San Francisco is one of the rare instances (particularly in the united states) where people fought to keep their public transit and succeeded. There are still lost lines such as the SF terminal railway and the 3rd and Townsend train station, but it's great that this is around, even though it's mainly a toursist attraction these days.
@@michalreingraberskaliasmiz185 The cable cars cost $8 to ride one way. Everything else, including the streetcars, cost $3 in cash to ride ($2.50 with a pre-paid transit card) and you get a transfer that's valid for as many rides as you can fit into, I believe, two hours. So you can take the cable cars to work if there's enough room, but you're paying three times the price.
@@michalreingraberskaliasmiz185 The main thing is where the cable cars go. The lines are incredibly short and mostly serve tourist destinations in a small part of downtown. Also, you have to remember that the speed while "taking rope" is 9.5 mph (it's faster while coasting down hills). Of all the lines, the California line is probably used the most by locals, but it's just not practical for most people as anything other than a bit of fun.
@@weinerinc.9344 The 1906 earthquake is largely responsible. Even back then cable cars were old fashioned and when the earthquake destroyed most of the system, it made more sense to replace the lines with electric streetcars than rebuild all the cable infrastructure. Some tracks were too steep for streetcars, so luckily a few cable car lines survived. The mayor wanted to replace them with twin engine buses in the 1940's, but a nice old lady led a campaign to save them. The city-owned lines were protected by law, but the private Cal Cable lines weren't so they were sort of chopped up and truncated them to form the current system. Btw, those twin engine buses the city ordered never really worked very well and they were mostly run in single engine mode on flatter routes.
I grew up riding the cars with my parents to run errands back in the 70's....then tourists took over completely....but still love them very much. I would wave as they went by, while playing on my front stoop atop Nob Hill, and the conductor would ring his bell for me...the riders would wave....happy memories! Sometimes I'd be taken to visit the museum. Loved it. And nice to see Diane Feinstein when she was Mayor! I really miss the old SF, full of artists, community, and culture. Now it's sadly just tech zombies....so stark and empty of creative energy now. :(
I don't know if you've lived or even visited anywhere else but art and culture are absolutely NOT dead in SF. It's mind boggling how much there is to this day, just go for a walk down the street sometime.
@@deluxejay69 I grew in in San Francisco, and still have my family there. I am now based out of NYC and work European cities year round. I Can assure you: compared to the time before Silicon Valley took over, SF was a world class city. Now it struggles to even get good shows at SF MoMA, and the few artists and cultural folk are hanging on by sheer luck or from familial ties enabling them to stay. Everyone I knew and grew up with- my neighbors, friends, parents and their friends..,..they were all in the arts or creatives. Affordability and tolerance for 'funky folk' was normal. Now, there simply is not room in a place that costs the same as Monte Carlo for most visual and cultural minds. There is a reason LA is now the art center of CA, and most of my fellow native San Franciscans are here in NYC or Portland. Yes, the SF Ballet, the Opera, and other cultural arts till cling on....but it is a very much reduced and fragmented piece of it's former self. It is so sad that techies seem to have zero soul.I see them walking down the street in their 'uniform'. I see the homeless struggling and ignored my enormous wealth. I would love to live in the city I grew up in, but alas, the career I have which sustained my parents is no longer viable in a place that is more dependent on tech than Detroit was on cars. Seeing a mural on a. wall does not ease the loss of entire communities and cultural hubs. Sigh.
art and culture is even more rich in sf now. people come to sf for it! just because it has a thriving tech industry doesn’t mean it lacks any of those things.
My partner and I rode the cable cars in the 1990s, and they were so much fun to ride! I understand why they were taken over by tourists: they connected Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf with Union Square and Market Street, and provided stunning views of the bay!
I've been extremely fascinated with this system ever since I rode it the first time I visited SF. The fact that the entire railway is purely mechanical - absolutely no motor needed on board the cars themselves - is just amazing to me, no matter if it's an inefficient system and a maintenance nightmare as some might say. Also I love how dated this video is, I think you can even see that shitty old Embarcadero freeway in the background of one of the shots lol
My wife and I had our first ride on Xmas Day, 2009. Loved it. We make a point of riding the cable cars each time we come back. Historical note: the round-the-corner pulley system was invented in Dunedin, New Zealand, for their cable cars.
Great insight into the engineering of yesteryear. Truly a national historic treasure and hopefully continues to be maintained and operated, no matter the cost. Thank you for sharing the vid.
Many years ago, while in the Navy, I rode a cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf, and had dinner at Grotto #9. This video brought back some old memories.
I went to SF in 2019 in fact my first trip to the US, I love the place. The cable cars are amazing,and a trip to the engine house is a must It is so relaxing to travel on these elegant old cars passing wonderful architecture and to travel slowly.
Glad you got to see it before the pandemic. It was a great place, but in just two years fell so hard, it's unrecognizable. A shell of what it used to be.
I remember the Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda movie YOURS MINE AND OURS (1968). They filmed in San Francisco and they used the cable cars for some scenes.
@@darkwoodmovies So you mean, SF is not the beautiful City anymore? Like Steven rowe I also went 2019 for the first time to the US. And I want to come back in 2023.
Visited SF as a child of about 8 which would have been the summer of 1964. I thought the cable car ride was great. Until a very large local jumped on it and blocked my view of pretty much everything but his very wide backside. The explanation of the interaction of the grip and the two types of pulleys answers two long-standing questions I've wondered about for decades but never bothered to research.
I remember visiting the cable car museum on a City Tour field trip that I took 25 years ago in the 3rd Grade. It's located on Mason Street and the motors are so loud that it made it hard for my dad, my teacher, my classmates and I to hear what she was saying aloud that day. In fact, I went on a cable car ride with my friend 6 years ago in April 2017. It was a blast and I hope to do that again someday.
8/2024......We're in Columbus, Ohio, and we visited SF, in 1988 & 1989. We enjoyed taking the cable cars. I loved watching the cable car operator, he had to operate the brake and gripper,....he was a colorful chap. We were in town for a week each time, and we tried to take the cable cars every day. It was so FUN. We have a friend who grew up in SF, and he was our guide, and he took us to all the tourist spots and other's off the beat and path. On our own we walked the length of The Golden Gate bridge, and took a bus back. I think we were about 35 years old, healthy and not overweight. We did an awful lot of walking. We saw a dead person floating face down under the Golden Gate bridge, he had committed suicide, about 30 minutes before we crossed the middle of the bridge. We didn't see him jump. It was so tragic and weird to see a perfectly well dressed person, floating face down, in the water. We went to dozens of groovy outdoor cafes, to eat croissants and sip cappuccino. Coffee houses were just beginning to come to Ohio, even before Starbucks. In the city of SF, we were at one iconic outdoor cafe, and while we were enjoying our coffee, a movie crew arrived and filmed an advertisement, with (unknown) actors, for a line of women's stockings. We were asked to become the "background" people. We were instructed not to look at the camera, and continue to eat, converse and drink our coffee. I tend to gesture with my hands when I talk, and I was told that was perfectly fine, and to continue. We would mostly likely be in "soft focus", but they wanted it to be real looking. They had to film a lot of "takes", to get the actors to their marks, while they talked, and I think the male actor had to lift the female actor up in the air, for a moment of jubilation. That was SO cool, and memorable. We're still together, and we're both 70 years old.
Thanks for posting this! My four year old found a souvenir cable car keychain that I picked up in San Fran a lifetime ago and asked whats this? We both loved the video, thanks for sharing!
Wow San Francisco looks different back then. Just visited there for the first time. Rode the cable car haha. Was an awesome city to visit. - east coaster
I think the cable cars are a national treasure. Thanks for answering many questions I had about them. Although I think California sucks I love the cable car system.
The 70's was the last time that the cable cars were still real public transportation. As a kid, I remember when you could just hop on to get where you were going. By the mid to late 80s, it was just a tourist ride. I only rode it late night when I was a student at SFSU in the late 80s. The conductors would usually recognize you as a local and not even check your muni pass.
I hope the system can recover from the pandemic well and I hope they get the boost in funding to conduct the repairs they want to do during this rare time the system is completely shut down.
@@BoleDaPole you don't think public transport is important for minorites and homeless people? The San Francisco cable car system is a national landmark. What is a country without it's heritage? Hold your breath while you answer that cause I'm sure you complain about how every group of people is currently being culturally appropriated. The reason San Francisco doesn't have affordable housing is cause nobody in San Francisco wants it. There's been many projects with lots of money set aside to help these people and they all get shot down at community meetings. You can't be a liberal unless you want affordable housing in YOUR neighborhood.
@@alec4672 no you literaly cant and it costs like 30 bucks. it goes up a hill and down a hill and there is a bus that does the same thing that is faster and cheaper. it USED to be used as public transit now its just a shitty tourist attraction
This was really interesting. I was wondering how on earth these cars made it up the hills in SF and had no idea there was even a cable involved. Thanks!
I was in SF over Xmas just before the mellinium, I remember getting on one at Union Square, all the way down to pier 39, then went over to Alcatraz, and they let me back.
I’ve been on them many many times. Twice, going downhill, they didn’t use the brakes and it was like a roller coaster. Kinda scary when you’re hanging on
I should have seen this ages ago. I've always wondered how the US system worked. Edinburgh had only cable trams from about 1880 till 1923 and the Glasgow Underground was cable too from opening in 1896 till 1935. The Edinburgh system directly replaced the horse trams. It was complex with many- 4?- winding houses. The road signage for the grippermen was in different coloured cobbles on the cobbled streets. I believe the signs were pink granite. The predominate cobble colour was grey. The Glasgow Underground had two lines with two cables, one for each track. I saw a model of the winding house and the tension arrangement was a bit more complex using what looked like a rail truck on rails.
I wonder why the London tube didn't use the cable car system. At least they tried everything till the invention of the electric locomotive that encouraged cities to build subway systems and made it possible, that tram lines aren't limited in length because horses' endurance.
@@robfriedrich2822 London had tried something like two on street cable tramways. You would think cable haulage would be ideal for the underground. But they used steam locomotives. In the 1890's The City and South London opened their deep level tube which was electric hauled from the outset which changed the game.
I'd like to know how big the system was at the time of its peak extension and how it worked back then (were crossings more complex, die they have more than one "power house"?).
@No Troll: Actually, there were as many as eight independent cable railway companies in San Francisco during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The city-operated Municipal Railway didn’t come into existence until December of 1912, and it and the largest independent company, the Market Street Railway, acquired most of the other lines over the years. The city passed various anti-competitive laws to force the independent companies out of existence and establish a city-run monopoly, acquiring the Market Street Railway in 1944. The California Street Cable Railroad lasted until 1951. The current system is a combination of the main trackage of the California Street line with portions of the Market Street Rwy. lines, re-routed and modified to operate out of the single powerhouse shown in the video. When the companies were independent, each had its own powerhouse, and in some cases more than one, depending on the extent of each system. As for extent, the Financial District was criss-crossed with cable lines, many of which extended west to Golden Gate Park. South of Market the Market St. and Howard St. lines turned south about where BART does now, and reached almost to the southern border of the city limits. The flat parts of the city were served by electric streetcars, and then buses. But even today, some of the steeper hills have to be served by electric trolley buses, because diesel buses wear out too quickly on the steepest grades.
I had a copper model cable car that played, "I Lost Heart In San Francisco." I just lost it in a house fire. I had that thing all my life. At least I found this video thinking about what I lost.
I rode these in 1964 and again in 1972. In ‘72 I shot some Super 8 movie film. It really gave some perspective on how steep those hills are. I went through San Fran in 1975, but I had to make tracks south on the PCH. Maybe I’ll get back some day.
From a person From NYC metro area I can say San Francisco is so much nicer then La the style idk and the lands and weather is so nice( when I was there) and the nearby mountains
This sort of genius transport technology could only come out of the Victorian age. All we get nowadays is gadgetbahns and memelords trying to reinvent the taxi stand
Yeah people back then did stuff with less thinking. Today, we do too much thinking and planning to do stuff. Turns out the cable car was a bad idea: it is highly inefficient because the cable is constantly moving and you lose energy from all the support pulleys. It's also quite noisy. What the modern system is to use trolleybuses: rubber-tired electric busses powered by overhead lines. They also have the benefit of being able to maneuver around obstructions. In places that have high traffic and aren't too hilly, they use trams. Metal train wheels are more efficient than tires, but can't handle hills and can be very loud.
@@stevewoodrow How bad was the neglect, and were there times where the system did not operate at all? Last time I visited SF was late 1975, and it was running then.
@@BakedRBeans There was no time that it did not operate, but the system was showing over 100 years worth of wear and tear. I think "neglect" is a little harsh, but as a matter of fact, the cable cars had not made money for the city for decades--as one might expect from a government-run monopoly--and the decay could not be ignored any longer.
Steve, do you happen to have more information about the song at the start and end? I really love it. But I can't find it anywhere online, seems to be have made for this video? But at the end, there are someone singing it "live" out in the street. Any information appreciated.
Are terrestrial cable cars worth it? I mean, compared to electric buses, trams and trolleybuses, could it be considered a good option over them? They are certainly beautiful but I wonder how good they would be in terms of cost, capacity and operation
Anyone remember that derailment that happened near the cable car museum? Even though the crew was not on board, they should have left one of the two crew members onboard to throw the wedge brake into service once the car ran out of control.
@@migamaos3953 It isn't a slur, but the guy just wanted to know the only thing in this PSA close to a slur. Oriental isn't a slur, just ignorance about what it actually means
@@seneca983 You'd end up with the current trolleybus system, it consists of electric rubber-tired buses with overhead wires. The issue with steel-wheeled trams is the hills are too steep to get good uphill traction.
@@seneca983 And San Francisco has them. They are limited to the relatively flat portions and underground tunnels. The other major issue with steel wheeled trams is noise and vibration, particularly with heavy modern cars. SF has had complains and lawsuits and allegations of building damage over this.
Many cities had cable cars: Seattle, Denver, Chicago and New York, among others. Once the electric streetcar came into being, cable systems were converted to electric. Only San Francisco still has cable cars.
th-cam.com/video/3UiRCsByOME/w-d-xo.html Worlds shortest and steepest funicular railway Dubuque, Iowa 2018 The Fenelon Place Elevator (also known as the Fourth Street Elevator) is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge funicular railway located in Dubuque, Iowa. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenelon_Place_Elevator
🤔😀 The Trolley System Is A Exact Mirror Principle Of That Of A Hi Speed Detachable Chairlift At All Ski Area.. For ANYONE Watch This Video & Then See How A Detachable Grip Works On All Chairlifts.
That is God damb awesome And thats The Truth of The matter of fact because of course that i AM wanting to Ride on a cable car And thats The Truth of The matter of fact.
Had to do a little research just out of curiosity. Never mind the song, no more nickel rides or dollar rides. Now it’s basically eight dollars for everybody, with a couple of odd exceptions.
@pmailkeey: The SF cable cars are not a funicular system, which depends on two cars linked by a cable in order to counterbalance each other as they go up and down a straight grade. Modern examples are the Washington Heights cables in Pittsburgh, PA. There were a couple of SF streets served by funicular systems: the one up Telegraph Hill, and one on the Fillmore St. hill, which linked up two (otherwise conventional) electric street cars to deal with an extremely steep grade, after negotiating which the cars would disconnect and run on the street like any other streetcar. Halliday's 1873 invention of the Cable Car was an entirely new development of cable technology, and these lines, and those in numerous other American cities, have always been referred to as "cable cars." To say this video has "nothing to do with cable cars" is incorrect.
@@millomweb Proper name for a suspended system like Roosevelt Island would be "aerial tramway". And funiculars by definition have to be counterbalanced, so an open system with uncoordinated grips like SF's is just a "cable railway". Good source is ANSI B77.1-2017 if you can find a free copy.
@@stewarts7227 Well, the SF system offers some counterbalancing - using the cable to control speed downhill. Rope = funis - which is where funicular and funambulist come from. So if it's rope-hauled, it's a funicular. Tramways are ground-based systems - by definition. Aerial ropeways exist and are generally called cable cars - for obvious reasons. SF tramcars run on trams and rope-hauled - hence is a funicular tramway.
Love the content of the video, but could do without the opening an closing "ode to cable cars" theme song... a bit cringeworthy but I really liked the explanation of the controls. Fascinating!
it’s so unreal to watch this and know that this form of mass transit has been used in SF since the 1800s…i’m sure there was some monetary kickback from the city or from MUNI for them to make this film, but still, good on you GE!
You left out a lot of stuff, like why the grip end of the car has a door, why halfway down the grip is a small rod that the grip man can turn or why there are doors on the slots in some places. I know the answers to these questions. Also the red grip doesn't always work, look up the crash in 1968, Hyde and bay. Going down Hyde the grip man lost the cable and he couldn't stop the run away cable car, it missed my mom's car by inches.
@@blue9multimediagroup The red grip never gets pulled, unless you are going down hill and you lose the cable. Pulling the red grip drives a steel place into the underside of the slot. It is the last thing you have to stop the cable car.
![Rare unseen downtown San Francisco 1940s in color [60fps, Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bZub2tAk69s/mqdefault.jpg)
San Francisco is one of the rare instances (particularly in the united states) where people fought to keep their public transit and succeeded. There are still lost lines such as the SF terminal railway and the 3rd and Townsend train station, but it's great that this is around, even though it's mainly a toursist attraction these days.
there used to be lots more cable car lines, they only kept the few for tourist purposes I believe
@@weinerinc.9344 So the cable cars are not utile for travelling to work or so? Do citizens use them regularly other than as attraction?
@@michalreingraberskaliasmiz185 The cable cars cost $8 to ride one way. Everything else, including the streetcars, cost $3 in cash to ride ($2.50 with a pre-paid transit card) and you get a transfer that's valid for as many rides as you can fit into, I believe, two hours. So you can take the cable cars to work if there's enough room, but you're paying three times the price.
@@michalreingraberskaliasmiz185 The main thing is where the cable cars go. The lines are incredibly short and mostly serve tourist destinations in a small part of downtown. Also, you have to remember that the speed while "taking rope" is 9.5 mph (it's faster while coasting down hills). Of all the lines, the California line is probably used the most by locals, but it's just not practical for most people as anything other than a bit of fun.
@@weinerinc.9344 The 1906 earthquake is largely responsible. Even back then cable cars were old fashioned and when the earthquake destroyed most of the system, it made more sense to replace the lines with electric streetcars than rebuild all the cable infrastructure. Some tracks were too steep for streetcars, so luckily a few cable car lines survived. The mayor wanted to replace them with twin engine buses in the 1940's, but a nice old lady led a campaign to save them. The city-owned lines were protected by law, but the private Cal Cable lines weren't so they were sort of chopped up and truncated them to form the current system. Btw, those twin engine buses the city ordered never really worked very well and they were mostly run in single engine mode on flatter routes.
I had this VHS when I was a kid. Instant nostalgia! 😩
I grew up riding the cars with my parents to run errands back in the 70's....then tourists took over completely....but still love them very much. I would wave as they went by, while playing on my front stoop atop Nob Hill, and the conductor would ring his bell for me...the riders would wave....happy memories! Sometimes I'd be taken to visit the museum. Loved it. And nice to see Diane Feinstein when she was Mayor! I really miss the old SF, full of artists, community, and culture. Now it's sadly just tech zombies....so stark and empty of creative energy now. :(
I don't know if you've lived or even visited anywhere else but art and culture are absolutely NOT dead in SF. It's mind boggling how much there is to this day, just go for a walk down the street sometime.
@@deluxejay69 I grew in in San Francisco, and still have my family there. I am now based out of NYC and work European cities year round. I Can assure you: compared to the time before Silicon Valley took over, SF was a world class city. Now it struggles to even get good shows at SF MoMA, and the few artists and cultural folk are hanging on by sheer luck or from familial ties enabling them to stay. Everyone I knew and grew up with- my neighbors, friends, parents and their friends..,..they were all in the arts or creatives. Affordability and tolerance for 'funky folk' was normal. Now, there simply is not room in a place that costs the same as Monte Carlo for most visual and cultural minds. There is a reason LA is now the art center of CA, and most of my fellow native San Franciscans are here in NYC or Portland. Yes, the SF Ballet, the Opera, and other cultural arts till cling on....but it is a very much reduced and fragmented piece of it's former self. It is so sad that techies seem to have zero soul.I see them walking down the street in their 'uniform'. I see the homeless struggling and ignored my enormous wealth. I would love to live in the city I grew up in, but alas, the career I have which sustained my parents is no longer viable in a place that is more dependent on tech than Detroit was on cars. Seeing a mural on a. wall does not ease the loss of entire communities and cultural hubs. Sigh.
art and culture is even more rich in sf now. people come to sf for it! just because it has a thriving tech industry doesn’t mean it lacks any of those things.
i visited SF aright after 911 it was empty and we had the cable car wave and ring his bell to us and we were all alone it was nice
I had a coworker who commuted on one of the cable car lines. So not just for tourists.
I lived on California St. for four years. Rode the California Line almost every day...Loved it.
Loved that 1980s vibe this video has.
My partner and I rode the cable cars in the 1990s, and they were so much fun to ride! I understand why they were taken over by tourists: they connected Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf with Union Square and Market Street, and provided stunning views of the bay!
I've been extremely fascinated with this system ever since I rode it the first time I visited SF. The fact that the entire railway is purely mechanical - absolutely no motor needed on board the cars themselves - is just amazing to me, no matter if it's an inefficient system and a maintenance nightmare as some might say.
Also I love how dated this video is, I think you can even see that shitty old Embarcadero freeway in the background of one of the shots lol
My wife and I had our first ride on Xmas Day, 2009. Loved it. We make a point of riding the cable cars each time we come back.
Historical note: the round-the-corner pulley system was invented in Dunedin, New Zealand, for their cable cars.
Great insight into the engineering of yesteryear. Truly a national historic treasure and hopefully continues to be maintained and operated, no matter the cost. Thank you for sharing the vid.
Many years ago, while in the Navy, I rode a cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf, and had dinner at Grotto #9. This video brought back some old memories.
I went to SF in 2019 in fact my first trip to the US, I love the place.
The cable cars are amazing,and a trip to the engine house is a must
It is so relaxing to travel on these elegant old cars passing wonderful architecture and to travel slowly.
Glad you got to see it before the pandemic. It was a great place, but in just two years fell so hard, it's unrecognizable. A shell of what it used to be.
I remember the Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda movie YOURS MINE AND OURS (1968). They filmed in San Francisco and they used the cable cars for some scenes.
@@darkwoodmovies So you mean, SF is not the beautiful City anymore? Like Steven rowe I also went 2019 for the first time to the US. And I want to come back in 2023.
@@noobofhonor27 come back in 2026. San Francisco has some work to do.
@@californiamade5608 I visited this summer and throughly enjoyed my time. Rode the cable car as well and the wait was zero minutes 😂
Visited SF as a child of about 8 which would have been the summer of 1964. I thought the cable car ride was great. Until a very large local jumped on it and blocked my view of pretty much everything but his very wide backside.
The explanation of the interaction of the grip and the two types of pulleys answers two long-standing questions I've wondered about for decades but never bothered to research.
I remember visiting the cable car museum on a City Tour field trip that I took 25 years ago in the 3rd Grade. It's located on Mason Street and the motors are so loud that it made it hard for my dad, my teacher, my classmates and I to hear what she was saying aloud that day. In fact, I went on a cable car ride with my friend 6 years ago in April 2017. It was a blast and I hope to do that again someday.
8/2024......We're in Columbus, Ohio, and we visited SF, in 1988 & 1989. We enjoyed taking the cable cars. I loved watching the cable car operator, he had to operate the brake and gripper,....he was a colorful chap. We were in town for a week each time, and we tried to take the cable cars every day. It was so FUN. We have a friend who grew up in SF, and he was our guide, and he took us to all the tourist spots and other's off the beat and path. On our own we walked the length of The Golden Gate bridge, and took a bus back. I think we were about 35 years old, healthy and not overweight. We did an awful lot of walking. We saw a dead person floating face down under the Golden Gate bridge, he had committed suicide, about 30 minutes before we crossed the middle of the bridge. We didn't see him jump. It was so tragic and weird to see a perfectly well dressed person, floating face down, in the water.
We went to dozens of groovy outdoor cafes, to eat croissants and sip cappuccino. Coffee houses were just beginning to come to Ohio, even before Starbucks. In the city of SF, we were at one iconic outdoor cafe, and while we were enjoying our coffee, a movie crew arrived and filmed an advertisement, with (unknown) actors, for a line of women's stockings. We were asked to become the "background" people. We were instructed not to look at the camera, and continue to eat, converse and drink our coffee. I tend to gesture with my hands when I talk, and I was told that was perfectly fine, and to continue. We would mostly likely be in "soft focus", but they wanted it to be real looking. They had to film a lot of "takes", to get the actors to their marks, while they talked, and I think the male actor had to lift the female actor up in the air, for a moment of jubilation. That was SO cool, and memorable. We're still together, and we're both 70 years old.
I think the woman at 12:50 was Rose Cliver, the oldest survivor of the 1906 fire until she passed in 2012 at 110 years old =D.
Great detailed explanation!
I loved riding the system when I visited in 2012.....marveling at the 19th century ingenuity and engineering!
Thanks for posting this! My four year old found a souvenir cable car keychain that I picked up in San Fran a lifetime ago and asked whats this? We both loved the video, thanks for sharing!
Was in SF in 2019, verry impressive those cable cars, enjoyed the ride very much ... Greetings from Austria
We hope you able to return.
Thank you for this video.
I just watched the remastered 1906 footage and I got the answers about how it works.
Greetings from Romania.🖐🇲🇩
Wow San Francisco looks different back then. Just visited there for the first time. Rode the cable car haha. Was an awesome city to visit. - east coaster
Not sure what was more fascinating - the video itself and the information or seeing the now-vintage automobiles all over.
I think this movie plays on a loop in the Cable Car Museum on Powell. I didn't sit and watch it at the time I was there so it is fun to see it here.
I think the cable cars are a national treasure. Thanks for answering many questions I had about them. Although I think California sucks I love the cable car system.
Rice-A-Roni......The San Francisco treat.
Ding ding
If I remember right, the gripman that was shown was a multi year winner of the annual Cable Car Bell Ringing contest.
wow thats such a cool piece of history! I want to ride them, one day
Fascinating. I may never get to California, but I'm a transit buff. I love this video.
I rode on the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines in June of 1981, before the system was rebuilt. One car even had a Rice-a-Roni ad on it.
Ah, yes, "The San Francisco treat."
@@wholeNwon Yep, that's the one!
What an absolutely fascinating video thanks so much for sharing. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Cheers from Australia.
Cool video. Gotta love those girls of the 80's!
The 70's was the last time that the cable cars were still real public transportation. As a kid, I remember when you could just hop on to get where you were going. By the mid to late 80s, it was just a tourist ride. I only rode it late night when I was a student at SFSU in the late 80s. The conductors would usually recognize you as a local and not even check your muni pass.
I wonder why that changed by the 80s. I mean I doubt they got any more or less useful 10 years later
Beginning in the late 1890s, there were cable cars in use in Columbus, Ohio, where I presently live. They were discontinued in 1948.
I wish the city was still as it was portrayed in this video
Cable cars are so much fun and a unique way to get around,the riding experience is like no other
I’ve ridden these things for decades, a good example of a good idea that’s lasted!
I hope the system can recover from the pandemic well and I hope they get the boost in funding to conduct the repairs they want to do during this rare time the system is completely shut down.
No it's a waste of money we could be using on helping the minority population and the homeless
@@BoleDaPole you don't think public transport is important for minorites and homeless people? The San Francisco cable car system is a national landmark. What is a country without it's heritage? Hold your breath while you answer that cause I'm sure you complain about how every group of people is currently being culturally appropriated. The reason San Francisco doesn't have affordable housing is cause nobody in San Francisco wants it. There's been many projects with lots of money set aside to help these people and they all get shot down at community meetings. You can't be a liberal unless you want affordable housing in YOUR neighborhood.
@@alec4672 the cable cars arent used for public transport anymore. they are a tourist attraction.
@@7cleverboys you're telling me I can't hop on one in one part of town and get off in another? Sounds like pubic transport to me...
@@alec4672 no you literaly cant and it costs like 30 bucks. it goes up a hill and down a hill and there is a bus that does the same thing that is faster and cheaper. it USED to be used as public transit now its just a shitty tourist attraction
This was really interesting. I was wondering how on earth these cars made it up the hills in SF and had no idea there was even a cable involved. Thanks!
I mean, what did you originally think the "cable" in cable cars was? Or did you just not consider it?
@@slowpoke96Z28 I actually thought these were "trams" and had engines/motors!
@@brad7957 A Standard tram wont climb this slopes .... Anything train-related ... traction (grip) is not that great.
You thought they were invented by a man named "Cable"?
@@wholeNwon haha i assumed that early versions had above-ground cables
i liked seeing the old cars.....several cougars, a few cutlass....
My family rode the cable car back in 2008 it was fun.
Amazing ! , Thanks For Sharing
Well I learned something for sure! I did not realize they were pulled by a cable in the ground! Thanks for posting the educational video.
Hence the name: “Cable Car”
@@michaelp.Watermaker Yep, seems obvious now! Lol!
@@unclemarksdiyautowas always obvious
I was in SF over Xmas just before the mellinium, I remember getting on one at Union Square, all the way down to pier 39, then went over to Alcatraz, and they let me back.
Millennium
I’ve been on them many many times. Twice, going downhill, they didn’t use the brakes and it was like a roller coaster. Kinda scary when you’re hanging on
wow....SF streets were so clean!!!
I should have seen this ages ago. I've always wondered how the US system worked. Edinburgh had only cable trams from about 1880 till 1923 and the Glasgow Underground was cable too from opening in 1896 till 1935. The Edinburgh system directly replaced the horse trams. It was complex with many- 4?- winding houses. The road signage for the grippermen was in different coloured cobbles on the cobbled streets. I believe the signs were pink granite. The predominate cobble colour was grey.
The Glasgow Underground had two lines with two cables, one for each track. I saw a model of the winding house and the tension arrangement was a bit more complex using what looked like a rail truck on rails.
I wonder why the London tube didn't use the cable car system. At least they tried everything till the invention of the electric locomotive that encouraged cities to build subway systems and made it possible, that tram lines aren't limited in length because horses' endurance.
@@robfriedrich2822 London had tried something like two on street cable tramways. You would think cable haulage would be ideal for the underground. But they used steam locomotives. In the 1890's The City and South London opened their deep level tube which was electric hauled from the outset which changed the game.
I'd like to know how big the system was at the time of its peak extension and how it worked back then (were crossings more complex, die they have more than one "power house"?).
I don't know all the details, but they used to have stationary steam engines instead of electric motors to run the cables.
@No Troll: Actually, there were as many as eight independent cable railway companies in San Francisco during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The city-operated Municipal Railway didn’t come into existence until December of 1912, and it and the largest independent company, the Market Street Railway, acquired most of the other lines over the years. The city passed various anti-competitive laws to force the independent companies out of existence and establish a city-run monopoly, acquiring the Market Street Railway in 1944. The California Street Cable Railroad lasted until 1951. The current system is a combination of the main trackage of the California Street line with portions of the Market Street Rwy. lines, re-routed and modified to operate out of the single powerhouse shown in the video. When the companies were independent, each had its own powerhouse, and in some cases more than one, depending on the extent of each system. As for extent, the Financial District was criss-crossed with cable lines, many of which extended west to Golden Gate Park. South of Market the Market St. and Howard St. lines turned south about where BART does now, and reached almost to the southern border of the city limits.
The flat parts of the city were served by electric streetcars, and then buses. But even today, some of the steeper hills have to be served by electric trolley buses, because diesel buses wear out too quickly on the steepest grades.
@@steveonmareisland5268 Thank you! 👍👍
I had a copper model cable car that played, "I Lost Heart In San Francisco." I just lost it in a house fire. I had that thing all my life. At least I found this video thinking about what I lost.
I rode these in 1964 and again in 1972. In ‘72 I shot some Super 8 movie film. It really gave some perspective on how steep those hills are. I went through San Fran in 1975, but I had to make tracks south on the PCH. Maybe I’ll get back some day.
Why did you shoot the film? Was it threatening you? 🤔
I Used to Live in San Francisco I Loved the Cable Cars ' Don't Pull the Cord It's A Mortal Sin 🤣
From a person From NYC metro area I can say San Francisco is so much nicer then La the style idk and the lands and weather is so nice( when I was there) and the nearby mountains
Which company made this video
Does it have a retro encabulator though?
Very interesting
I had this years ago but on Beta video. How can I get it copied??
You can use a youtube downloader. Just open www.y2mate.com/en57 and copy and paste this video URL. It will let you download this video in MP4 format
This sort of genius transport technology could only come out of the Victorian age. All we get nowadays is gadgetbahns and memelords trying to reinvent the taxi stand
Yeah people back then did stuff with less thinking. Today, we do too much thinking and planning to do stuff. Turns out the cable car was a bad idea: it is highly inefficient because the cable is constantly moving and you lose energy from all the support pulleys. It's also quite noisy.
What the modern system is to use trolleybuses: rubber-tired electric busses powered by overhead lines. They also have the benefit of being able to maneuver around obstructions. In places that have high traffic and aren't too hilly, they use trams. Metal train wheels are more efficient than tires, but can't handle hills and can be very loud.
Now I want a ride on a cable car.
cool how it's done vid thanks
15:54. Is this documentary from 1984 or 1994? It's difficult to be sure due to the 480p maximum quality.
It is from 1984, when the San Francisco cable car system was refurbished and reopened after years of neglect.
@@stevewoodrow How bad was the neglect, and were there times where the system did not operate at all? Last time I visited SF was late 1975, and it was running then.
...Pitchard Produtions copyright 1954...
There's no way that would be 1994, just look at the hairstyles, clothing, and automobiles.
@@BakedRBeans There was no time that it did not operate, but the system was showing over 100 years worth of wear and tear. I think "neglect" is a little harsh, but as a matter of fact, the cable cars had not made money for the city for decades--as one might expect from a government-run monopoly--and the decay could not be ignored any longer.
Steve, do you happen to have more information about the song at the start and end? I really love it. But I can't find it anywhere online, seems to be have made for this video? But at the end, there are someone singing it "live" out in the street. Any information appreciated.
"We saved the cable car"
As shown at 15:48
Is the end a teaser for part two?
How does it smoothly speed up and down
Are terrestrial cable cars worth it? I mean, compared to electric buses, trams and trolleybuses, could it be considered a good option over them? They are certainly beautiful but I wonder how good they would be in terms of cost, capacity and operation
Anyone remember that derailment that happened near the cable car museum? Even though the crew was not on board, they should have left one of the two crew members onboard to throw the wedge brake into service once the car ran out of control.
Один из самых красивейших городов мира и мой любимый!
Legit thought they were just regular trams. Also wouldn't be an old PSA without a random slur in it.
What slur?
bruh....its CABLE!!!!!!
@@blakemcnamara9105 It’s “Oriental” in the Chinatown section of the footage
@@SpecialKomrade oriental isnt a slur moron
@@migamaos3953 It isn't a slur, but the guy just wanted to know the only thing in this PSA close to a slur. Oriental isn't a slur, just ignorance about what it actually means
Время моей молодости 😀😀😀😀😀
Is that a UK built MK1 Ford Fiesta at 3:02?
Liked, mostly for the awesome soundtrack…legitest
Not the same without the traditional Rice-a-Roni ads on the front!
Can you imagine creating something like this in modern city?
People in XX century were crazy
If you're creating a new system from scratch then a regular tram with electric motors and overhead wires is probably simpler.
1873 - therefore 19th century, not 20th :-)
@@seneca983 You'd end up with the current trolleybus system, it consists of electric rubber-tired buses with overhead wires. The issue with steel-wheeled trams is the hills are too steep to get good uphill traction.
@@straightpipediesel Steel-wheeled trams work quite well in a plenty of places.
@@seneca983 And San Francisco has them. They are limited to the relatively flat portions and underground tunnels. The other major issue with steel wheeled trams is noise and vibration, particularly with heavy modern cars. SF has had complains and lawsuits and allegations of building damage over this.
The song at the beginning is brilliant! Anyone know it's name?
Its in the ending credits "We Saved The Cable Car" by Earl Stevens.
@@jefflewis4 oh thank you so much, I didn't catch that!
🎈 it's a celebration!! 😀🎉
Как интересно! 👍👍👍
Great video. But why did you call the wine a savvy plonk? 😂
I believe Dubuque Iowa had cable cars years ago. My maternal grandfather was a conductor on the cars in Dubuque.
Many cities had cable cars: Seattle, Denver, Chicago and New York, among others. Once the electric streetcar came into being, cable systems were converted to electric. Only San Francisco still has cable cars.
@@8avexp I remember that my grandma showed me his little hat that he wore while he was working.
th-cam.com/video/3UiRCsByOME/w-d-xo.html
Worlds shortest and steepest funicular railway Dubuque, Iowa 2018
The Fenelon Place Elevator (also known as the Fourth Street Elevator) is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge funicular railway located in Dubuque, Iowa.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenelon_Place_Elevator
@@NoName-zn1sbthat's not a cable car in this sense.
Funny the song’s lyrics near the end sings the fares… 5 and under free, 17 and under $.25, 18+ $1…. Now it’s $8 for everyone!
12:29
Who else noticed “Rice a Roni”?
Apparently they retained all the tradition!
🤔😀 The Trolley System Is A Exact Mirror Principle Of That Of A Hi Speed Detachable Chairlift At All Ski Area.. For ANYONE Watch This Video & Then See How A Detachable Grip Works On All Chairlifts.
А сейчас такой транспорт есть в городе?
Why do educational films always seem to have distracting background music?
Because it's from the early 80's lol
Plaza Sesamo !!!!
I never knew cable cars and street cars were to diffrent things. I was way to use to being in new orlins
That is God damb awesome And thats The Truth of The matter of fact because of course that i AM wanting to Ride on a cable car And thats The Truth of The matter of fact.
that 1980s computer graphics for a 1800s cable car is a mix of cyber punk and steam punk
I miss living in SF
i wonder if the lever is still called a gypsy
Had to do a little research just out of curiosity. Never mind the song, no more nickel rides or dollar rides. Now it’s basically eight dollars for everybody, with a couple of odd exceptions.
Hi...can You translante it to spanish to get to understand how iT works?
A very interesting film/video about a funicular tramway system. Nothing to do with cable cars - like those found at Roosevelt Island.
@pmailkeey: The SF cable cars are not a funicular system, which depends on two cars linked by a cable in order to counterbalance each other as they go up and down a straight grade. Modern examples are the Washington Heights cables in Pittsburgh, PA. There were a couple of SF streets served by funicular systems: the one up Telegraph Hill, and one on the Fillmore St. hill, which linked up two (otherwise conventional) electric street cars to deal with an extremely steep grade, after negotiating which the cars would disconnect and run on the street like any other streetcar. Halliday's 1873 invention of the Cable Car was an entirely new development of cable technology, and these lines, and those in numerous other American cities, have always been referred to as "cable cars." To say this video has "nothing to do with cable cars" is incorrect.
@@steveonmareisland5268 They are funiculars - no doubt about that. And cable cars are suspended by the cables.
@@millomweb Proper name for a suspended system like Roosevelt Island would be "aerial tramway". And funiculars by definition have to be counterbalanced, so an open system with uncoordinated grips like SF's is just a "cable railway". Good source is ANSI B77.1-2017 if you can find a free copy.
@@stewarts7227 Well, the SF system offers some counterbalancing - using the cable to control speed downhill.
Rope = funis - which is where funicular and funambulist come from. So if it's rope-hauled, it's a funicular.
Tramways are ground-based systems - by definition. Aerial ropeways exist and are generally called cable cars - for obvious reasons. SF tramcars run on trams and rope-hauled - hence is a funicular tramway.
@@stewarts7227 Roosevelt cable cars do not use trams - so cannot be a tramway.
Love the content of the video, but could do without the opening an closing "ode to cable cars" theme song... a bit cringeworthy but I really liked the explanation of the controls. Fascinating!
This movie was produced the year I was born
Too bad Providence (Rhode Island) didn't save their College Hill cablecar (later actually a counterbalance car) line.
And all this with 170 hp in comparison to the 200-300 hp of each car in SF
The jingle says it costs a dollar but it’s $9 now I think!
Thought that was gonna be Full House for a sec
12:47 '06 Survivor!
it’s so unreal to watch this and know that this form of mass transit has been used in SF since the 1800s…i’m sure there was some monetary kickback from the city or from MUNI for them to make this film, but still, good on you GE!
Remember when General Electric was relevant
Jet engines, I guess.
0:02 Queen Stephanie's horn
You left out a lot of stuff, like why the grip end of the car has a door, why halfway down the grip is a small rod that the grip man can turn or why there are doors on the slots in some places. I know the answers to these questions. Also the red grip doesn't always work, look up the crash in 1968, Hyde and bay. Going down Hyde the grip man lost the cable and he couldn't stop the run away cable car, it missed my mom's car by inches.
Maintenance
Why do you need to know that info?
Has no relevance to how the car operates.
And the red grip does work, but it also has to work with momentum as well, or do you not understand how gravity and inertia work?
@@blue9multimediagroup The red grip never gets pulled, unless you are going down hill and you lose the cable. Pulling the red grip drives a steel place into the underside of the slot. It is the last thing you have to stop the cable car.
I didn’t know Richard Pryor worked a cable car.