The San Francisco cable car system is the world's most manually operated cable-hanging system. The San Francisco icon, a cable car system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway. Of the 23 lines set between 1873 and 1890, only three remain (one of which combines parts of the previous two lines): two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, and a third route along California Street. While cable cars are used to some extent by commuters, the majority of their 7 million annual passengers are tourists. They are one of the most significant sights in the city, along with Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman's Wharf. The cable car is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The cable cars do not have to be equated with San Francisco's legacy streetcars, which operate on Market Street and Embarcadero.
Video San Francisco cable car system
History
Beginner
In 1869, Andrew Smith Hallidie had an idea for a cable car system in San Francisco, reported after witnessing an accident where the tram pulled by horses on wet rocks slid back, killing the horses.
The first successful cable-operated railway line is the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which opened on 2 August 1873. The promoter of the line was Hallidie, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer. The line involves the use of a car's grip, which carries the handle of the wires, pulls the car's hoist; the design is the first to use the grip. The term "handle" becomes identical with the operator.
The line started regular service on September 1, 1873, and its success led it to be a template for other cable car transport systems. It was a financial success, and Hallidie's patent was imposed on other cable car promoters, making her rich.
Different accounts of how exactly Hallidie was at the beginning of the line, and the exact date that was first executed.
Expansion
The next cable car line to be opened is the Sutter Train, which was transformed from a horse operation in 1877. The line introduces a side handle, and a lever operation, both designed by Henry Casebolt and his assistant Asa Hovey, and patented by Henry Casebolt. This idea arose because Casebolt refused to pay Hallidie royalty of $ 50,000 per year for the use of his patent. The side grip allows the cable car to cross at the intersection.
In 1878, Leland Stanford opened California Street Cable Railroad (Cal Cable). The company's first line is on California Street and is the oldest cable line still in operation. In 1880, Geary Street, Park & ​​â € <â € < Ocean Railway started operations. The Presidio and Ferry trains followed two years later, and were the first cable companies to incorporate a curve in its path. The curve is a "let-go" curve, where the car drops wires and beaches around the curve at its own momentum.
In 1883, the Market Street Cable Car line opened its first line. The company is controlled by the Southern Pacific Railroad and will grow to become the largest cable car carrier in San Francisco. At its peak, it operates five lanes that all merge with Market Street to the public terminal at the Ferry Building. During peak hours, the car leaves the terminal every 15 seconds.
In 1888, the Ferries and Cliff House Railway opened an initial two-lane system. The Powell-Mason line is still operated on the same route today; their other route is the Powell-Washington-Jackson line, which stretches the one used by the Powell-Hyde line today. Ferries & amp; Cliff House Railway is also responsible for the construction of warehouses and power plants in Washington and Mason, and the site is still in use today. That same year, also purchased the original Clay Street Hill Railway, which was incorporated into the new Sacramento-Clay line in 1892.
In 1889, Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company was the last new cable car operator in San Francisco. The following year, California Street Cable Railroad opened two new lanes, this is a completely newly built cable car line in the city. One is the O'Farrell-Jones-Hyde line, the Hyde section that still operates as part of the current Powell-Hyde line.
Altogether, twenty-three lines were established between 1873 and 1890.
Decline
The first electric cart in San Francisco began operating in 1892 under the auspices of San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway. At the time, it was estimated that it would cost twice as much to build and six times as much to operate a cable car as an electric tram.
In early 1906 many of the remaining cable cars in San Francisco were under the control of United Railroads of San Francisco (URR), although Cal Cable and Geary Street Company remained independent. URR is urging to convert many of its cable lines into electric traction overhead, but this is opposed by opponents who object to what they see as an ugly overhead path on the main downtown road.
The objection disappeared after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The earthquake and the devastating fires destroyed power plant homes and carballs from both Cal Cables and Powell Street URR lines, along with 117 cable carts housed inside. The next race to rebuild the city allows the URR to replace most of its cable car lines with electric tram lines. At the same time, Geary Street's independent line was replaced by city-owned electric tram lines, the first line of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni).
In 1912, only eight cable car lines remained, all with steep gradients that could not be bypassed by electric trams. In the 1920s and 1930s, these lines were under pressure from much better buses of that era, which could now climb steeper hills than electric trams. In 1944, the only remaining cable car was two lines of Powell Street - at that time in the possession of the city, as part of the Muni - and three lines owned by independent Cal Cables.
Counter back
In 1947, Mayor Roger Lapham proposed the closure of both lines owned by the city government. In response, a joint meeting of 27 women's civil groups, led by Friedel Klussmann, formed the Citizens Committee to Save Cable Trains. In a famous struggle of desire, the citizens' committee finally imposed a referendum on amendments to the city charter, forcing the city to continue operating the lines of Powell Street. It went very, with 166,989 votes to 51,457.
In 1951, three of Cal's cable channels were closed when the company was unable to afford the insurance. The city bought and reopened the line in 1952, but amendments to the city charter did not protect them, and the city went on with plans to replace them by bus. Once again Klussmann came to the rescue, but with little success. The result is a compromise that forms the current system: a protected system consisting of the California Road line from Cal Cable, the Powell-Mason line is already in municipal possession, and the third hybrid line formed by grafting the Hyde Street section of Cal Cable's O'Farrell-Jones- Hyde lines to the Powell-Washington-Jackson line were cut, now known as the Powell-Hyde line.
This solution requires some redevelopment to change the Hyde Street and terminus paths to operations by single-ended cars from the Powell line, and also to allow the entire system to be operated from one car barn and power house. Many infrastructures remain unchanged from the earthquake.
Rebuild
In 1979, the cable car system became unsafe, and it needed to be closed for seven months for much needed repairs. The next engineering evaluation concluded that a comprehensive rebuild was needed at a cost of $ 60 million. Mayor Dianne Feinstein took over the effort, and helped win federal funding for most of the rebuilding work. In 1982 the cable car system was closed again to rebuild completely. This involves the total replacement of cable channels and channels along 69 city blocks, rebuilding of granaries and a complete powerhouse in the original outer brick wall, new propulsion equipment, and repair or rebuilding of 37 cable cars. The system reopened on June 21, 1984, in time to benefit from the publicity that accompanied San Francisco to host the Democratic National Convention that year.
Recent history
Since 1984, Muni has continued to improve the system. The work has included rebuilding other historic cars, building nine new replacement cars, building new terminals and turntables at Hyde and Beach terminus, and new turntables at Powell and Market terminals.
Cable cars are basically used by tourists rather than commuters. This system serves a city area that is already served by a large number of buses and trolleybuses. Two lines on Powell Street (Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason) both serve only the residential and tourist/shopping districts (Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Nob Hill, Aquatic Park and Fisherman's Wharf), with the "downtown" end of both a considerable distance from the Financial District. The California Street Line is mostly used by commuters, because its terminal is in the Financial District.
In 2006, the mayor of Gavin Newsom reported that he had observed several conductors pocketing cash from a motorist without a receipt. The following year, the San Francisco auditor's office reported that the city did not receive the expected revenue from cable cars, with about 40% of cable car drivers riding for free. Muni's management denied this figure, and showed that safe operations, rather than revenue collection, were the main tasks of the conductors. By 2017, after the audit showed that some conductors "consistently changed in low cash amounts" and stinging operations, one conductor was arrested for alleged embezzlement of crime.
The US Department of Transportation calculates a cable car among mass transportation systems with the most accidents per year and vehicle miles in the US, with 126 accidents and 151 injured people reported by the city for 10 years until 2013. The record obtained by the Press Association in 2013 shows that during three years, the city of San Francisco has paid nearly $ 8 million to complete about four dozen legal claims relating to a cable car accident.
Maps San Francisco cable car system
Operation
Cable and clutch
The cable car is pulled by a cable that runs under the road, held by a grip that extends from the car through a gap in the road surface, between the rails. Each cable is 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter, running at a constant speed of 9.5 miles per hour (15.3 km/h), and driven by a 510 hp (380 kW) electric motor located at a central power plant (see below), through a series of self-adjustable files. Each cable has six steel strands, with each strand containing 19 wires, wrapped around the core of the sisal strap (to allow for easier gripping). The cable is coated with a tar-like material that serves as the victim's lubricant - like a pencil eraser scrape away from paper. To start and stop the movement of the car, gripman (see below) closes and unlocks the grip around the cable (similar to a conventional car clutch). The jaw grip exerts pressure up to 30,000 pounds per square inch (210,000 kPa) on the cable.
There are four separate cables: one 16,000 ft (4,900 m) long and one 10,300 ft (3,100 m) long for Hyde and Mason segments, 9,300 feet (2,800 m) in length for their common Powell section, and 21,000 ft (6,400 m) California Street line.
Brake
Regardless of the cable itself (which gives the braking force when it goes down), the cable cars use three separate braking systems:
- Metal brake boots on the front and rear wheels, the gripman can operate through the pedals located next to the handle. On the Powell-Mason line, they can also be powered by a conductor, through a lever at the rear of the car.
- A wooden brake block between wheels pressed into the track as the grip pulls the lever, causing the car to stop. Four blocks are made of Douglas pine (pine) and can produce a burning wood smell while operating. They should be replaced only after a few days.
- An emergency brake consisting of a piece of steel, about 1.5 inches thick and 18 inches long, is suspended under the car and pushed into the track slot (opening through which the handle reaches the wire) when gripman pulls the lever. It clamps tightly into the slot and often has to be removed with a welding torch.
Network
The current cable car network consists of three routes. Like all City Train Routes (Muni) that have route numbers or letters, cable lines have route numbers, but cable routes are generally called by the names of the streets in which they travel. The Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines use a single-ended car, which must be looped or rotated like a bus at the end of a line; single-ended cable car using a powerless manual turntable to rotate the car. There are three road turntables to do this, one at the end of each of the three terminals: in Market & amp; Powell Streets, Taylor & amp; Bay Streets, and Hyde & amp; Beach Streets, with a fourth turntable located inside a car granary in Washington and Jackson Streets. Powell-Mason The line Powell-Mason (Line 59) shares a trail of Powell-Hyde lines as far as Mason Street, where it crosses Washington and Jackson Streets. Here the line turns right and descends along Mason Street, which is about to take off along Columbus Avenue, and then down Taylor Street to the terminal at Taylor and Bay. The terminus is close but two blocks back from the waterfront at Fisherman's Wharf. Like Powell-Hyde, there's a manual-powered turntable at each end to reverse the car. This line is also very used by tourists, but also some commuters.
There is also a set of non-revenue tracks from the California Street line along Hyde Street to join the Powell-Hyde line in Hyde and Washington. This connection is there to activate California Street car to reach the car granary.
The cable car system is connected on both terminals on Market Street with the F-market tramway line. The Taylor and Bay terminals, and Hyde and Beach terminals, are both a short walk from the F Market line.
Rate and revenue
Starting July 1, 2015, driving a cable car costs $ 7 for one trip, except for seniors riding before 7 am or after 9 pm when the senior rate is $ 3. $ 7 Cable Car Souvenir Tickets are sold in advance and include San souvenirs Francisco and one trip. In addition to this single ride ticket, wired ride rides are included in monthly Muni tickets, as well as 1 day, 3 day, 7 day, and CityPASS program tickets. The pass that is loaded on the Clipper card can be read by a conductor with a mobile device. No transfer or ticket receipt is accepted. In the 1960s, the fare for one trip was 15 cents.
In the 2012 budget, sales of $ 6 Car Car Transportation Tickets reached $ 4,125,386. $ 6 single rider tickets sold by cable car conductors amounted to $ 9,888,001. Based on both tickets alone, the daily rider of the cable car system is over 6400. By 2017, the San Francisco Chronicle describes the cable car as "cash cow" to Muni, generating an annual income of around $ 30 million.
Car
- The single-ended car serves the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines. These cars have open fronts, with outward-facing seats flanking the grip and a collection of levers that move the grip and various brakes. The back of the car is closed, with seats facing inside and the entrance at each end and the car has a small platform at the back. This car has a length of 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 m) and a width of 8 feet (2.4 m) and weighs 15,500 pounds (7,000 kg). They have 60 passenger capacity, 29 of them are seated. These cars must be rotated to reverse direction at each end of the line, an operation performed on a turntable. Most of these cars were built or rebuilt in the 1990s in the Muni Forest Carpentry Division.
- Double-ended cars serve the California Street line. These cars are somewhat longer, have an open side handle on both ends and a closed section in the middle. These cars are 30 feet 3Ã, inches (9.2 m) long and 8 feet wide (2.4 m) long and weigh 16,800 pounds (7,600 kg). They can accommodate 68 passengers, 34 of them seated. The California Street line has no turning ability at each end, resulting in the need for double cars to end. Some of these are former O'Farrell, Jones, and Hyde Street cable cars, while some of these cables were built in 1998 in the Forest Development Division/Carpentry Section of Muni.
Both types of cars ride on a pair of four-wheeled trucks, to adjust the narrow passage of 3Ã, ftÃ, 6Ã, in ( 1.067Ã, mm ). The term California Street automobile , like in a car that runs on the California Street line, should not be confused with the California Car . The latter term applies to all cable cars currently operating in San Francisco, and is a historical term that distinguishes this car's style from the previous style in which the open and closed grip section is a separate four-wheeled car (known as car grip and trailer).
There are 28 single-ended cars operating on the Powell line and 12 double-ended cars operating on the California Street line. Cable cars are sometimes replaced with new or recovered cars, with old cars being transferred to storage for repair. There are 2 cable cars in the warehouse at the cable car/power house museum inside the garage, the 19 and 42 car numbers used on the Sacramento-Clay and O'Farrell lines, Jones and Hyde Street, respectively.
Car warehouse, power house and museum
The car's barn is located between Washington and Jackson Streets, just above where Mason Street crosses them. The cars retreated to the warehouse on Jackson Street and ran to Washington Street, down the hill for both moves. To ensure that a single ended car leaves it facing in the right direction, the car barns contain the fourth turntable. The car is driven around the car's granary with the help of a tired rubber tractor.
The car's granary is located just above the electric house and the Cable Car Museum. The museum entrance is in Washington and Mason. It contains some examples of old cable cars, along with small exhibits and stores. The two galleries allow visitors to overlook the main generator house, as well as to descend under the junction of Washington and Mason Streets and see the big cave where the hauling cord is funneled into the street.
Gripmen and Conductors
Cable car drivers are known as gripman or hand operators. This is a highly skilled job, requiring the guard to smoothly operate the grip lever to grasp and disconnect the cable, release the handle at certain points to crash the vehicle over the intersection wire or the place where the cable does not follow in the footsteps, and to anticipate as far as possible collision with other traffic that may not understand the limitations of the cable car. Being a handyman requires the upper body strength required for grip and brake, as well as good hand-eye coordination and balance.
In August 2011, there were two women handles, Fannie Mae Barnes, who served from 1998 to 2002, and Willa Johnson, who became operational grip in April 2010.
In addition to the grip, each carriage carriage carries a conductor in charge of collecting fees, managing passengers and getting out of the passenger, and controlling the rear wheel brakes as it descends the hill. With the common practice of carrying passengers standing on board the cable car runs, passenger management is an important task.
Some crew members are well-known local figures.
The bell rings with a car cable
On the second or third Thursday of July, a cable car bell race is held in Union Square between the cable car crew, following the preliminary round held during the second week to the end or the last week of June. The preliminary round determines which contestant progresses to the final round at Union Square, with the point process provided by the panel of judges.
See also
References
Further reading
- Val Lupiz and Walter Rice (2004). "San Francisco: cable cars are here to stay". Tram & amp; Transit Urban , October 2004, pp. 376-378. Light Rail Transit Association and Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. ISSNÃ, 1460-8324
- Robert Callwell and Walter Rice (2000). Cable and Hand: Cable Car San Francisco . Friends of the Car Cable Museum.
- "Cable Railway Edition". Mining and Scientific Writing . San Francisco, CA. 18 July 1885.
External links
- The Cable Car Museum website
- Cable Cars Information on SFMTA's official website
- The San Francisco Car Hire (personal website)
- The Cable Home Page page
- Cable & amp; Guide
- The Market Street Railway Cable Page
- an article based on scripophily return. San Francisco Cable Car, Cal Cable, and Swiss Borel Banker (in German)
- Interactive map of San Francisco cable tram and cable network
- Historical American Engineering Records (HAER) No.Ã, CA-12, "San Francisco Cable Car", 65 photos, 8 measurable images, 114 data pages, 15 photo captions
- "San Francisco Cable Cars" (pdf) . Photos . National Park Service . Retrieved May 21 2012 .
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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