While creating the list of San Francisco most popular
attractions, the cables car is on top. An antique of 20th 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 19th 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.
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