I have to admit, it bugs me when people call a streetcar a bus. Don’t they know the difference? Rubber tires versus steel wheels. It’s not that hard. But I get it. Most people aren’t thinking about the mechanics. They’re just getting from point A to point B.

Still, this isn’t about them. It’s about me. And I’m a rail nerd. The N-Judah? That’s a streetcar. Technically, it’s light rail. Or the metro. But I’ve been riding it since I was a toddler. Took it every day in middle school. No yellow school buses for me. So yeah, I call it a streetcar. Always have, always will.

Nerds get obsessive. We live for the details. Did you know two of the old Boeing light rail cars had trolley poles for testing? Or that an original PCC streetcar was fitted with a pantograph just to see how it’d work in the subway? This is the stuff that makes our eyes light up.

So no, I won’t correct you if you call it a bus. But if you say “streetcar,” just know – you’ve made my day.