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Collision at McAllister and Fillmore - a 1905 Newspaper Article
Cut Down By the Ruthless Cable Car
19th Century Magazine Articles
Miscellaneous Articles About Cable Cars
Northern California Funiculars
Cable-Driven Automated People Movers
250 years ago - 1775
Apr 19 - British Redcoats and American Minutemen exchanged the first shots of the American Revolution in Lexington, Massachusetts. Eight Americans died and the Minutemen ran. The British marched towards Concord, planning to seize arms stored by the colonials.
Apr 19 - British Redcoats found and destroyed some of the colonial arms hidden in Concord, Massachusetts. When the British prepared to leave, they found that hundreds of Minutemen had gathered. The British ran for Boston, suffering 273 casualties before a rescue party reached them.
May 10 - The Second Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia.
Jun 15 - George Washington received command of the Continental Army.
Jun 17 - The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on Breed's Hill near Boston, Massachusetts.
150 years ago - 1850
May 1 - Alcalde John White Geary, later a general in the Civil War, was sworn in as
the first Mayor of San Francisco
May 4 - The Second Great Fire destroyed the entire block bounded by Kearny, Clay,
Montgomery and Washington
Jun 14 - The Third Great Fire destroyed the area between Clay and California
from Kearny to the waterfront
Sep 9 - California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state
Sep 17 - The Fourth Great Fire destroyed the area bounded by Dupont, Montgomery,
Washington and Pacific
Oct 18 - The Steamer Oregon arrived with news that California had been
admitted to the Union
150 years ago - 1875
Sep 9 - Actress Lotta Crabtree dedicated Lotta's Fountain to the citizens of San Francisco
at the intersection of Geary, Kearny and Market streets
??? ?? - The old Ferry Building opened at the foot of Market Street
125 years ago - 1900
Mar 28 - Denver City Cable Company (Denver, Colorado) West Denver line converted to electricity
Mar 29 - Denver City Cable Company (Denver, Colorado) Welton line converted to electricity
Apr 01 - Denver City Cable Company (Denver, Colorado) Larimer line converted to electricity
Apr 24 - Andrew Smith Hallidie died
May 02 - Grand Avenue Railway (Kansas City, Missouri) converted its Westport line to electricity
Sep 04 - Front Street Cable Railway (Seattle, Washington) converted to electricity. The section on Queen Anne Hill was converted to a counterbalance.
Oct 08 - St Louis Railroad (St Louis, Missouri) converted to electricity
Oct 30 - Metropolitan Street Railway (Kansas City, Missouri) converted its 18th-19th Street line to electricity
? - New South Wales Government Tramways (Sydney, Australia) converted to electricity
? - Kaikorai Tramway (Dundein, New Zealand) opened
New York Giants record: 60-78, 8th place. Managers: Buck Ewing, George Davis.
100 years ago - 1925
Jul 01 - Market Street Railway Castro cable car no. 2 was fitted with a cable grip and brakes operated by air. The company felt that air grips could displace the present "unwieldy manually operated grip, give more space and convenience for passengers, and materially lighten the work of gripmen." A second Castro cable car No. 6 received the air grip and braking system on July 16, 1925.
New York Giants record: 93-60, 1st place. The Giants played their fourth straight World Series. They lost to the Washington Senators 4 games to 3. Manager: John McGraw
75 years ago - 1950
Mar 24 - A Powell Street cable car hit an auto at Powell and Post.
May 01 - Public Utilities Commission Manager James Turner announced that cable car operation on Powell Street is suspended from May 1 to May 14, 1950, inclusive for the installation of a new turntable at Powell and Market Streets. The new turntable replaced the original Ferries and & Cliff House Railway (Powell Street Railway) turntable that has been in use since March 28, 1888. Monday, May 15, 1950, service was resumed on both the Washington-Jackson and Powell-Mason cables. During the 15-day suspension, buses covered both Powell lines.
Jun 20 - San Francisco Powell cable car No. 524 had been shipped to Los Angeles for the 1950 Shriners convention, representing San Francisco’s Islam Temple; 524 was towed down that city’s Broadway on its own trucks using Los Angles Transit Lines’ narrow gauge trackage as part of the Shriners parade. Ironically, Los Angles Transit Lines employees were on strike.
Jun 20 - Cal Cable files a suit against the City of San Francisco, seeking financial relief from removing and then replacing its tracks at Hyde Street and Broadway in connection with Broadway tunnel construction. The company objected to closing down the line for six months during construction and sought to have all costs it incurs because of the project of the paid for by the City.
Aug 14 - Cal Cable's O'Farrell, Jones and Hyde cable car service north of California Street is replaced by shuttle buses (San Mateo-Burlingame Transit, Ford buses) to Chestnut Street only because of Broadway Tunnel construction.
Aug 21 - The San Francisco Grand Jury reported that during the calendar year 1949 Muni’s Powell Street cable cars lost $145,089. The railway "is powerless to eliminate the loss, as the voters mandated continuance of the Municipal cable cars." Heavy capital expenditures for track and "other essentials" will be required to keep cable cars in operation. The operating costs, per vehicle service hour, were trolley buses $4.72, motor buses $5.15 streetcars (two-man) $ 8.76 and cable cars $9.52.
Sep 17 - "Service on Line No. 59 (Powell-Mason cable car) will be discontinued on account of construction work on the Broadway Tunnel. A partial substitution of service will be instituted by motor coaches to connect with Line No. 60 (Washington-Jackson cable car) at Powell and Washington Streets." Muni "NOTICE TO PUBLIC" dated September 13, 1950.
Oct 28 - Santa Claus rode a cable car to the Emporium to unveil the Christma windows.
New York Giants record: 73-81, 5th place. Manager: Leo Durocher.
50 years ago - 1975
Apr 08 - Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, taking the lifetime home run record from Babe Ruth
Sep 03 - John (the Count) Montefusco made his first appearance for the Giants. He made an eight inning relief appearance, hit a two-run homer, and beat the Dodgers 9-5.
San Francisco Giants record: 72-90, 5th place. Managers: Charlie Fox, Wes Westrum
25 years ago - 2000
Jan 11 - The California street line shut down for conduit reconstruction
Apr 24 - The California street line back in service after conduit reconstruction
Jul 16 - Frank Ware won the 37th annual Bell Ringing Contest
Jul 26 - A Powell/Hyde car stopped suddenly when the grip shank hit a coupler pin which fell from another car
Sep 10 - A loose strand stopped the Powell street cable for about eight hours
Oct 13 - A Powell/Hyde cable car hit an auto at Washington and Taylor. The auto hit a pedestrian
San Francisco Giants record: 86-76 2nd place. Manager: Dusty Baker.
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Non-existent Powell Street Car 30. Created by Microsoft Copilot. November 2026 Picture of the Month. |
I launched The Cable Car Home Page on AOL thirty years ago in November 1996. I wish I had written down the day. My plan was to sharpen my new html skills and share information about a subject which had not been addressed on the web. I knew when I started that I would not be able to write about everything at once, so I tried to devise a format that was flexible, one that would allow me to develop the site in a modular fashion.
I keep learning new things and finding new newspaper and magazine items. The cable cars keep rolling along in San Francisco, generating new stories and photos. Cable cars were dedicated to Willie Mays and Tony Bennett. In 2024 and 2025, the cable cars faced an existential threat as federal subsidies implemented during the Covid-19 epidemic expired. A group in Dunedin, New Zealand is trying to recreate one of their cable tram lines. People keep digging up bits of long-gone lines. People send me stories about their experiences or information they have learned about ancestors who worked on the cables. I hope I will have enough items to keep me going.
I want to thank all the kind people who have shared information with me. I have learned a lot from building this site.
I look forward to the next 30 years.
By surviving for thirty years, the Cable Car Home page has lasted as long or longer than all but 19 of the about 83 companies that built Hallidie-type cable car lines around the world. London's Highgate Hill Cable Tramway and the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway both lasted 30 years. Next year this site will pass the cable operations of San Francisco's Presidio and Ferries Railway and New York's Metropolitan Street Railway.
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Humorist Gelett Burgess, who wrote "The Ballad of the Hyde Street Grip" died in 1951. (source: "Gelett Burgess, 85, Humorist Regretted 'Purple Cow' Poem" Washington Evening Star, 19-September-1951.) |
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Margaret Truman was as outspoken as her dad Harry. She came to San Francisco with her husband, journalist Clifton Daniel, who was covering the Republican National Convention. As a dedicated Democrat, she wanted nothing to do with Republicans; she planned to go sightseeing and ride a cable car. (source: "Margaret Daniel to Sightsee While Republicans Meet" Washington Evening Star, 15-August-1956.) |
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The end of the Washington-Jackson line. (source: "Another Cable Car Makes Last Run in San Francisco" Washington Evening Star, 03-September-1956.) |
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One of Dunedin's cable tram lines was being converted to buses. (source: "Cable Cars Vanish" Washington Evening Star, 22-January-1952.) |
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"...one of San Francisco's earliest cable cars" was leaving for the National Museum in Washington, DC. I have to dig deeper into this one. (source: "Cable Car Coming to D.C." Washington Evening Star, 07-December-1937.) |
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Mary Alice Ball left her job as a cable car conductor after 11 years. (source: "San Francisco Woman Quits Cable Car Job" Washington Evening Star, 14-January-1954.) |
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Seattle donated a retired Yesler Way Grip car to the Smithsonian Institution. This is now the only surviving Seattle cable car. (source: "Smithsonian is Given Complete Cable Car" Washington Evening Star, 23-February-1938.) |
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George Carter, who operated horse cars, cable cars and electric cars in Kansas City, took his first flight on an airplane. (source: "Motorman Takes to Air" Washington Evening Star, 25-November-1934.) |
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WE (William Ely) Hill drew a weekly full page of cartoons satirizing American life. I like the facial expressions on these cable car riders. The gripman should be standing farther back. (source: "Touring San Francisco", WE Hill, Washington Evening Star, 11-August-1929.) |
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The front page of the 04-June-1984 San Francisco Chronicles welcome the cable cars back after the Great Reconstruction. |
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This is the earliest Picture of the Mnnth I have been able to find on the Wayback Machine, from January, 1999. It was captured on 17-January-1999. |
glasgow district subway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4VTltNg1FA&feature=share
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An ad for the Renault R-8 uses San Francisco's hills to make a point. (source: Broadcasting, 22-July-1963). |
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"The Best of San Francisco" was a movie produced by the Visitors Bureau. (source: Business Screen Magazine, 1964, Number 3). |
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Miss America 1954, Lee Meriwether, grew up in San Francisco and went to George Washington High School and City College. Here she christens a California Street cable car to promote the movie Desiree. (Source: Film Bulletin, 29-November-1954) |
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Corinne Griffith and Edmund Lowe on a cable car, filming a scene from the movie Outcast. (Source: Film Bulletin, 29-November-1954) |
"San Francisco on the Screen," Picture-Play Magazine, )ctober, 1920.
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An ad for the services of the National Cable Railway and Pacific Cable Railway companies, which were formed by the Patent Trust (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the shallow conduit Vogel and Whelan Cable Railway System. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the Connely Gas Motor. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for John A Roebling's Sons Co, Manufacturers of Cable Road Ropes. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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HK Porter and Company was famous for building light locomotives. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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Washburn and Moen were a major cable manufacturer. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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Broderick and Bascom were a major cable manufacturer. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the services of Edmund Saxton, who built many cable railroads (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the services of Colonel William H Paine, who designed the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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I assume Celluloid Railway Checks are tokens (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the Pintsch Gas Lighting system features the interior of a Third Avenue Railroad "Palace Car" (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the Brill Maximum Traction truck. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the Brill 27 truck. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for Brill cars for export. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for Brill convertible cars. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for Brill cars for handling snow, snow plows, snow sweepers and track scrapers. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for various styles of Brill electric cars. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for Brill car styles popular in foreign markets, like the double decker. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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An ad for the JG Brill company. (source: Street Railway Journal Supplement, January, 1890). |
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Batman and Robin (R) discuss taking a ride on a cable car. Meme courtesy of imgflip.com. |
from The Street Railway Review, Volume 1, 1891.
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The James Street line was being tested. (Source: Otago Daily Times, 25-September-1900) |
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WESTMOUNT INCLINE PLANE, JOHNSTOWN, PA. |
Another interesting feature of Johnstown is the inclined railway illustrated herewith, which was put into operation in June last, and was built in order to develop a fine residence section on the top of the hill where people can live free from the danger of a second flood. This new suburb of Johnstown is called Westmount, and it has a commanding situation overlooking the Conemaugh Valley, and from which may be seen the Allegheny mountains thirty miles away.
The incline is 900 ft. long, being one of the longest in the country. It is built at an angle of thirty-five degrees, and the lower end is supported on a steel structure. The power plant is situated at the crest of the hill, and is operated by two balanced valve engines made by the Altoona Manufacturing Co., and three seventy-eight H. P. Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The winding drums are sixteen feet in diameter with a four foot face. The cables were manufactured by the Roeblings. The entire plant was designed and built by Samuel Diescher, of Pittsburgh, and cost $125,000. On the Fourth of July last about 9,000 people patronized the line.
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A road in which horses provide the motive power in going in one direction and enjoy a ride when going in the other direction exists in Ontario, Cal. The length of the road now being operated in this way is six and a quarter miles, and the ascent for that distance is a little over 1,000 ft. The up trip occupies ninety minutes. The schedule time for the down trip, is thirty minutes, but it can be readily made in twenty minutes. The truck on which the horses ride down folds up and slides under the car while the journey up is being made. The horses really seem to enjoy the ride, and when turned out of their stables, which are located at the upper end of the line, will walk into the truck of their own accord. Since the adoption of this method only about two-fifths of the number of horses formerly used have been required. This method of operation the manager of the railway company, Charles Frankish, states is only temporary, as the road will probably soon be equipped with electric cars.
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Fig. 2 shows a similar road in Dever Colo., which extends on Thirty-fourth Avenue, from Colorado Boulevard to the Welton Street Cable line, the greater part of this distance being on a grade of from 2 to 5 per cent. The owner of the road is J. Cook, Jr., and the rolling stock consists of one car, shown in the engraving, together with the novel truck for transporting the horses down the grade. The line is one and a quarter miles in length, and this distance, on the descent, is often made in two minutes.
Besides drawing the car up the hill, the horses are also used for a short distance at each end where the road is on a level. The wheels for the horse platform car are one foot in diameter, and the car weighs, complete, 300 lbs. Five horses only are needed, showing that, as in Ontario, a distinct gain is made in allowing the horses to ride down hill, as the car is run from 5:30 A. M. to 11:30 p. M.
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The Banana Splits on California Street Cable Car 54.. |
The Banana Splits, Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky starred in The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1968-1970. The Banana Splits visited San Francisco in an early music video for the song "Wait Til Tomorrow." They rode across the Golden Gate Bridge, rode on a cable car and visited Fisherman's Wharf.
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The Banana Splits on California Street Cable Car 54.. |
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A postcard shows the two cars of the Mount Beacon Incline Railway and the Beaconcrest Hotel on top of Mount Beacon. |
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A 1937 question about a New York summer resort that can only be reached by cable car. (source: "Answers to Questions" by Frederick J Haskin, Washington Evening Star, 30-December-1937.) |
The Mount Beacon Incline Railway ran from 1902 to 1978. The funicular carried passengers to the top of Mount Beacon on the Hudson River. Otis Elevator Company engineer Thomas E Brown designed the road, which claimed to be the steepest passenger-carrying incline railroad in the world. The cable was driven by an electric motor.
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A 1927 brush fire damaged the incline but did not hurt anyone. (source: "40 Escape in Fire" Washington Evening Star, 07-October-1927.) |
A hotel and casino at the top of Mount Beacon generated traffic until they were destroyed in a 1927 fire. Subsequent fires, the Great Depression and increased use of automobiles ground away at the road's ridership until it went out of business in 1978. The line remained mostly intact until a 1983 fire destroyed the powerhouse, the tracks and the cars.
The Mount Beacon Incline Railway Restoration Society wants to revive the Mount Beacon Incline Railway
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From The Scientific America, February 3, 1894.
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[from The Scientific American of June 5,1880.]
But for the chronic aptitude of this generation never to wonder at anything, we might expect to witness expressions of surprise as it becomes known that we are to be whisked through the country at the rate of thirty, forty, or fifty miles an hour by an agent invisible and unknown save by its effects; but the moment electricity is suggested as a motive power for railways, the never to be surprised public say, "Why not?" Nevertheless, the practical application of the electric current to this purpose seems never to have had a prospect of success before the experiments of Dr. Siemens, in Berlin, in 1879, and the present extended experiments of Mr. Edison. It is a subject fraught with difficulties, and while it has always offered a seemingly promising field for inventors, the expense attending experiments of this class has been a most effectual barrier to progress.
Mr. Edison, more fortunate in this respect than many of our experimenters, has not been hampered by monetary difficulties, and having had ample means for carrying out his ideas in practice, he has been enabled to develop his inventions more rapidly perhaps than any other man living.
His new electric railway at Menlo Park is built ov r natural ground, with little or no grading, and with no regard for curves or grades. It is at present something over half a mile long, and is soon to be extended to form a mile circle. The present rolling stock consists of one electric locomotive and one open car. The general appearance of the railway and its equipments will be seen in our engraving. The motor is precisely like one of Mr. Edison's electrical generators, figured and described in our columns some time since, and the motive power is supplied by his stationary engine, the power being converted into electrical energy by a single generator.
The current thus created is conveyed to the track by two copper wires, one wire being connected with each rail. The armature of the locomotive makes four revolutions to one of the drive wheels. The machine is managed about like a steam locomotive, and it pushes ahead with wonderful energy.
By invitation of Mr. Edison, representatives of this journal were present at a recent trial of this novel motor, and had the pleasure of riding, with some twelve or fourteen other passengers, at a breakneck late up and down the grades, around sharp curves, over humps and bumps, at the rate of twenty-five to thirty miles an hour. Our experiences were sufficient to enable us to see the desirableness of a little smoother road, and to convince us that there was no lack of power in the machine. Mr. Edison says that he realizes in the locomotive seventy per cent of the power applied to the generator. He will soon add four more cars and apply improvements which he has in contemplation. This grand experiment is designed to test the applicability of the electric current to this purpose and to develop a railway system suitable for plantations, large farms, and for mining districts, and perhaps it is not entirely visionary to expect that our street and elevated railways may at no very distant day be successfully operated by electricity.
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From The Scientific America, June 30, 1894.
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We illustrate what is really a striking scene in the development of street transit in the city of New York. It represents the last act in the conversion of a roadway originally constructed for horse-drawn vehicles into a double-storied avenue, in which two forms of mechanical car traction are used. The view is taken at 9th Avenue, near 98th Street, and shows the construction of the new cable conduits and tracks of the Metropolitan Traction Company, of this city. The company at present operates the cable line extending from the Battery through Broadway and 7th Avenue to 59th Street, to whose operations we have already devoted considerable space. The new cable line whose construction we illustrate starts from 7th Avenue at 53d Street. Through this street it passes under the tracks of the elevated road, reaching 9th Avenue, where it turns to the north and, still keeping under the tracks of the elevated structure, reaches 98th Street. It is to be run by cable from the 50th Street power station of the Metropolitan Traction Company.
The Broadway line at present in operation represents 56,000 feet of single track. Measured in the same way, the new 9th Avenue line gives 30,000 more feet. This is not the only new cable line whose construction is in progress. Starting from Broadway and 23d Street, another line is now being constructed to Lexington Avenue on the same street, and then north to 72d Street, giving 30,000 more feet of track. The two cable lines are to stop for the present at 72d Street and at 98th Street respectively, but they are manifestly an incomplete solution of the transit question, so the following extensions and connections are in prospect. It is proposed to carry the Lexington Avenue line straight up to the Harlem River; the 9th Avenue line is to be extended north, and probably at 109th Street is to run into 8th Avenue and thence north to about 116th Street. Here it is to divide, one portion running east and north to where Lenox Avenue meets the Harlem River, while the other branch is to go up St. Nicholas Avenue and Kingsbridge Road to Kingsbridge, almost the extreme northerly point of Manhattan Island. But the most interesting point is in another aspect, for it is hoped to run all the lines north of 77th Street and Lexington Avenue and 98th Street and 9th Avenue by electricity, an underground trolley system being employed. The cable system of traction is recognized as a very efficient one, increasing in efficiency as the number of cars driven at once increases, but it has several attendant disadvantages. A car cannot drop the cable on a curve. Where few cars are run the expense per car materially increases. The cost of maintenance for keeping the plant in order, the wheels oiled and the general apparatus in condition is very great. In electricity, many of these disadvantages are, to a great extent, overcome, and the result of the Metropolitan Traction Company's experiments in the direction of developing electric traction by underground conduit system will be watched with great interest.
We have alluded to the new character of a two-storied system as suggested by the scene illustrated, for virtually the center portion of the street is abandoned to the two railroads. Whether an underground road, on the lines of the London Underground, will yet make its appearance is a matter of surmise. If so, and if it should be built on a street occupied as is the one we illustrate, then we should have a three-storied street. It is to be hoped that our rapid transit problem may be solved without recourse to a method which has proved in many ways so disagreeable as has the London Underground. An electrical underground road would be free from most of the troubles in the way of discomfort which are encountered on the English road.
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Here is the Powell Street Promenade on the east side of Powell at Geary. |
In view of the success attending the introduction of the cable railway in San Francisco and Chicago, there can scarcely be any doubt that it is the street railway system of the future, destined to supersede the present mode of propelling street cars by horse power, owing to its many advantages, such as greater speed, economy of motive power, and occupancy of much less space in the streets.
The engraving we present in this issue illustrates a new system of tube for cable railways.
This tube is made up sections bolted together, each section being a self-contained girder, the upper chord of which has a continuous slot, admitting the grip bar to the interior of the cable tube. Each section consists of two opposite side plates, the upper portions of which are bent so as to converge toward each other. To their upper edges are riveted angle bars of proper shape, far enough apart to form the continuous slot above referred to. The lower edges of these side plates are connected with angle bars to a bottom plate. The side plates, and preferably also the bottom plate, and the top and bottom angles, extend throughout the entire length of the section, thus forming a self-contained girder, of which the upper angles form the top chord, the side plates, the webs, and the lower angles and bottom plate the bottom chord.
To provide against lateral pressure on the sides of the tube from the pavement and from vehicles crossing over the top chord angles, a series of braced frames are riveted to the sides and bottom of the tube, consisting of angle ribs, lower tansverse channel beams, or heavy angles, and inclined brace bars, riveted to the upper end of the angle ribs, and to the ends of the lower transverse channel beams or angles.
The body of the girder or tube is about 33 in. deep; the transverse channel beams are 8 in. deep. The clear width of the tube in its lower portion is 12 in., and the length of the transverse channel beams is 40 in.; being the widest part of the tube at any point. The sections are made in convenient lengths of about 16 ft., the connection between two consecutive sections being made by bolts through angle ribs at their ends. Thus a continuous tube or conduit is formed, complete in itself.
The work of laying the tubes is extremely simple. A trench is dug 3 feet deep from the surface and 3 feet 8 in. wide, for a distance of a block at a time, into which are lowered the tubes, and, after having been properly leveled up and bolted together and connected to the track stringers by three-quarter inch round rods attached to the angle ribs on the tubes, the work of closing up the ditch begins. First the space under and alongside of the tube is filled with concrete to within a foot of the surface of the street, sand to the depth of several inches is then thrown on, and the whole paved over with Belgian blocks.
Every alternate tube is provided with a manhole in one of the web plates, affording access to the tube for the purpose of introducing or removing the cable, oiling the sheaves, etc. At each of these manholes a chamber is made in the concrete, accessible from the street through a square opening alongside the track, which is covered with a cast-iron lid.
It will be seen that the whole process of laying these tubes is so very simple, that the advantages of this system of tubes are quite apparent. The limited width of the trench, which leaves the tracks wholly intact, enables the construction of the cable railway to proceed without interfering with the running of the horse cars, requiring any temporary side tracks or movable bridges, where existing lines of horse railway are changed into cable railway. In this connection Mr. George Rice, Chief Engineer of the Cable Division of the Union Passenger Railway Company, of Philadelphia, which company is now completing the laying of 20 miles of this tube, writes in response to an inquiry:
"I have made a careful examination of the different cable roads in California and Chicago, and I believe our Philadelphia system of cable tubes is the best for several reasons. It is simple in Its construction, and consequently cheaper than any of the existing systems of tubes that have any claim to permanency. These tubes can be laid more rapidly, and for construction on an existing line of horse railway, without interference with the traffic, this system has no rival.
"It would be impossible to build a cable line, such as is in use in Chicago or on Market Street, San Francisco, without side tracks or some device, such as a movable bridge, on which to pass the cars over the break in the street. In a narrow street the side tracks are not admissible, and the bridge device would be a cumbersome and expensive means of keeping the cars in motion over the work," etc.
Any further information in regard to the tube, relating to the construction, cost, etc., can be obtained on application to the inventor, A. Bonzano, Chief Engineer of the Phoenix Bridge Company, at Phcenixville, Pa. This system of tubes is patented in the United States and Great Britain. -- Scientific American.
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There is an inclined cable railway in Marin County, California, which presents features in construction differing from usual methods. A counterweight car, attached to the cables hauling the passenger car, passes beneath the latter as they meet on the hill. Complete control of all operating apparatus is in the hands of the motorman on the passenger car, who is the only employe required to operate the system, and safety devices for stopping the car, if for any reason an accident should occur either to the cable, to the car or to the electric power plant, are provided. The control mechanism is actuated by trolleys, four of which, on the car, engage four wires supported by the railway trestle, terminating in the operating magnets on the control switchboard. The power house at the top of the hill contains an electric elevator engine of the traction type driven by a 30-hp. alternating-current motor, controlled from the motorman's operating handle in the car. The car and counterweight are carried by two 5/8-in. plow-steel cables, each having six strands of 19 steel wires over a core of hemp and showing a tensile strength of 36,000 lb. As the loaded car weighs but 6,000 lb., the margin of safety is high. The railway is 1,350 ft. long with a rise of 500 feet.
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Powell Street Promenade - 07-July-2011
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Here is the Powell Street Promenade on the east side of Powell at Geary. |
The Powell Street Promenade is part of the city's program of introducing neighborhood parklets. On street corners along Powell from Ellis to Geary, there are aluminum platforms with planters and railings. They may provide good spots for photographing cable cars.
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I stood on the platform on the west side of Powell near Geary with my new camera and took this photo of car 25. |
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uw digital collections
Trolley Folly
By Brennen Jensen
Baltimore City Paper
February 21 - February 27, 2001
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http://www.cityofdunedin.com/city/?page=feat_tram THE RISE AND FALL OF THE DUNEDIN TRAM
"Taming the hills: The hills that rise so sharply from the waterfront were in time conquered by the first cable tramway to operate outside the United States. Suggested in 1879 by a 27-year-old engineer, George Smith Duncan, the pioneer line was built by a company he founded. The line ran up Rattray Street and curved to the left at St Joseph's Cathedral, the curve being overcome by a "pull curve" - a number of small wheels that eased the wire rope round the curve but still allowed the cablecar to grip. The innovation was later adopted by major cable systems throughout the world.
"A continuously running endless cable ran beneath the roadway and was gripped by a projecting arm when the passenger car was to move. Each car had a brakeman who could grip the cable at will and who also had a variety of brakes to hold the car still when it was not engaged to the cable. The cablecar system, based on the design of the world's first (San Francisco, 1873), became a landmark. By the turn of the century three private companies were operating services to Roslyn, Mornington, Maryhill and Kaikorai. Duncan later crossed the Tasman to design a cable tramway for Melbourne; this was later reputed to be the best laid out in the world. The cars trundled up and down the hills of Dunedin for three-quarters of a century. One by one the lines closed, and finally the Mornington cars made their last journeys in 1957. The decision to abandon the system evoked much opposition, as the city was hard to imagine without the quaint cars. (A cablecar from the Maryhill line is in the Early Settlers' Museum. The Guinness Book of Records accords Baldwin St (1:1.266) as being the world's steepest.)"
http://www.kaiser.aix.de/global/cablecar.html
The Wellington Cable Car
"The design of the cable cars would appear to have been based on that of the Mornington Cable Cars and the Kaikorai Trams, both of Dunedin, which first ran in 1883. Plans of the original cars state the builder as Mark Sinclair of Dunedin and the year of construction as 1901."
"The Tramway Classics range features popular trams seen on the streets of Great Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century."
St. Louis City Revised Code Chapter 8.92
8.92.100 Rules and regulations for running streetcars.
D. Vigilant watch to be kept. The conductor, motorman, gripman, driver or any other person in charge of each car shall keep vigilant watch for all vehicles and persons on foot, especially children, either on the track or moving towards it, and on the first appearance of danger to such persons or vehicles, the car shall be stopped in the shortest time and space possible. (1948 C. Ch. 63 § 9: 1960 C. § 595.020.)
8.92.110 Regulations when tracks intersect with railroad and other streetcar tracks.
At all points where the streetcar track may intersect or cross any steam railroad track, every streetcar shall be brought to a full stop not less than ten or more than twenty-five feet from nearest point of intersection, and shall not proceed to cross the railroad track until, upon sufficient investigation, the conductor, or other proper agent appointed by the company for that purpose, is assured there is no danger of collision, whereupon the person in control of the car shall be signaled to proceed. At all points where the street railway track intersects or crosses other street railway tracks, the car shall be stopped immediately before crossing the same, so as to avoid danger of collision. The car going in an eastwardly or westwardly direction over, on or crossing any intersecting street upon which other streetcars are run shall be entitled to the right-of-way to pass before any car going in a northwardly or southwardly direction at the point of intersection of the streets. It shall be the duty of the conductor, motorman, gripman, driver or any other person in charge of the car going in a northwardly or southwardly direction to run the car when approaching the intersection of other street railways so as to stop in due time and give the right-of-way to the car going in an eastwardly or westwardly direction on the intersecting line. In no event shall this clause be so construed as to sanction or allow a wilful or wanton collision by the conductor, motorman, gripman or driver of a car running in an eastwardly or westwardly direction. (1948 C. Ch. 63 § 10: 1960 C. § 595.030.)
Go to top of page.
The Washington Electrical Hand-book: Being a Guide for Visitors from Abroad ... - Page 101-103
Electric industries - 1904
THE SYSTEM OF THE CAPITAL TRACTION CO.
The first street car service in Washington was begun in July, 1862, when the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company ran its first horse cars on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Pennsylvania Avenue line has been operated without interruption since, and as the public's need for service in other sections were manifested, they have been met by the other lines and various extensions.
When it became apparent that the horse car was not adequare, in the later '80's, the company considered what form of mechanical system would best meet the condifions. The overhead trolley system, then just beginning to be generally used, was properly not allowed in Washington, and the cable, the only other successful method of propulsion then available, was adopted. The Seventh Street line was first equipped, and immediately after that was put into operation, in 1890, work was begun on the other lines, so that August, 1892, found all the Washington and Georgetown Railroad's system operated by cable. This system continued to give satisfactory service until September, 1897, when the burning of the company's large central power station, at Fourteenth street and Pennsylvania Avenue, put all the lines except Seventh Street out of commission. The fire occurred after 11 at night, but the disabled cable cars were hauled off the street and the trail cars started out with horse power on a regular schedule the following morning.
In the meantime, the conduit electric system had been developed and proven satisfactory on the Metropolitan Railway Company's lines in Washington and also in New York, so the company's directors decided not to rebuild the cable power station, but to equip the entire road with that system. Fortunately the concrete cable conduit was well adapted to the electric system, and work was soon begun on the track, power station and cars so that both the Pennsylvania Avenue and Fourteenth Street lines were electrically operated from the company's own power station in April, 1898. Parts of the lines had been run some months before that time.
The Seventh Street cable road was also rebuilt, the work being done without interruption to the cable system, which was driven by a separate station, now abandoned.
In September, 1895, the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company and the Rock Creek Railway Company were consolidated under the name of the Capital Traction Company.
Go to top of page.
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27-September-2013 marks the 125th anniversary of the first cable car line in Seattle, the Seattle City Railway line on Yesler Way. |
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June 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the return of the cable cars after the 1982-1984 reconstruction. Read San Francisco: Cable Cars Are Here to Stay by Val Lupiz and Walter Rice. Pay a visit to Bruce Kliewe's website full of photo of the 1982-1984 reconstruction. |
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26-November-2007 marks the 175th birthday of the Horse Car. Read a new article on its history and an 11-March-1906 newspaper article about Michael Houlihan, who drove the URR's franchise-protecting horse car line on California Street |
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Read Walter Rice and Emiliano Echeverria's illustrated article "The Sutter Street Railway - San Francisco's Second Cable Car Line" |
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28-January-2006 marks the 125th anniversary of the beginning of cable traction in Chicago, Illinois, when the Chicago City Railway's State Street line converted to cable traction. |
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18-Apr-2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. 21-Jun-2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the return to service of the Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railway, the first cable car line to return to service after the Earthquake and Fire. 17-Aug-2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the return to service of the California Street Cable Railroad after the Earthquake and Fire. |
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28-January-2006 marks the 125th anniversary of the beginning of cable traction in Chicago, Illinois, when the Chicago City Railway's State Street line converted to cable traction. |
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21-October-2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of cable traction in Chicago, Illinois, when the former Chicago City Railway's Wabash Avenue line and the North Chicago Clark and Lincoln lines converted to electric traction. |
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The 47th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest is scheduled for Tuesday, 09-June-2008 at noon in Union Square. |
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The 51st Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest is scheduled for Thursday, 19-July-2014 at noon in Union Square. |
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The 46th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest is scheduled for Tuesday, 03-June-2008 at noon in Union Square. |
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The 45th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest is scheduled for Thursday, 12-Jul-2007 at noon in Union Square. |
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The 44th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest is scheduled for Thursday, 13-Jul-2006 at noon in Union Square. |
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See the winning entries in our 2006 Contest, conceived by Walter Rice, who has generously provided the prizes. |
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See the winning entries in our 2006 Contest, conceived by Walter Rice, who has generously provided the prizes. |
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Please participate in our Contest, "San Francisco With a $5 Cable Car Fare", conceived by Walter Rice, who has generously provided the prizes. |
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See the winning entries in our Contest, "San Francisco With a $5 Cable Car Fare", conceived by Walter Rice, who has generously provided the prizes. |
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Please participate in our 2006 Contest, conceived by Walter Rice, who has generously provided the prizes. |
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24-Feb-2006 marks the 125th anniversary of the first cable tram to run in Dunedin, NZ, on the Rattray Street line. |
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Reflections on Life at the San Francisco Cable Car Division Nick Tomizawa has created a dvd, The Feel of the Rope/Reflections on Life at the San Francisco Cable Car Division: "a tribute to the men and women that carry on a San Francisco tradition that has continued for over 130 years. Through the words of employees past and present representing two generations of operators, managers, maintainers, trainers, and car builders, you will get an insider's look at what makes the cable cars the most unique transit system in the world." |
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14-Jan-2005 marks the 100th anniversary of the last cable tram to run in Sydney, on the King Street line. |
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17-Nov-2004 marks the 75th anniversary of the abandoment of the Pacific Avenue remnant of the Sutter Street Railway. See Walter Rice's article "The Sutter Street Railway", which focuses on the technical innovations of the Sutter Street company. |
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19-Aug-2004 marks the 75th anniversary of the abandonment of the Upper Douglas Cable Tramway on the Isle of Man. Walter Rice kindly provided two articles he wrote about the Isle of Man Railway and the Manx Electric Railway. |
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06-Feb-1954 marks the 50th anniversary of the California Street Cable Railroad's Jones Street Shuttle. I have collected some contemporary newspaper articles. |
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How can you buy a raffle ticket to support the senior citizen luncheon put on by the people of the Cable Car Division? Read the News. |
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25th Annual Senior Citizen's Holiday Luncheon |
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The 40th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest is scheduled for Thursday, 16-Oct-2003. |
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08-Jul-2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the upper section of the Great Orme Tramway |
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I am proud to be the host of gripman Val Lupiz's new quarterly column: the Tales From the Grip. |
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10-Apr-2002 marks the 125th anniversary of the California Street Cable Railroad. Visit the San Francisco Cable Car Museum site for Walter Rice and Emiliano Echeverria's article "A Century and a Quarter of Cable Car Service on California Street". |
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November, 2011 will mark the 15th anniversary of
this website.
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November, 2016 will mark the 20th anniversary of this website.
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Economist and transit historian George W Hilton passed away on 04-August-2014. His book The Cable Car in America was a major inspiration for this website. |
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On 06-April-2015, conductor Santiago Montoya was hit and gravely injured by an SUV on Powell between Washington and Jackson Streets. He is suffering from a broken leg, ruptured internal organs, broken ribs and a punctured lung. He is alive, but in ICU at SF General Hospital. Transit Workers Union Local 250A has started a Gofundme page for his family:
I made a contribution. |
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31-Jul-2002 marks the 100th anniversary of the lower section of the Great Orme Tramway |
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18-Mar-2002 marks the 150th anniversary of Wells Fargo |
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July and August 2023 will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of cable traction on the Clay Street Hill Railroad. W0e see an image looking west on Clay Street at the terminal of the Clay Street Hill Railroad. One part of a stereoscope view.. (Image Source: OpenSFHistory / wnp24.224a.jpg). |
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16-Feb-2005 marks the 125th anniversary of cable traction on the Geary Street Park and Ocean Railway. Read Walter Rice and Emiliano Echeverria's article "When Steam Ran on The Streets of San Francisco," about steam street railway operations, including the Geary Street company's steam dummy line to Golden Gate Park. |
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16-Feb-2005 marks the 125th anniversary of cable traction on the Geary Street Park and Ocean Railway. Read Walter Rice and Emiliano Echeverria's article "When Steam Ran on The Streets of San Francisco," about steam street railway operations, including the Geary Street company's steam dummy line to Golden Gate Park. |
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The Cable Cars of San Francisco Second Edition by Robert Callwell & Walter E. Rice, Ph.D. The second edition of Of Cables and Grips: The Cable Cars of San Francisco -- not yet available in a print-and-paper book format -- is available on this web site. |
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June, 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the return of the cable cars after the 1982-1984 reconstruction. Read San Francisco: Cable Cars Are Here to Stay by Val Lupiz and Walter Rice. Pay a visit to Bruce Kliewe's website full of photos of the 1982-1984 reconstruction. June 03 - The California Street line reopened after the Great Reconstruction June 04 - The Powell/Hyde Street line reopened and the rebuilt Washington/Mason carbarn and powerhouse was dedicated after the Great Reconstruction June 21 - The Powell/Mason Street line reopened and the city held a major celebrtion after the Great Reconstruction |
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In July, 2011, we made a visit to Angels Flight |
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Angels Flight in Los Angeles returned to service on 15-March-2010. |
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Do you remember when Santa arrived at the Emporium by cable car? Read Joe Lacey's "Christmas on the Cables" to find out more. Read more about decorated cable cars, a living holiday tradition. |
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Do you remember when Santa arrived at the Emporium by cable car? Read Joe Lacey's "Christmas on the Cables" to find out more. Newspaper items about the 1949 parade. Read more about decorated cable cars, a living holiday tradition.. |
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03-June-2013 marks the 100th birthday of the last San Francisco horse car in regular service. |
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28-December-2012 was the 100th birthday of the San Francisco Municipal Railway. Please visit my new page on the 100th birthday |
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27-September-2013 marks the 125th anniversary of the first cable car line in Seattle, the Seattle City Railway line on Yesler Way. |
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Saturday, 12-May-2018 is Cliff Railway Day, 2018. |
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Saturday, 11-May-2019 is Cliff Railway Day, 2019. |
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Presented by Emiliano Echeverria Thanks to Emiliano Echeverria for letting me present a series of photos that were hand-colored by Charles Smallwood |
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Tales From the Grip 10 Years 2003-2013: "Maybelle the Cable Car" I am proud to be the host of gripman Val Lupiz's column: Tales From the Grip. Special Update, December 2011: Maybelle the Cable Car. |
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The rattlesnake's "... eye excelled in brightness that of any other animal, and ... she
has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never
begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an
emblem of magnanimity and true courage ... (S)he never wounds 'till she has
generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of
treading on her."
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