The inspiration for a cable car in San Francisco first came from an Englishman by the name of Andrew Smith Hallidie , who had realized the dangerous effects of an horse-drawn overloaded street car. Son of a wire rope manufacturer, Hallidie put this technology to efficient use when he first built the cable car. Finally on August 2, 1873, Hallidie tested the first cable car system in San Francisco near the top of Nob Hill at Clay and Jones Streets. However the Great Earthquake of 1906, which was responsible for transforming much of the city into a heap of ruins had also damaged the Cable car system operating in the city.
Basically three car routes currently operate in San Francisco. At Powell and Market Streets, there is a cable car turntable from where passengers can board the cable car for any of the 2 routes called the Powell-Mason line and the Powell-Hyde line. In addition to these two lines there is also a third line in operation called the California Street Line.This California Street Line runs east to west covering the areas of the whole of the Financial District including Chinatown and Nob Hill and finally reaches the destination of Van Ness Avenue.
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Since all the lines have converging routes, signs are painted straight at the sides of the cars.
The historic landmark of the cable car Barn and Powerhouse allows visitors a view of the actual cable winding machinery and also a view of the path of the cable entering and leaving the building. Cable car tickets can be purchased from the conductors after actually boarding the car or at the different turntables operating at various street corners. The cable car transformed as a major symbol of San Francisco city and as such an irresistible attraction for tourists too.
A ride on the car is allowed to visitors provided they hold a valid passport and the charges of tickets for them and the locals are the same. The cable car offers services on all seven days of the week with special schedules on weekends. It is fantastic to take a view of the city riding around in a cable car. The cable car of San Francisco has since 1997 gone online with the name of sfcar.com and complete information about the cable car system in the city is available here.
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