Cable Cars, Top Attraction in San Francisco

While creating the list of San Francisco most popular attractions, the cables car is on top. An antique of 20^th century’s streetcars are still in operation and it may look like they were especially made for tourists. Both tourists and natives in San Francisco have done it every day.

San Francisco’s cable cars history stars from 1852, when a wire-rope factory owner Andrew Smith Hallidie (born in England) came to California and stayed in there. He was a gold miner. During his period he saw streetcar accident causing the death of five horses. At that time the horses were used to draw the street cars. The heavy load becomes the cause of death. He decided to use wire-ropes for pulling cars in mines and build the first cable car in San Francisco.

The first cable San Francisco car, also known as the Clay Street Hill Railroad, opened in 1873. Become a model for other San Francisco cable car transit systems and for similar transit systems in other cities such as city of Chicago opened its own cable car service in 1882, and city of Dunedin of New Zealand followed suit in 1881. Most of them switched to electric streetcars in late 19^th century.

In early nineteenth century earthquake caused the decline of cable cars and most of them converted into electric streetcars. In 1947 Mayor Roger Lapham proposed to close the cable car system. But a joint meeting of committee formed a successful campaign to save the cable car system and keep them in operation. In 1951 though, several lines were shut down, leading to the three Cable lines, due to shortage of funds and company was unable to afford the insurance, so the lines were purchased by city and opened them in 1952, but failed to protect them. Plan was created to convert them with buses. Between 1980 –1984, a deplorable form cable car system was rebuilt with renovated cars.

Currently the cable car network consists of three, Powell Mason (runs over Nob Hill, and Russian Hill, while ends up at Aquatic Park), Powell Hyde (runs over Nob Hill to Fisherman’s Wharf), and California lines (runs from the Financial District over Chinatown, Nob Hill to the Van Ness Avenue). The first two start at a turntable (a circular revolving plate) at Market & Powell Streets and use single-ended cars while the last one starts at Market & Drumm Streets.

In the Cable Car Museum is also a place to watch or visit. Here you can see the mechanism of engines, cables, gears and brakes that pull the cable cars. The cables are 3.1 centimeters (1.25 inches) thick and several kilometers long.

Riding a cable car is so cheap it only costs $ 7 for a single ride, a special discount for seniors riding before 7am or after 9pm the fare for seniors is only $3.