SF Cable Cars

Yesterday was cable car day for Brenda and myself.

We got off at the Powell St BART station and soon boarded the cable car that took us up Powell Street through China Town, then along Jackson St to Nob Hill, then along Hyde St to the waterfront next to Fisherman's Wharf. It was a really colorful and fun ride, with people clinging on to poles while standing on the car's running boards which would be a no-no in most "developed" cities. The views were superb, with the cars maybe not quite climbing half way to the stars but up some very steep hills to some high places. The driver worked the levers hard engaging and disengaging the car from the cable and applying the brakes, much as it would have been done in the 19th century. We learned later that there are a few surviving cable cars still in service from the 1906 earthquake when the city was devastated by fires that burned for three days (because there was no water) after the initial destruction .

After our visits to the National Maritime Park and Museum we boarded another cable car back up Hyde Street and got off at Mason St for a visit to the Cable Car Museum. This turned out to be much more than a museum: it was the the actual working plant that drives the four cable car routes. Here we learned the history of the cable cars, how they work, their decline and near extinction until a citizen's group got up an arms and mounted a campaign.

The visits to the National Maritime Park and Museum and to the Cable Car Museum are free and we highly recommend them to visitors.

The cable cars cost $5.00 per ride. However, we had purchased "Muni" tickets which entitled us to ride on the SF buses and cable cars for a month for the princely price of $15 for us senior citizens.

The top six photographs were taken at the Cable Car Museum. The sheaves which drive the cables are powered by big electric motors.

Note in the street scenes the low volume of street traffic on this weekday afternoon. Note also how the upper floor of buildings frequently flare out over the public space.