San Francisco cable car system

The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. The system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, which also includes the separate E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves heritage streetcar lines, and the Muni Metro modern light rail system. Of the 23 cable car lines established between 1873 and 1890, only three remain (one of which combines parts of two earlier lines): two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, and a third route along California Street.

While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, the vast majority of the millions of passengers who use the system every year are tourists, and as a result, the wait to get on can often reach two hours or more. They are among the most significant tourist attractions in the city, along with Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman's Wharf.

San Francisco's cable cars are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only two street railways to be named a National Historic Landmark, along with the St. Charles Streetcar Line in New Orleans.

History

Beginnings

thumb|left|The Clay Street Hill Railroad in its early years

In 1869, Andrew Smith Hallidie had the idea for a cable car system in San Francisco, reportedly after witnessing an accident in which a streetcar drawn by horses over wet cobblestones slid backwards, killing the horses.

The first successful cable-operated street running train was the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which had its inaugural run on August 2, 1873.

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</small> The line involved the use of grip cars, which carried the grip that engaged with the cable, towing trailer cars; the design was the first to use grips. The term "grip" became synonymous with the operator.

The line started regular service on September 1, 1873, and its success led it to become the template for other cable car transit systems.

In 1888, the Ferries and Cliff House Railway opened its initial two-line system.

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%;text-align:center;"

|+Eight original cable car companies

! Sutter Street Railway

| 2 || || side || || || style="font-size:90%;text-align:left;" | Initial route along Sutter from Market to Larkin, later extended to Central (Presidio); second (crosstown) line added in 1878 along Larkin from Bush to Hayes. Crosstown line eventually extended south along 9th to Brannan and north to Pacific, then west to Fillmore. Consolidated into United Railroads of San Francisco.

! California Street Cable Railroad

| 3 || || bottom, side (California Street)|| || || style="font-size:90%;text-align:left;" | Initial route along California from Kearny to Fillmore; eventually extended west to Presidio and east to Market. Second line added in 1891 (O'Farrell, Jones & Hyde) with small feeder line from Market, Jones & McAllister. Purchased by San Francisco in 1951.

! Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway

| 1 || || bottom || || || style="font-size:90%;text-align:left;" | Initial line ran along Geary from Market to Presidio, where a steam engine was added for service to western terminus at 5th and Fulton. Converted to standard gauge and side grip in 1892 and cable drawn line extended to 1st; franchise expired in 1912 and the line was taken over for Muni.

! Presidio & Ferries Railway

| 1 || || bottom || || || style="font-size:90%;text-align:left;" | Ran along Columbus from Montgomery to Union, then west along Steiner; continued to Presidio via steam drawn line. Converted to electric following April 1906 earthquake; sold to San Francisco in Dec 1913 and became part of Muni.

! Market Street Cable Railway

| 5 || || side || || rowspan=3 | || style="font-size:90%;text-align:left;" | Main line originated from Ferry Building and ran along Market. Branch lines opened along Valencia south to 29th (1883); and three branches west to Golden Gate Park along McAllister, Haight, and Hayes (1886). Market line extended to Castro, then south to 26th in 1887. Reorganized in 1893 as Market Street Railway and most lines converted to electric.

! Ferries & Cliff House Railway

| 4 || || bottom || || style="font-size:90%;text-align:left;" | Powell line ran from Powell and Market past Union Square to Bay & Taylor; second line ran along Washington and Jackson to Central & Sacramento, then continued using steam power to Cliff House. Reorganized in 1893 as Market Street Railway.

! Omnibus Railroad & Cable Company

| 5 || || bottom || || style="font-size:90%;text-align:left;" | Reorganized in 1893 as Market Street Railway.

Evolution of motive power

Originally, the cables were powered by stationary steam engines. Expansion of service required two additional coal-fired steam engines in 1890. The limitation with that configuration was that if one cable car on one line broke down, all lines had to be stopped.

Decline

The first electric streetcars in San Francisco began operation in 1892 under the auspices of the San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway.

In August 1951, the three Cal Cable lines were shut down when the company was unable to afford insurance. The city purchased and reopened the lines in January 1952, but another referendum that would have funded maintenance for the California Street tracks and the powerhouse and car barn at Hyde and California failed in November 1953. The amendment to the city charter did not protect the newly acquired Cal Cable lines, and the city proceeded with plans to replace them with buses; in addition, businesses in Union Square and downtown began advancing plans to convert O'Farrell to automobile traffic, which would remove service through the Tenderloin district via the inner section of the O'Farrell Jones & Hyde line. now known as the Powell–Hyde line.

This solution required some rebuilding to convert the Hyde Street trackage and terminus to operation by the single-ended cars of the Powell line, and also to allow the whole system to be operated from a single car barn and power house. Despite the changes, much of the systems infrastructure remained unchanged from the time of the earthquake.

Rebuild

right|thumb|Hyde Street during reconstruction work in 1983

By 1979, the cable car system had become unsafe; it needed to be closed for seven months for urgently needed repairs. A subsequent engineering evaluation concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of US$60 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Mayor Dianne Feinstein, who took charge of the effort, helped win federal funding for the bulk of the rebuilding job. There were private contributions too. Atari, Inc. donated $1 million and Jefferson Starship raised $50,000 with a benefit concert. Journey did a benefit concert on December 2, 1981 at the Cow Palace.

In 1982, the cable car system was closed for the rebuild which involved the replacement of 69 city blocks' worth of tracks and cable channels, a rebuilding of the car barn and powerhouse within the original outer brick walls, new propulsion equipment, and the repair or rebuild of 37 cable cars. The system reopened on June 21, 1984, in time to benefit from the publicity that accompanied San Francisco's hosting of that year's Democratic National Convention.

The system was shut down in March 2020 to protect operators during the COVID-19 pandemic, as cable cars do not offer a compartment separating them from passengers (unlike Muni buses, which kept running). Limited service on all three lines resumed on August 2, 2021. Full revenue service began on September 4. On September 9, a valve failure caused the fire suppression system in the carbarn to activate, shutting down electric power to the powerhouse. Service resumed on September 18.

Controversies

The cable cars are an iconic part of San Francisco, but they are not without their critics. Most complaints center around the high cost of operating a system that mostly serves tourists, and the large number of accidents involving the cable cars.

The cable car lines serve around seven million passengers per year, but the vast majority are tourists, rather than commuters. In 2006, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom reported that he had observed several conductors pocketing cash fares from riders without receipt. The following year, the San Francisco auditor's office reported that the city was not receiving the expected revenue from cable cars, with an estimated 40% of cable car riders riding for free. Muni's management disputed this figure and pointed out that safe operation, rather than revenue collection, is the primary duty of conductors. In 2017, after an audit showing that some conductors were "consistently turn[ing] in low amounts of cash", as well as a sting operation, one conductor was arrested on charges of felony embezzlement. In the three years ending 2013 the city paid some $8 million to settle four dozen cable car accident claims. line, follows a common route with the Powell–Hyde line, running north and steeply uphill from a terminal at Powell and Market Streets, before crossing the California Street line at the crest of the hill. Once California Street has been crossed, cars coast downhill, off the cable, for three and a half blocks until the lines split as they turn left onto Jackson Street (as this is one-way, cable cars in the opposite direction use the parallel Washington Street). This line turns North, merges, and continues downhill along Mason Street, briefly half left along Columbus Avenue, and then down Taylor Street to a terminal at Taylor and Bay. This terminus is two blocks south of Fisherman's Wharf and is the closest to Pier 39. As with the Powell–Hyde line, there are manually powered turntables at each end to reverse the cars. The Powell–Mason line has been in operation since 1888.

The Powell–Hyde (Line 60 or PH)), which is adjacent to the waterfront at the San Francisco Maritime Museum and Ghirardelli Square. As with the Powell–Mason line, there are manually powered turntables at each end to reverse the cars. The line was spliced together in 1957 using portions of the O'Farrell, Jones & Hyde line and the Washington–Jackson line. Because this line offers iconic views of Alcatraz Island, passes Lombard Street and terminates near popular tourist destinations, it is the most popular with tourists and often has long waits to board.thumb|The California Street line terminus, empty of cars, in 2020 during the COVID-19 shutdown
The California Street (Line 61 or C) line runs east and west on California Street from a terminal at California and Market Streets, close to the famed Embarcadero to Van Ness Avenue. The California Street cable cars use double-ended cars with "grip" levers at either end of the longer cars which are operated in each direction without the cars being turned at the ends of the line, where the double tracks converge into a single "stub-end" track. The line once ran a much longer distance from Presidio Avenue to Market Street but service west of Van Ness Avenue was discontinued in 1954. Calls to restore the route to its original length are heard from time to time but nothing serious towards this end has been proposed. This route runs only on California Street, running at first uphill to the summit of Nob Hill, then more gently downhill to a terminus at Van Ness Avenue. This line is used to a greater extent by commuters, with the majority of passengers on weekdays being commuters.

Operation

Cars

There are 27 cars in rotation when the system is operating. They come in two kinds:

Single-ended cars serve the Powell–Hyde and Powell–Mason lines. These cars have an open-sided front section, with outward-facing seats flanking the gripman and a collection of levers that actuate the grip and various brakes. The rear half of the car is enclosed with seats facing inward and entrances at each end, and the car has a small platform at the rear. These cars are long and wide and weigh . They have a passenger capacity of 60, 29 of them seated. These cars must be rotated to reverse direction at each end of the line, an operation performed on turntables. Most of these cars were built or rebuilt at Muni's Woods Carpentry Division.
Double-ended cars serve the California Street line. These cars are somewhat longer, having open-sided grip sections at both ends and an enclosed section in the middle. These cars are long and wide and weigh . They can hold 68 passengers, 34 of them seated. The California Street line lacks turning capabilities at each end, resulting in the necessity of the double-ended cars. Some of these cars are former O'Farrell, Jones, and Hyde Street cable cars, while some cars were built at Muni's Woods Carpentry Division.

There are 28 single-ended cars available for operation on the Powell lines and 12 double-ended cars on the California Street line.

File:Uss-ca-sanfran-cablecar.jpg|A cable car on the Powell & Market turntable. See a video of a cable car turnaround.

File:Cable car turnaround, San Francisco, California LCCN2011630099.tif|A Powell-Mason car at the Friedel Klussmann Memorial Turnaround

File:5 Cable Car on Mason St, SF, CA, jjron 25.03.2012.jpg|Rear view of a single-ended cable car on Mason St.

File:Cable Cars on California Street close to Drumm.jpg|The California Street line cars stored close to the terminus at Drumm

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thumb|Motorized Car No.62 during Muni Heritage Weekend 2025

Both types of car ride on a pair of four-wheel trucks, to fit the track's narrow gauge. The term California Street car, as in a car running on the California Street line, should not be confused with the term California Car. The latter term applies to all the cable cars currently operating in San Francisco and is a historical term distinguishing this style of car from an earlier style where the open grip section and the enclosed section were separate four-wheel cars (known as the grip car and trailer).

The cable cars are occasionally replaced with new or restored cars, with the old cars being moved to storage for later restoration. There are two historic cable cars in storage in the cable car museum: car numbers 19 and 42, which were used on the Sacramento-Clay and O'Farrell, Jones and Hyde Street lines, respectively. Car number 62, originally built for Jones Street Shuttle Line, was motorized and used for events.

Cables and grip

The cable cars are pulled by a cable running below the street, held by a grip that extends from the car through a slit in the street surface, between the rails.

Metal brake shoes on the wheels. The single-ended cars used on the Powell–Mason and Powell–Hyde lines have a foot pedal, controlled by the grip operator, that applies the brakes on the front wheels and a handle, operated by the conductor, that applies the brakes on the rear wheels. On the double-ended cars used on the California St. line, there are pedals near both grips, one controlled by the grip operator, the other by the conductor. They have to be replaced after just a few days.

Crew

The car is driven by the grip, whose job requires strength, coordination, and balance. The grip must smoothly grip and release the cable, know the points at which the grip must be released to coast over intersecting lines or places where the cable does not follow the tracks, and maintain clearance from other traffic. The conductor collects fares, manages crowding, and controls the rear-wheel brakes on some hills.

On the second or third Thursday of each July, a cable car bell-ringing contest is held in Union Square between cable car crews, following a preliminary round held during the second to last or the last week of June. The preliminary round determines which contestants go on to the finals in Union Square, by a process of points awarded by a panel of judges.

Car barn, power house, and museum

thumb|An interior view of the power house|left

The cable-car barn is located between Washington and Jackson Streets just uphill of where Mason Street crosses them. Cars reverse into the barn off Jackson Street and run out into Washington Street, coasting downhill for both moves. To ensure that single-ended cars leave facing in the correct direction, the car barn contains a fourth turntable. Cars are moved around the car barn with the assistance of a rubber-tired tractor.

As of 2018, the cable-car barn was staffed with 17 mechanics, six custodians, three carpenters, two painters, two supervisors and one superintendent. In the 1960s, the fare for a single ride was 15 cents.