Cable Cars

In 1869, Andrew Hallidie witnessed a horrible accident as a horse drawn streetcar slid backwards down a steep slippery San Francisco street. Four years later, Hallidie introduced the city to its first cable car. Now, the San Francisco cable car system (part of the intermodal urban transport network) is an icon of San Francisco and is the world’s last manually operated cable car system.

Did you know?

  • The first cable car system opened in east London, England, in 1840.
  • As cable cars appeared in cities around the world, people were most interested in their ability to replace horse-drawn vehicles. However, cable cars were also better able to climb hills, an important quality in hilly San Francisco!

Links:

San Francisco Cable Car Website

Cable Car Guy

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