San Francisco's beloved cable cars

As a part of the Cable Car Gearbox Rehab Project, Muni will run bus shuttles for the Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason and California cable car lines starting Sept. 13, 2019 for about 10 days.

Release time : 2019-09-17 11:50:10

source : San Francisco Travel Association

is there to take them.

These one of a kind vehicles celebrated their 100th birthday with a 10-day jubilee in August of 1973, but only nine years later, a problem arose. It seemed that after being in service for over a century, the beloved cable car system had deteriorated beyond repair. To rebuild it would cost $60 million and take at least 20 months.

When it became known that the cable cars’ survival was at stake, contributions came in from every corner of the world to help save them. The City of San Francisco was able to raise $10 million from the private sector alone. The federal government aided the project with a $46.5 million contribution, and the State of California chimed in with a $3.6 million contribution.

In an operation similar to open heart surgery, four-and-a-half miles and 69 blocks of city streets were torn up section by section to make way for new cables, tracks, turntables and utility lines. The cable car barn at Washington and Mason Streets was almost entirely rebuilt. Meanwhile, the cable cars were getting a makeover of their own.

Finally, in mid-1984, the ordeal was over and the unveiling was ready. Crowds lined the tracks, helicopters hovered above, and the bands played. At noon, a thunderous cheer went up as bells clanged and pedestrians piled on to their familiar old favorite for another 100 years of service.

Though it has been a long and winding road for the cable car, it has proven itself to be a part of the heart of San Francisco.