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 A Tour on San Francisco's Cable Cars Posted by:  DougK
N 37° 47.083 W 122° 24.461
10S E 552156 N 4182094
San Francisco's Cable Cars provide a marvelous way to tour some of the city's sights and at the same time giving a idea of what it was like in the past when these cars were the primary mode of transportation.
Waymark Code: WM6X13
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/30/2009
Views: 78
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San Francisco's cable cars are the only remaining cable cars in the world. They are also the only moving National Landmark!
The inventor of the cable car, Andrew Hallidie, conceived the idea in 1873 after witnessing an accident on the hills of San Francisco. A horse-drawn carriage was going up a steep hill when the team faltered and the carriage rolled backward downhill, dragging the horses behind it.
Cable cars are propelled by "gripping" a continuously moving steel cable which runs in a conduit underneath a slot between the rails. The cable is kept in motion by an engine in a centrally-located powerhouse.
Hallidie's cable cars changed the way people in San Francisco lived, making it possible for people to live on the steep hills. By the 1890s, eight transit companies operated 21 routes over 50 miles in the city. They remained the primary form of tranportation until the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 destroyed most of the system.
There are three cable car lines remaining in San Francisco, the Powell-Mason, the Powell-Hyde and the California line. Both Powell lines start in Hallidie Plaza at Powell and Market Street downtown. Both of the Powell line use cable cars that only have gripping controls at one end. Thus, the cars have to be turned around at each end of the line to keep the gripping equipment at the front.
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The Powell-Hyde line runs north from the Powell/Market turntable and runs over Nob and Russion Hill before ending at Aquatic Park near Ghiradelli Square, near Fisherman's Wharf.
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Powell-Market Turntable
The turntable that is used to manually turn the cable cars around and reverse the direction.
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Powell-Hyde Cable Car
Here a Powell-Hyde cable car is leaving the Powell & Market turntable.
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Hyde Street Terminus
The Powell-Hyde line ends at the Hyde Street Turntable, near Aquatic Park.
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Klussman Turnaround
The Turntable is named after Friedel Klussman, who was instrumental in saving the remaining cable car lines in 1947 and again in 1952.
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The Powell-Mason line also runs north from the Powell/Market turntable, goes up and over Nob Hill and down to Bay Street at Fisherman's Wharf. Both of these lines end near Fisherman's Wharf, but at different areas and they get there by different routes.
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Powell-Mason Car
Here a Powell-Mason Car is being turned around at the Powell/Market Turntable, the southern terminal for this line.
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Powell-Mason Car
Here a Powell-Mason Car is being turned around at the Taylor and Bay Turntable, the northern terminal for this line.
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Transamerica Building
The Powell-Mason line travels closer to downtown San Francisco, where the Transamerica building can be seen.
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Cable Car Museum
Both the Powell-Mason and Powell Hyde lines pass the Cable Car Museum, where the motors to drive the cables reside.
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Wheels driving the Cable
The Cable Car Museum and Barn also house the motors and giant wheels pulling the cables under the street for all three lines.
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Cable Car Undercarriage
Here in the museum is the undercarriage of a cable car, showing the wheels and braking system.
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The California line runs east-west from the Financial District, through Chinatown, over Nob Hill and stops at Van Ness Avenue. This line does not have turntables at either end of the line. The cars on this line are different, in that the car has gripping handles at both ends so the gripman can operate the car from either end. When the cable car reaches the endpoints of the line, the gripman simply walks to the other end of the car and drives the car in the opposite direction.
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A California Line Cable Car
These cars can be driven from either end and do not need to be turned at the end of the line.
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California Cable Cars Waiting
Cars stack up in a queue at the downtown end of the line until they are released for travel.
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Control Station
All three cable car lines cross at California and Powell Streets. A small building houses a cable car official, who watches over the busy cable car traffic crossing in both directions.
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A Gripman
Pictured here is a gripman operating a cable car. Ringing the cable car bell and making jokes to entertain the tourists are some of his other duties.
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Powell Street Stop
One can catch either of the Powell lines cable cars at a stop displaying one of these signs.
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California Street Stop
One can catch the California lines cable car at a stop displaying one of these signs.
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Name of Source Book: 1000 Places To See Before You Die
Page Location in Source Book: P. 581-582
Type of Waymark: City
Location of Coordinates: Powell Street and Market Street Turntable
Cost of Admission (Parks, Museums, etc.): 11.00 (listed in local currency)
List Available Hours, Dates, Season:
Cable Cars Run Every Day from about 6AM until 1AM
A pass to ride all day currently costs $11
Official Tourism Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Because of the vastness of many of the "non-localized" sites (Gobi Desert, Great Wall of China), waymark owners are encouraged to allow visits that reflect different perspectives and experiences.
Localized waymark sites (Structures, Landmarks, Businesses) should reflect standard waymarking visit criteria (Logs & photos).
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