The Grip at the Cable Car Museum - San Francisco, CA
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tatie
N 37° 47.680 W 122° 24.689
10S E 551814 N 4183196
The Grip at the Cable Car Museum - San Francisco, CA
Waymark Code: WMKGHW
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 04/12/2014
Views: 14
Cable Cars in San Francisco opened in 1873. You will see the driver handling this grip to make the car move or stop.
This grip is on display at the Cable Car Museum, located at 1201 Mason Street,San Francisco, CA.
"The grip is what makes the cable car move, as it is the link between the car itself and the moving cable under the street.
The grip is attached to the floor of the car by a solid carry bar. The outer portions of the grip are composed of a center plate, crotch, and shank plates. When the center plate is lowered by the gripman pulling on the lever, hinges fastened to it are forced by rollers to smoothly tighten two semi-cylindrical dies against the cable, in a vise-like grip. This starts the car moving smoothly and pressure can be adjusted by the gripman pulling back or releasing the lever, which can also be adjusted to accommodate steep grades where more pressure is required.
The gripman can also adjust the lever to not only grip and release the cable, but also keep the cable in the grip but running free, by moving the lever to a halfway point on the quadrant. This is used when the car stops to let passengers on and off. A sand plate at the bottom of the grip protects the mechanism and also plays a role in guiding the grip around a pull curve.
The dies themselves take a lot of wear and tear and so are replaced at regular intervals of 3 to 4 days."
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