San Francisco Cable Cars

Cable cars have been a mode of transportation in San Francisco since 1873. Used by tourists for sightseeing and natives for getting to work, the current cable cars are maintained by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). There are 28 Powell Street cars and 12 California Street cars. The single-ended Powell Street cars are the older of the two types now in service.

The Powell cars have one open grip end. There are turntables built into the street to turn the car around at the ends of the Powell-Mason and the Powell-Hyde lines. This type of car is a scaled down version of the large combination cars developed in the early 1880’s by Henry Root for the Market Street Cable Railway.

Cable Car Tour
Nearby Hotel
Cable Car Museum

The Double-Ended California Type Cars. The double-ended California type cars were developed later and have been used on California Street since 1891 when Leland Stanford’s California Street Cable Railroad (Cal Cable) began replacing their 2-car trains. These cars are equipped with a set of control levers at each end, thus eliminating the need for a turntable at each end of the line. To change direction on the California Street line, the car crosses over to the opposing track and the grip-man uses the grip at the other end of the car.

For more information, visit www.cablecarmuseum.org/cablecars.html.

San Francisco Motorized Cable Car Tour. San Francisco Tours offers a motorized cable car tour in San Francisco. Enjoy a 2.5 hour narrated tour aboard an authentic motorized cable car or hop on and off of a San Francisco trolley car. Motorized tour includes such sights as Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, Nob Hill, Downtown, Chinatown, Palace of Fine Arts, Union Square and Golden Gate Bridge. On the Trolley Hop, you may hop on or hop off at any of the following locations: Pier 41, Ghirardelli Square and Union Square. Tours are available every day except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. There is no hotel pick-up or drop-off provided. Reserve online at www.sanfranciscotours.us/ or call toll-free at 888-478-1465. [Top]

San Francisco, CA Hotel near Cable Cars. Business and budget travelers alike will find a lot to like about our downtown San Francisco boutique hotel. Enjoy comfortable, contemporary accommodations, hospitable service and complimentary continental breakfast. And our location is ideal. We’re within walking distance of the financial district, Union Square and San Francisco’s signature attraction, the cable cars. [Top]

San Francisco Cable Car Museum. Established in 1974, the Cable Car Museum is located in the historic Washington/Mason Street cable car barn and powerhouse. View the huge engines and winding wheels that pull the cables from the Museum deck. Downstairs you can check out the large sheaves and cable line entering the building through the channel under the street. Examine various mechanical devices such as grips, track, cable, brake mechanisms, tools, detailed models, and a large collection of historic photographs. Discover three antique cable cars from the 1870s-the Sutter Street Railway No. 46 grip car & No. 54 trailer and the only surviving car from the first cable car company, the Clay Street Hill Railroad No. 8 grip car. For more information, visit www.cablecarmuseum.org/museum.html. [Top]

Mithila Hotel - San Francisco, CA
972 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: 415-441-9297 Fax: 415-441-2379
Email: mithilahotel@aol.com