Cable car
-We can start our conversation about the cable car by saying:
- Cable cars are public transportation vehicles that move along cables laid under city streets.
- They are pulled by an underground cable system powered by large engines.
- Cable cars were invented in the late 19th century as an alternative to steam locomotives on steep hills.
- The first cable car system was installed in San Francisco in 1873.
-History of the cable car:
- 1873 – Andrew Halliday invented the first cable car system in San Francisco after seeing a horse-drawn carriage struggling up a steep hill.
- In the 1880s – Cable car systems spread to more than a dozen other American cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, and Los Angeles.
- In the 1940s and 1950s – many of the cable car systems were dismantled and replaced by streetcars/electric buses, with only San Francisco remaining as a daily transit system.
- In 1984, San Francisco’s cable car system was declared a National Historic Landmark.
-Design and method of operation:
- The cables pass through a slot between the railway tracks and are held in place by pulleys in the cable car.
- The moving cable is powered by large motors and motors located in a central power station.
- Cable cars have a mechanism that grabs and releases the cable to start and stop the car.
- Brakes are used to control the speed of the cable car.
- Cable cars require two operators – one to drive and one to collect fares and manage stops.
-Fun facts about the cable car:
- San Francisco’s cable cars are the only mobile US National Historic Landmarks.
- Cable cars do not use any on-board power – the cars are constantly pulled by cable.
- The cables move at a constant speed of 9.5 mph. The grip slows and accelerates the car relative to that rate.
- Maintaining San Francisco’s cable car system costs about $6 million annually.
- In short, cable cars are distinctive vehicles that operate on constantly moving underground cables and have a rich history as an early urban transportation system.
- It provides a unique transportation experience today in the hilly streets of San Francisco.
