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CABLE CARS: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF, USA (2001) |
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Cable cars were the brainchild of Briton, Andrew Hallidie, who emigrated from the UK to America in 1852. In 1869, Hallidie saw how difficult it was for a five-horse team to pull a heavy street car up one of San Francisco's steep hills. Hallidie had been working with his father in Britain manufacturing wire rope, and he realised that a moving wire rope under the road could be used to haul street cars up and down the steep streets of San Francisco. By 1873, the first cable car began service with the Clay Street line. The cable cars were an immediate hit and eventually 600 cars were ferrying San Franciscans around 120 miles of city streets. The Great Quake of 1906 nearly destroyed the entire city and many lines were never rebuilt. Today however, tourists can still hitch a ride with nearly 40 cars that travel on 10 miles of railway. San Francisco citizens have fought several battles to make sure cable cars weren't totally replaced with modern transportation. Visitors can board the cars at stops or jump on and hold onto a railing while the cars bump along up and down San Francisco's famous hills. In
1964 San Francisco's current cable car system was designated a special, "moving"
National Historic Landmark. The present cable car system underwent a complete overhaul that took two
years in the early 1980s. There are curerently three cable car routes,
with mostly the original vintage cars covering the main tourist attractions of the city.
These
photographs were taken in August 2001. |
Car 15 Marking its way to Fisherman's Wharf with passengers famously riding on the outside.
Car 1
1 with its load of visitors enjoying the ride.
Car 16 about to set off from Fisherman's Wharf.
Interior of one of the cars, showing the handles
that grab the cable to pull the car along the street.Close Up of the cable engagement mechanism.
Car 15 again, rapidly descending one of the hills.
View of one of the streets leading down to the harbour, showing the rails and the central cable grip slot.
Car 12 at Fisherman's Wharf terminus.
Car 12 on the turntable, which is manually rotated.
Giving the "shove" to car 12 ready for its return journey.
The final push to get the rails lined up.
Car 3 with passengers hoping to board.
Car 3 moving off with a guy videoing me photographing him!
Car 23 in the siding at Fisherman's Wharf.
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© Copyright M J Smith, 2001-2009
No photographs to be reproduced elsewhere without permission.
