doesn't make much sense in a museum called a Railway Museum.
Still, well worth the entry money! They suggest a donation of $4, which I gladly paid.
Still, well worth the entry money! They suggest a donation of $4, which I gladly paid.
Written June 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wayne G
San Diego, CA205 contributions
May 2015 • Couples
We enjoyed the historic artifacts in the museum. It's easily accessed at the end of Market Street. Kids loved the museum.
It has pictures and books and even the front of a trolley to let everyone see how they operate. Our attendant was very knowledgeable and helpful with our questions. I am sure you will learn much from a visit here.
It has pictures and books and even the front of a trolley to let everyone see how they operate. Our attendant was very knowledgeable and helpful with our questions. I am sure you will learn much from a visit here.
Written May 15, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jason S
Washington DC, DC29 contributions
It was completely worth stopping to see! I didn't even know about this museum until we took a ride on one of the historic streetcars. The line map had a notation about it, so we decided to get off one stop next to the ferry terminal. First, it is literally just next-door to the ferry terminal so the one-stop did not make a distance difference. Second, the museum has free admission. Finally, the exhibits are very informative, and there is a small area in the back for kids to interact with real streetcar equipment. The small size of the museum meant that the kids could play with that streetcar equipment, while the parents read all of the information around the museum. Everything is laid out very modern way, with lots of good graphics and text/video.
Written April 23, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wwm
Nottingham, England19 contributions
Apr 2015 • Couples
Yes, yes, I know everybody loves the cable cars but my favourite transport round SF was the F-Line. I loved seeing where each car had come from and how they all varied in design. We spotted and popped into the SF Railway Museum on our last day. Its a great little gem! Lots of interesting history on how & why the streetcar lines were created, how transportation round the city has changed through the years and how the team of volunteers, along with Muni staff keep it all running now. Some great little items available to pick up at reasonable prices too. Lovely.
Written April 20, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing