December 30, 1979.
Forty years ago I had a fleeting glimpse of Mexico City’s streetcar system.
By the time of my December 1979 visit, all of the traditional streetcar lines in the downtown area were out of service. However, PCC cars remained in service on a pair of peripheral lines on the south-side of the city that connected at the end of a Metro Line.
I regret not having the opportunity to travel on the trolleys, but at least I got to see and photograph them.
![](https://i0.wp.com/briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Mexico_City_PCCw_moray_pattern_©Brian_Solomon_540048.jpg?resize=474%2C320)
![](https://i0.wp.com/briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Mexico_City_PCCs_Dec1979_©Brian_Solomon_540049.jpg?resize=474%2C289)
![](https://i0.wp.com/briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Streetcar_tracks_Mexico_City_Dec1979©Brian_Solomon_538026.jpg?resize=474%2C333)
For me this sunset view of Mexico City street trackage is a symbolic photograph, and yet one that has haunted my imagination for decades. Technically speaking it is a poor photo; under exposed and the last frame on a roll of Kodachrome with the right side effectively cropped by the tape used during processing. I’ve cleaned up the slide a little for better presentation here.
Sometimes those scenes we only glimpse stick in our imagination more than those that we were immersed in. Do you remember that 1960s song recorded by Vashti Bunyan ‘Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind’?
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