The History of the S.F. Cable Car

San Francisco's famous cable cars date from 1873. The cars, long a part of the city's image, were down to just three routes in 2010, and those were the only three cable car routes in the world.

Founder

• The cable car was the brainchild of British engineer Andrew Smith Hallidie. Hallidie's father held the patent for wire-rope.

Idea

• Hallidie got the idea for a cable-pulled vehicle in San Francisco after seeing a team of horses slipping on cobblestones on a wet day. Hallidie patented the idea and construction began in May 1873.

First Lines

• The first line began on August 2, 1873, and ran along Clay Street. Its success led other companies to make their own cable cars and by 1889 seven companies operated cable-driven railroads in the city.

Earthquake

• San Francisco was devastated by the 1906 earthquake. Cable car lines running up steep hills were rebuilt, but electric streetcars needed only half the investment to construct and maintain. As a result their network was prioritized in places where the terrain was flatter.

Salvation

• Cable cars nearly vanished in 1947 when the city started to focus on buses instead. A public campaign forced the city to maintain the Powell Street cable car system.