Cable cars are popular subjects for toys and other collectible items. Click on each
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A California Street Cable Railroad token.
From the San Francisco News, 02-Aug-1951. Accompanying text:
"This, kiddies, is a token, good for one ride on the California Street Cable Railroad Co. It
isn't worth a plugged nickel today, because those cables just aren't running... Dr. John Haman, harassed
physician who is president of Cal Cables, said the line could resume operations only if its insurance -
canceled by Lloyds of London after a waitress, injured in an accident, won a $140,000 judgement -
could be renewed."
(Source: San Francisco
Public Library, San Francisco Historical Photograph
Collection, AAC-8116).
In 2002, Muni offered a "San Francisco Cable Car
Collectors' Series", which included a $2.00 ticket for
a cable car ride and a postcard with an historic image
and photos of the construction of Powell Street car 19.
San Francisco Cable Car Collectors' Series card 01 has
a photo of a Clay Street Hill Railroad train.
San Francisco Cable Car Collectors' Series card 02 has
a photo of the old Ferry Building with cable cars and horsecars.
San Francisco Cable Car Collectors' Series card 03 has
a photo of a Sutter Street train.
San Francisco Cable Car Collectors' Series card 04 has
a photo of a Sutter Street grip car near Powell.
San Francisco Cable Car Collectors' Series card 06 has
a photo of a Sutter Street grip car and trailer 54, currently preserved at Washington and Mason,
on the twin turntables at the end of the Sutter Street line.
San Francisco Cable Car Collectors' Series card 08 has
a photo of Powell Street car 505 meeting 528 at Powell and California.
Bachman HO Powell-Mason car 4. My in-laws bought one like this for me to run
under the Christmas tree. Notice that it has a Carter roof, rather
than a Bombay roof. Main page picture 2004.
Bachman HO Powell-Mason car 3 under the Christmas tree, 2003.
A video showing Bachman HO Powell-Mason car 3 under the Christmas tree, 2006.
Gripman Val Lupiz pointed out that my HO Scale gripman
would have been in big trouble if he met an HO Scale inspector while running at this
speed. Sorry the image is a little dark. Click arrow button to play video. (Adobe Flash
is required. Some browsers will require two clicks to start the video.)
See more videos on my Cable Car Video page.
Powell Street cable car 26 runs by the airport on the Bay Area Garden Railways Association's
G-gauge layout during the 2006 Labor Day Washington Township Railroad Fair at Ardenwood Historic
Farm in Fremont. Learn more about Ardenwood Farm on my
Park Trains and Tourist Trains site. September, 2006.
My favorite toy cable car, Number 512. I bought it at a shop on Grant Avenue during the
Seventies. I noticed in the store that it was painted in the pre-1944 colors of the Market
Street Railway. It is made of tin. It has a friction motor and a bell that rings when it
rolls. Main page picture 1998-1999.
A front view of toy cable car 512. Main page picture 2009.
A detail view of toy cable car 512.
I have had this toy cable car, Number 504, since I was a child. I vaguely remember that it
came in a box covered with pictures of cable cars. It is made of tin. It has a friction
motor and a bell that rings when it rolls. Main page picture 2000.
Another toy Number 504, with standing figures. Main page picture 2007.
Detail of passengers and crew member on 504. I would guess the guy in
blue is supposed to be the gripman, but he is standing outside of the bench.
The guy with the glasses would not be allowed to stand where he is on a
real cable car. Main page picture 2008.
This version of Number 504 is made of plastic. Made in the 1980's.
This toy cable car, Number 514, has an interesting variety of passengers.
A detail view of Number 514. Main page picture 2006.
A large view of the left-hand side of toy cable car 514.
A large view of the right-hand side of toy cable car 514.
A large view of the bottom of toy cable car 514. The front truck, on the right, has the friction
mechanism.
A front view of Number 514. I would stay out of this gripman's way.
Note the headlight. Main page picture 2002.
The rear platform of Number 514. Note the light. There isn't a brake
handle.
It took toy cable car manufacturers a while to catch up with two changes to the Powell Street cable cars:
1) the colors changing from green to red; 2) the numbers moving out of the 500 series. Car
28 car reflects both changes. Main page picture 2005.
This toy cable car, Number 51, is an unusual example of a toy California Street car.
Almost all toy cable cars represent Powell Street cars. It is made of lithographed tin.
Main page picture 2001.
This wood and metal toy cable car, Number 4, is another
rare example of a toy California Street car. Main page picture 2003.
My family gave me this Department 56 model car for Christmas, 2006. Note that the
right-hand bench extends all the way to the front of the cabin bulkhead.
This toy cable car, Number 501, is made of plastic.
Plastic toy cable car, Number 501, poses on top of its box.
Another view of plastic toy cable car, Number 501, posing on top of its box. Main page picture 2010.
A cachet issued in 1973 for the cable car centennial.
A cachet issued in 1978 for the California Street Cable Railroad
centennial. April, 2003 Picture of the Month.
A cachet issued in 1988 for the Melbourne cable tram centennial.
A cachet issued in 1990 for the 50th anniversary of the closing of Melbourne's cable trams.
A cachet issued on 03-June-2002 for the opening of the Portland
cable tram.
A cachet issued in 1972 for the 70th anniversary of the
opening of the Great Orme Tramway in Llandudno, Wales.
A cable car stamp issued in 1988 as one of a series of transportation
themes (no thumbnail).
Dunedin, NZ's Roslyn Tramway issued this stamp for the parcels that it carried. Not
many cable lines carried freight or parcels. Note the description: Dunedin did have
the first cable railway outside the USA, and the first pull curve, but it was not a
"gas cable" system.
The cover of the September 29, 1945 Saturday Evening Post, featuring a view of car
515 on Washington Street (Thank you, Mike Fong). The illustration is by Mead Schaeffer.
The cover of a 1986 Giants Magazine, featuring rookie first baseman
Will Clark riding on a California Street cable car. Clark went on to have a
fine career in the majors, retiring after the 2000 season. April (Spring),
2001 Picture of the Quarter.
The cover of Downbeat for 10-Nov-1960 featured a collection of
jazz musicians posed on a Powell Street cable car. They include
Vernon Alley (with the string bass), piansts Earl "Fatha" Hines and Teddy
Wilson, Pony Poindexter (holding a saxophone), saxophonist Virgil
Gonsalves, pianist Vince Guaraldi (with the glasses and distinctive
moustache), singer Bev Kelly, guitarist Wes Montgomery, Brew Moore
(also holding a saxophone), clarinetist Paul Desmond,
actress and singer Sylvia Syms, and trombonists Kid Ory and Turk Murphy.
April, 2005 Picture of the Month.
A 1926 magazine advertisment for International Harvester trucks, showing a truck climbing the
California Street hill in front of a cable car. The ad includes a testimonial from the
Union Ice Company.
A magazine advertisment for Californians, Inc, an organization that
promoted tourism. It features car 519 on the turntable at Powell and
Market. The ad may be from the late 1940's.
Smaller version. April, 2004 Picture of the Month.
A 1953 magazine advertisment for the Chevy Two-Ten, showing a car climbing the
Powell Street hill in front of car 505.
A 1954 Bank of America magazine ad shows a California Street cable car.
A 1954 magazine advertisment for United Airlines.
A 1959 magazine advertisment for Old Crow Kentucky bourbon whiskey.
A 1960 Bank of America magazine ad.
A 1961 magazine advertisment for the San Francisco Cable Car Room on the California Zephyr.
A 1968 magazine advertisment for the Saint Francis Hotel features car 507.
A 1986 magazine advertisment promotes San Francisco as "A Feast for the Senses". Notice the number 51 on the
front of the California Street cable car. This is not Muni practice.
A program from the 10-July-1984 All Star Game, held at Candlestick Park. It shows various
San Francisco icons, including a cable car, the Golden Gate Bridge, Willie McCovey
(honorary caption of the National League team), Willy Mays, and Juan Marichal. The National
League won, 3-1.
A rare ad for Chicago Cable brand Havana cigars. I don't usually do tobacco ads, but
I thought this one was neat.
A menu from the San Francisco Cable Car Room lounge on the California Zephyr, the Western
Pacific's vista domed luxury train to San Francisco. The picture looks down California
Street from Mason. A Powell Street car crosses in the background. April, 2000 Picture of the
Month.
A souvenir menu from the beloved Buena Vista Cafe at Hyde and
Beach. In 1952, the Buena Vista introduced the Irish Coffee to America.
A Stan Galli poster for United Airlines.
A label from a crate of Nob Hill Pears. The picture shows stylized versions of the Fairmont
Hotel, Old Saint Mary's, and the Mark Hopkins Hotel.
A later label from a crate of Nob Hill fruit. Note the zip code, indicating that it is from
the 1960's or later.
A San Francisco Giants 2007 promotional poster showing second year right-hander
Matt Cain and a cable car.
Knott's Berry Farm operated battery powered former
San Francisco cable cars as parking lot trams from 1955 to 1979. This Knott's paper
plate shows car 59.
A sheet music cover for "The Cable Car Song" by Bethel Melvin. It was published in 1947
by Wesley Webster, 245 Clement Street, San Francisco.
A sheet music cover for "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by George Cory and Douglass
Cross. At one time I was very tired of this song, but I've always loved Tony Bennet.
The cover of the album Originals and Ragtimes by trumpet player Lu Watters'
Yerba Buena Jazz Band features a California Street cable car at Stockton. Watters led
the San Francisco area Traditional Jazz revival in the early 1940's. Many of his
associates, particularly Turk Murphy and Bob Scobey, went on to lead successful bands.
The YBJB had a powerful punch. I've always enjoyed their music. (No thumbnail)
The cover of an album by trumpet player Bob Scobey's Frisco (ugh) Jazz Band
features a caricatured cable car. Scobey was a former member of Lu Watters' Yerba
Buena Jazz Band. Scobey died in 1962.
Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982), great American composer and piano player, posing on
Powell/Hyde cable car 526 (now 26) on the cover of his album Thelonious Monk Alone
in San Francisco. He liked San Francisco.
A poster for Strictly Bluegrass 2, held in Speedway Meadow, Golden
Gate Park, on 05- and 06-Oct-2002. The motorized cable car is
decorated to resemble an Okie family's truck.
A Bill Graham Presents promotional pass for an 02-Dec-1981 appearance by Journey at San
Francisco's Cow Palace at a Save the Cable Cars benefit. Loverboy was scheduled as the
opening act, but cancelled at the last minute. I wasn't a fan of Journey, but they did a
nice thing for the cable car reconstruction project.
Kitty Margolis' grandfather was the late Samuel Kahn, president for nearly two decades
until 1946 of San Francisco’s Market Street Railway. During his tenure the company operated
five cable car lines. For today’s jazz audience, Kitty Margolis is the heir to the great
Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Anita O'Day in that she is the keeper of the tradition
of the art of using sounds and syllables to improvise a melody. The cover shown is from
her debut release, Live at the Jazz Workshop. Kitty is the daughter of the late "Patsy"
Margolis, Samuel Kahn’s younger of two daughters. More information can be found on Kitty’s web
site, www.kittymargolis.com. Walter Rice
In the 1970's, KFRC, 610 AM, was one of the two big Top 40 radio stations in San Francisco.
Here is a top 30 survey from 30-Mar-1972, featuring a stylized cable car and DJ Steve Lundy
on the cover. The number one single was "A Horse With No Name" by America.
A pin from the San Francisco Planet Hollywood, which has closed, showing a cable car and the
Golden Gate Bridge (no thumbnail).
The San Francisco Giants issued this pin during their ill-fated Earthquake
Series against the Oakland Athletics in 1989.
The Democrats held their convention at Moscone Center in San Francisco in 1984. This button
shows nominee Walter Mondale, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Senator Gary
Hart, superimposed on Car One.
The Republicans held their convention at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in
1964. This badge was issued to a "Pre Convention Tour Guide".
A nickle plated clothes button, possibly from a Philadelphia Traction Company
uniform, with what may be a round-ended cable car. The backmark reads "Geo. Evans &
Co/Philadelphia". (No thumbnail)
The LaSalle Street powerhouse of the North Chicago Street Railroad
was "Michael Jordan's The Restaurant(tm)" for many years. This is an advertising magnet
(No thumbnail). February, 2010 Picture of the Month.
This is an advertising pin for "Michael Jordan's The Restaurant(tm)", which was in the
LaSalle Street powerhouse of the North Chicago Street Railroad
(No thumbnail).
The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society issued this coin in 1973 to celebrate
the centennial of the cable car. The front shows a Clay Street Hill train. The back shows
contemporary California Street and Powell Street cable cars.
Citizens Federal Savings issued this metal bank in the shape of a cable car
to commemorate its 75th Anniversary. The bottom reads "Citizens Federal Savings,
San Francisco, Oakland, Palo Alto, 75th Anniversary, 1885-1960".
Many people are dedicated to collecting floaty pens. This one portrays a California Street
car on the hill, and a Powell Street car on the turntable at the bottom. (No thumbnail)
A 1962 Aladdin Cable Car lunch box and thermos bottle. I don't own one of these, but I wish
I did. Suckers will pay a lot of money for this set.
Wrappers for Cable Car brand gum, bubble gum, and candy. People even collect junk like this.
Sales representatives for cable manufacturer Broderick and
Bascome gave paperweights like this to prospective customers in
the late 1890's. May, 2000 Picture of the Month.
A souvenir piece of Cal Cable cable. April, 2010 Picture of the Month.
The front and back of an engraved matchbox commemorating the
end of cable trams in Melbourne.
An ashray made in occupied Japan.
A matchbook from Cable Car Steaks at 45 Powell. Note the prices.
A telephone made to resemble (vaguely) a cable car.
A Christopher Radko Christmas tree ornament, made in Poland.
Walter Rice recently found this souvenir magnet at Sóller on the Spanish island of
Mallorca. It depicts Sóller’s famous Hyde Street cable car and the tower of landmark
Ghirardelli Square. All rights reserved.
