The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and its nonprofit conservation partner, Market Street Railway, have partnered with a dozen organizations, including business and trade groups, as well as nonprofit history and conservation organizations, to host a series of special events throughout summer and fall 2023, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the cable car, San Francisco’s landmark.

The six-month series of events includes the first-ever public tours of the Muni store in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco, where cable cars are being built and rebuilt; Historical walking and cycling tours of the neighborhoods served by the cable car lines; the planned operation of ‘ghost’ cable cars from disappeared lines; and a re-enactment of cable car founder Andrew Hallidie’s historic first ride. All are detailed on sfcablecars.org.

San Francisco’s Cable Cars are among the only moving National Historic Landmarks. To make it easier for visitors and residents to experience cable car rides, a special $5 all-day pass is available July 1 through the end of 2023, allowing riders to hop on and off the California cable car line and explore neighborhoods along the route. A standard point-to-point cable car ticket costs $8.

Residents and visitors can also use their existing $13 all-day Muni Visitor Pass to hop on and off all cable cars, historic F-Line trams, Muni trains and buses, and to walk through neighborhoods near the cable car company lines. The passes are available via the Muni Mobile smartphone app. For travel guides to points of interest along and near the cable car lines, the San Francisco Travel Association has three travel guides on its website for the Powell-Mason Line, the Powell-Hyde Line, and the California Street Line.

“For 150 years, residents and visitors have enjoyed the incredible experience of riding our cable cars through our neighborhoods and taking in breathtaking views of the bay that are famous around the world,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. “San Francisco is unimaginable without our legendary cable cars. To celebrate the 150th anniversary, we invite everyone to experience the magic of San Francisco on our wonderful cable cars.”

The six-month celebrations began on June 13 at California, Drumm and Market Streets when Mayor Breed, Board President Aaron Peskin and SFMTA Transportation Director Jeffrey Tumlin joined civic, business and neighborhood leaders in attending the oldest surviving cable car float , “Big 19”, originally built in 1883 to operate on Market Street and one of the largest cable cars ever built. The inaugural drive took them through the Financial District, Chinatown and over Nob Hill to Polk Gulch and Van Ness Avenue.

“San Francisco is famous for hosting wonderful community events, and what better way to celebrate than 150 years of cable cars,” said Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA’s director of transportation. “SFMTA owns and operates the cable cars as part of Muni, but actually everyone owns them and we invite people from around the world, around the bay and around the block to enjoy our legendary cable cars.”

“No other city in the world has cable cars. San Francisco was the first city to have cable cars, and since 1957 we’ve been the only city to operate them,” said Rick Laubscher, President of Market Street Railway. “Our special 150th anniversary website, sfcablecars.org, is full of cable car history and little-known stories. It also makes it easy to combine cable car rides with walking tours of Chinatown, the Barbary Coast, Fisherman’s Wharf, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Union Square, Polk Gulch, and the Financial District. It’s a great year to rediscover San Francisco and the cable cars.”

Events and program for the anniversary of the cable car

The cable car, which was the focus of the opening event, is unique. In the 1880s, the facility was open-sided and carried crowds of riders from the Ferry Building down Market Street and Haight Street to enjoy Golden Gate Park. After the earthquake and fire of 1906, “Big 19” switched to the Sacramento-Clay route, the successor to Andrew Hallidie’s original 1873 cable car line, and operated there from 1907 to 1942, when that line was closed. Restored by Muni artisans, the Big 19, one of the largest cable cars ever built, kicked off the celebrations with a ride up California Street through Chinatown and over Nob Hill, just two blocks south of inventor Hallidie’s Clay Street line.

Later in the summer, Muni hopes to use the “Big 19” in scheduled service on the California Street line every Saturday through the fall as part of the celebrations. If the work can be completed, Muni also plans to operate Cable Car 42 monthly on its original Hyde Street

tracking. Cable car 42 operated the O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line until 1954 when the southern half of the line was abandoned and the tracks at Hyde were connected to part of a Powell Street line. Car 42 retains its original 1907 paintwork and details. Decades after it was sold as surplus to a Santa Barbara County rancher following the closure of the O’Farrell line, Market Street Railway brought it back to San Francisco and partnered with Muni to get it working again.

On the actual 150th Anniversary, August 2, historical figures representing Andrew Hallidie, Emperor Norton, Domingo Ghirardelli, Lotta Crabtree and other notable San Franciscans from 150 years ago will gather at 10 a.m. at Hallidie Plaza at Powell Street and Market Street gather to honor Hallidie’s historic monument first run. This is followed by an invitation-only lunch honoring Cable Car heroes, including Hallidie; Friedel Klussmann, who saved the cable cars in 1947; Senator Dianne Feinstein, who as mayor 40 years ago personally oversaw the rebuilding of the cable car system; Fannie Mae Barnes, the first woman to operate a cable car as “Gripman” 25 years ago; and other.

For the interested reader, the San Francisco Public Library has compiled a list of Cable Car books available at its various branches. The Main Library’s San Francisco History Center will host an exhibit of historic cable car photos later this summer in collaboration with the SFMTA Photo Archive. The Market Street Railway’s free San Francisco Railway Museum on Steuart Street across from the Ferry Building will open a special exhibit celebrating 150 years of cable cars in mid-July.

The post San Francisco Celebrates 150 Years of Cable Vehicles appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

In 29 Städten im ganzen Land kreuzten früher Seilbahnen ihre Straßen. Heute findet man diese einzigartige Form des öffentlichen Nahverkehrs nur noch in San Francisco, wo die Cable Car in diesem Jahr ihren 150. Geburtstag feiert.

„Wir feiern die erste technologische Innovation in San Francisco“, sagte Rick Laubscher, Präsident der Market Street Railway, „die erste von vielen.“

Im Rahmen der Feierlichkeiten zum 150-jährigen Jubiläum gibt es von Mai bis Oktober jeden Samstag die Möglichkeit, die Seilbahn-Schreinerei in Dogpatch zu besichtigen – die noch nie zuvor für die Öffentlichkeit zugänglich war – und mit der größten und ältesten Seilbahn der Stadt zu fahren. Es gibt auch eine Nachstellung in den Werken dieser allerersten Fahrt am 2. August 1873.

Ebenfalls in Arbeit: Eine potenzielle Partnerschaft mit der gemeinnützigen San Francisco Heritage im Oktober, um eine Spuk-Cable-Car-Tour zu veranstalten, die von der „Ghost Cable Car Line“ inspiriert ist, deren Gleise in den 1940er Jahren herausgerissen wurden.

„Seilbahnen sind nicht nur ein Spielzeug“, sagte Laubscher. „Sie waren so viele Jahre lang für unsere Wirtschaft von wesentlicher Bedeutung und haben viele Menschen beeinflusst.“

Zu einer Zeit, in der der Tourismus in San Francisco wieder an Fahrt gewinnt, ist das Jubiläum auch ein Anlass für Besucher – und Einheimische –, die Stadt zu feiern und Cable Cars durch einige unserer geschichtsträchtigsten Viertel zu fahren.

„Es geht ein paar Schritte weiter, als nur Menschen zu bewegen“, sagte Laubscher. „Du fährst Geschichte, um Geschichte zu sehen.“

Doch trotz all ihrer Berühmtheit und Bekanntheit gibt es viele Missverständnisse und wenig bekannte Fakten rund um die Autos, die unsere Hügel rauf und runter fahren. Hier sind 15 davon.

Mona Hutchin im Jahr 1965 | Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von SFMTA Foto

Als Frauen verboten waren

Kaum zu glauben, aber einst war es Frauen verboten, auf den äußeren Trittbrettern von Seilbahnen mitzufahren.

„Frauen galten damals als schwach und schwach“, sagte Bruce Bennett, ein Reiseleiter von San Francisco City Guides, der zu Ehren des Jubiläums einen besonderen Rundgang entwarf.

Aber eine 19-jährige Studentin aus Berkeley namens Mona Hutchin machte sich daran, all das zu ändern. Als sie 1965 absichtlich auf der Außenseite eines Autos fuhr, wurde sie verhaftet und ins Gefängnis geschleppt, als sie sich weigerte, sich zu bewegen. Die darauf folgenden Proteste waren so heftig, dass alle Anklagen fallen gelassen wurden und Frauen seither mit den Cable Cars fahren dürfen, wo es ihnen verdammt gut gefällt.

Friedel Klußmann 1978 | Clem Albers/San Francisco Chronicle über Getty Images

Ein geschlechtsspezifischer Kampf

Das ist nicht der einzige Geschlechterkampf, der im Namen der Seilbahnen stattgefunden hat. Sie können die Beweise der sogenannten „Seilbahnkriege“ sehen, in denen männliche Politiker gegen weibliche Aktivisten an der Wende von Friedel Klussmann antraten, wo eine Gedenktafel die Frau ehrt, die Seilbahnen vor mehr als 75 Jahren vor dem Aussterben bewahrte.

Als Bürgermeister Roger Lapham 1947 Cable Cars verschrotten wollte, schlug Klussmann zurück, indem er ein Komitee besorgter Bürger gründete, die Medien einschaltete und Prominente um Hilfe bat. Das örtliche Kaufhaus Gump’s beteiligte sich an der Aktion und veranstaltete einen Wettbewerb, bei dem Menschen Briefe mit ihrer Meinung zu der Debatte einsenden konnten, wobei Menschen auf der ganzen Welt leidenschaftliche Briefe zu Ehren der Seilbahn einsendeten.

Lapham tat die Seilbahnbefürworter als sentimentale Hausfrauen ab, aber Klussmann hatte das letzte Lachen, als sie nicht nur die Seilbahnen rettete, indem sie 1947 Maßnahme 10 auf den Stimmzettel setzte, die sie am Laufen hielt, sondern sie später auch durch den Zusatz von für immer geschützt sah eine Änderung der Stadtcharta im Jahr 1971.

Andrew Hallidie steht vor Autoattrappe, ca. 1877. | Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von SFMTA Foto

Die Wahrheit über Andrew Hallidie

Viele Menschen haben die Geschichte von Andrew Hallidie gehört, der die Seilbahn erfand, nachdem er gesehen hatte, wie Pferde auf dem hügeligen Kopfsteinpflaster von San Francisco ausrutschten und in den Tod stürzten. Die Geschichte fühlt sich richtig an – als Tierliebhaberin gründete Hallidie später die Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – und hat in San Francisco einen mythischen Status erlangt. Aber es ist nicht wahr.

Hallidie wurde durch eine viel prosaischere Forderung motiviert: Geld zu verdienen.

„Die Pferdegeschichte ist großartiges Marketing“, sagte Taryn Edwards, eine Bibliothekarin am Mechanics’ Institute, die eine Biographie von Hallidie schreibt. „Aber das war nicht seine wahre Motivation.“

Hallidies Vater war der erste, der Drahtseile patentieren ließ, und Hallidie lernte – und perfektionierte – Anwendungen davon in allen Bereichen, vom Abstieg in Minen bis zum Aufstieg in Aufzügen.

„Andrew Hallidie verbrachte sein ganzes Leben damit, zu lernen, wie man Menschen und Dinge mit Drahtseilen bewegt“, sagte Edwards.

Während Hallidie oft als Erfinder der Seilbahn bezeichnet wird, ist er es nicht – er ist der Erfinder des Drahtseils, mit dem sie gezogen werden. Es gibt keinen einzigen Erfinder, auf den wir verweisen können, da die endgültige Version der Seilbahn das Ergebnis einer Reihe von Patenten war, die aufeinander aufbauten.

Seilbahn, die 1975 von Schülern der Ben Franklin Junior High School dekoriert wurde | Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von SFMTA Foto

Als Cable Cars den Weihnachtsmann auslieferten

Die Dekoration von Seilbahnen hat eine lange Tradition, die bis in die 1950er Jahre zurückreicht. Als Klussmann starb, wurden Seilbahnen ihr zu Ehren schwarz drapiert, und heute sehen Sie Seilbahnen zum Muttertag mit Blumen geschmückt. Aber das unglaublichste, übertriebene Beispiel ist die „Santacade“.

Der Weihnachtsmann fuhr auf dem Powell-Auto zum berühmten Kaufhaus Emporium in der Market Street (derselbe Block, in dem leider ein anderes Kaufhaus seinen Betrieb aufgibt). Die Seilbahn, die so ausgestattet war, dass sie wie ein Schlitten aussah, hatte ein verstärktes Dach, um nicht nur den Weihnachtsmann, sondern auch eine Spielzeugwerkstatt zu transportieren. Laut Mike Phipps und Don Holmgrens Watermusic in the Tracks war die Ankunft des Weihnachtsmanns im „Big E“ für die San Franciscos ein Zeichen dafür, dass die Weihnachtszeit begonnen hatte.

Gentrifizierung von Nob Hill

Die Entwicklung der Seilbahnen verschob Bevölkerungszentren und Machtverhältnisse innerhalb der Stadt. Die steilen Hügel von SF – zuvor ein unbequemes Hindernis – wurden plötzlich zu einem begehrten Vorteil, und die Demografie von Nob Hill änderte sich. Was einst ein Arbeiterviertel war, wurde zu einer tony Enklave. Die Reichen konnten auch ihre Villen und Aussichten haben, was zu einem Exodus aus der früheren Nachbarschaft für die Reichen, Rincon Hill, führte.

Leland Stanfords Bitte

Leland Stanford, Gründer der Stanford University, gehörte zu der Welle wohlhabender Personen, die nach Nob Hill strömten. Nachdem er sein Herrenhaus an der Ecke von Powell und Kalifornien gebaut hatte, hatte er keine Lust, die drei Blocks zu einer bestehenden Seilbahnlinie zu Fuß zu gehen, also baute er 1878 direkt vor seiner Haustür eine Seilbahn. Diese wurde schließlich ein Teil des California Street Cable Car Line, die heute noch in Betrieb ist. Es gab jedoch einen Haken. Stanford musste Andrew Hallidie 30.000 Dollar wegen Patentverletzung zahlen – was heute das 30-fache dieses Betrags wert wäre.

Eine Seilbahn bereitet sich darauf vor, die Powell Street hinaufzufahren. | Benjamin Fanjoy für The Standard

Wem die Glocken schlagen

Das Klingeln der Seilbahnglocke – vom Schaffner zum Greifer und wieder zurück – ist eine ganz eigene Sprache. Eine Glocke bedeutet Halt und zwei Glocken bedeuten weiter. Der Gripman kommuniziert auch mit dem Dirigenten, um die Bremsen zu betätigen – eine Glocke, um die Hinterradbremse zu betätigen, zwei, um sie zu lösen. Vier Glocken? Das ist zum Sichern.

Schablonenstraßen-Wegbeschreibung

Schauen Sie genau hin auf der Straße entlang der Seilbahnlinien, und Sie können einen Einblick in den Beruf eines Schaffners gewinnen. Ein doppeltes X auf dem Boden bedeutet, dass alle Seilbahnen anhalten müssen (es gibt ein Beispiel in der Nähe von 1027 Washington St.). An anderen Kreuzungen sehen Sie möglicherweise den vergilbten Schablonenschriftzug „LET GO“, der auf die Straße gemalt ist, wo die Seilbahn das Kabel fallen lassen muss, wenn sie sich der Stelle nähert, an der sich zwei Kabel kreuzen (hier ist ein Beispiel dafür auf der Straße in der Nähe der San Francisco Cable Car Museum und ein weiteres an der Kreuzung California Street und Powell Street).

Der Schaden des Großen Bebens

Es war nicht der große Fortschrittsmarsch, der zur größten Vernichtung von Cable Cars führte, sondern ein buchstäblicher Planierer: das Große Erdbeben von 1906. Vor dem Beben fuhren über 600 Cable Cars durch die Straßen von San Francisco, aber die Laut Bennett, dem Reiseleiter von City Guides, sank die Zahl bis 1912 auf weniger als 100. Bei dem Erdbeben wurden so viele Gleise zerstört, dass es unmöglich war, sie alle wieder aufzubauen (heute haben wir 40 Seilbahnen auf drei Linien in Betrieb).

Bürgermeisterin Dianne Feinstein, Tony Bennett und Muni General Manager Harold Geissenheimer fahren 1984 mit der Cable Car 58. | Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von SFMTA Foto

Die Tony-Bennett-Verbindung

Tony Bennett (nicht verwandt mit Bruce) führte sein berühmtes Lied „I Left My Heart in San Francisco“ zum ersten Mal im Venetian Room des Fairmont Hotels auf dem Nob Hill auf, wo heute eine Statue des Sängers zu seinen Ehren steht.

Der Grund, warum sich Bennett in seinem Markenzeichen-Song unsterblich in unsere Stadt verliebt hat? Seilbahnen. „Hoch oben auf einem Hügel ruft es nach mir“, singt Bennett. „Dort zu sein, wo kleine Seilbahnen auf halbem Weg zu den Sternen hinaufsteigen.“

Weibliche Dirigenten

Die erste Seilbahnleiterin – Fannie Mae Barnes – nahm erst 1998, 125 Jahre nach der Erfindung der Seilbahn, den Betrieb einer Seilbahn auf. Lange galt Barnes als körperlich zu anstrengender Job für Frauen, doch Barnes hat im Alter von 52 Jahren das Gegenteil bewiesen. Aber das ist nicht die einzige Art, wie Barnes Geschichte geschrieben hat. Sie schleppte auch die Olympische Fackel während des olympischen Fackelzugs 2002 den Hügel der Hyde Street hinauf.

Cable Car 27 zeigt eine Rice A Roni-Werbung in der Powell Street in der California Street im Jahr 1986. | Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von SFMTA Foto

Die Rice-a-Roni-Verbindung

Die Verbindung zwischen Rice-a-Roni und der City by the Bay ist mehr als nur ein Jingle über das „San Francisco Treat“ – es ist ein immer noch bestehendes und einst lokales Geschäft. Charlie DeDomenico und seine Frau Maria eröffneten 1912 in San Francisco eine Nudelfabrik, die später zur Golden Grain Macaroni Company wurde.

Ihre vier Söhne halfen im Familienunternehmen mit. Inspiriert vom armenischen Pilaw erfand ihr Sohn Vince 1958 die Kombination halb Reis, halb Nudeln. Obwohl sie in San Leandro hergestellt wurde (wo noch heute andere in San Francisco geborene traditionelle Produkte hergestellt werden), ist das Kabel Autos trugen Anzeigen für Rice-a-Roni und vervollständigten die Werbeschleife, die damit endete, dass sich die beiden Namen gegenseitig verkauften.

Das Produkt, das sich heute im Besitz der Quaker Oats Company befindet, ist mit seiner Verpackung im Seilbahn-Design noch immer eine Hommage an seine Wurzeln.

Nicht Einzahl

San Francisco mag heute die einzige Stadt sein, die Cable Cars hat, aber irgendwann war das System auf der ganzen Welt beliebt, wobei 29 amerikanische Städte und 11 internationale Kommunen die Innovation des öffentlichen Nahverkehrs nutzten.

Nationales Wahrzeichen

Als die Seilbahnen von San Francisco 1964 zum National Historic Landmark ernannt wurden, waren sie das einzige rollende nationale Wahrzeichen des Landes. Aber mit der Einführung der St. Charles Streetcar in New Orleans im Jahr 2014 gibt es jetzt zwei Transportmittel, denen die Ehre zuteil wird.

Auf die Bremse treten

Die Cable Cars von San Francisco durchlaufen alle 72 Stunden – ja, einmal alle drei Tage – einen Satz Bremsen (aus Douglasie) und müssen daher ständig gewartet werden. Früher seien die Bremsen aus Kiefernholz gewesen, und jedes Mal, wenn die Seilbahnen anhielten, habe man einen unverwechselbaren Duft gerochen, so Laubscher. Die heute verwendete Douglasie muss astfrei sein, sonst erzeugen die Äste ein kreischendes Geräusch.

Niemals zuvor für die Öffentlichkeit zugänglich, haben Sie jetzt die Möglichkeit, die Tischlerei in Dogpatch zu sehen, in der all diese Arbeiten im Rahmen der Jubiläumsveranstaltungen stattfinden.

The post 15 Issues You By no means Knew About San Francisco’s Iconic Cable Vehicles appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

The sound of cable cars going up and down the roller coaster hills of San Francisco has not been heard since March 2020 when an on-site protection order closed the city at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Clickety-Clack will be back in the first week of August.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Tuesday that the cable cars will come out of hibernation in August for testing and operator training, and will operate on a near-normal schedule, according to the city.

Drivers don’t have to pay in August and are encouraged to provide feedback on customer service and help operators get used to picking up and dropping off people.

“This is an attempt at a ‘mock service’ that will run and stop the lines on which the cable cars are operating,” Eric Kato, a spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation System, said in a statement. “This bogus service will be irregular and not follow a specific schedule.”

From September the regular service is to return to the usual tariffs.

Breed stated at a news conference Tuesday morning that Muni officials said the cable cars wouldn’t be operational until the fall, and she and Muni boss Jeffrey Tumlin came up with this creative solution to get people back in cars before summer End, according to CBS News.

“At the beginning of August, the cable cars will be available to all drivers free of charge for the whole of August,” said Breed, according to CBS. “So let’s bring them back a little earlier, not as early as I would have liked, but early enough that you catch them at the end of summer, right before you send your child back to school when they open this fall, and it should better open this fall. “

A mask will be required on the cable cars, as the state and the district continue to require face coverings on public transport.

The post San Francisco to reopen cable automobiles in August — with a twist appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

On a cool autumn morning on board the Powell-Mason Cable Car in San Francisco, operator Tsombe Wolfe is taking a break. We stop at the edge of an intersection, to the nearest cent.

I ask him how long he drives the car. “Two minutes,” he jokes before revealing that he has been with it for 16 years.

Most public transit experiences feel impersonal at best, but on a cable car, tourists and commuters alike converse with conductors who are also unofficial ambassadors for the city. This won’t be news to most long-time San Francisco residents – the average pre-pandemic ride number was 40,000 a day – but as a newcomer who hadn’t ridden it, I knew next to nothing about the cable car system.

Then I went to one of the most pleasant free museums in town.

A view of the San Francisco Cable Car Museum that greets visitors as they take the steps to the venue.

Charles Russo / SFGATE

The first thing you notice upon entering the Cable Car Museum in Nob Hill is the loud hum of the giant spindle pulleys known as “sheaves” that twist the ropes that pull the cars up and down the hills. This is not just a museum, but a fully functional powerhouse that acts as a hub for the entire railway line. Of course, there are historical exhibits and a gift shop – where you can actually buy old cables! – but this is not just a historical curiosity for tourists, it is a crucial piece of the urban infrastructure.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say: ‘Oh God, they’re a tourist trap, they’re expensive,’” says Museum Director Michael Phipps from the cable cars. A ride costs $ 8. “But it’s such a unique experience. The great thing about it is that you are part of the landscape, you don’t just move through it … you experience something that is only available here. “

Michael Phipps, director of the San Francisco Cable Car Museum, pictured at the entrance to the museum.

Charles Russo / SFGATE

San Francisco is the last city in the world with a functioning cable car system. And legend has it, it would not have existed if it hadn’t been for a rainy day in around 1869 when inventor Andrew Smith Hallidie saw a group of horses dragged to their death across the slippery cobblestones of Jackson Street. Hallidie devised a solution, partly inspired by his sympathy for horses as a founding member of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but it could also have something to do with the wire rope factory he owned in North Point Street.

Four years later, San Francisco launched its cable car system. At its peak it was operated by eight companies and traveled as far west as Golden Gate Park and Inner Richmond and south to 28th St. in Mission. Since then, the system has shrunk significantly with just three lines, but don’t expect them to go away anytime soon. Thanks to the protection of city rights, they are an eternal part of the landscape.

A San Francisco cable car arrives at the top of the hill at the intersection of Powell and California on Thursday, December 9, 2021.

Charles Russo / SFGATE

“When you get in this car, you are not only traveling through space, but also through time,” says Phipps.

It also helps that they are still a relatively environmentally friendly way to get around the city.

“We won an award from NASA in the 1960s. We don’t use rubber, we don’t use gas. They are powered by electricity, so we don’t emit any pollutants into the atmosphere, ”explains Phipps, who later adds that the cars themselves are only powered by a small battery that powers the headlights.

The entrance to the left of the San Francisco Cable Car Museum and a trio of replica cable car models on display in the museum.

Charles Russo / SFGATE

Various exhibits in the San Francisco Cable Car Museum.

Charles Russo / SFGATE

Aside from curiosity to see an antique car from 1873, the real reason to visit the museum is for a glimpse into the heart of the city itself. Go down a few quick flights of stairs and through a series of glass windows and you can see the underground mechanisms that power the entire system, the spinning discs that look like giant clock gears that keep the cables running in and out of the power plant lead out. They slowly pull the cars up and down the streets of San Francisco, directing the traveling pieces of city history.

“We are one of the few national landmarks that are a moving landmark,” says Phipps.

It is an engineering achievement that can be viewed spectacularly on site and that also leaves a lasting impression in retrospect. The ornate cars that drive down California Street are one of the city’s most famous landmarks, but seeing what goes on under the tracks gives a much better sense of something that otherwise easily blends in with the busy cityscape.

“One of the foremen upstairs once said, ‘This cable is the heartbeat of the city,’” says Phipps. “People who don’t understand the cable cars simply don’t understand the city. They are inextricably linked. “

A selection of different cable cars that are installed for repair in the mechanic’s pit in the working cable car garage above the museum.

Charles Russo / SFGATE

Two cable cars are idling in the cable car garage between Jackson and Washington in San Francisco.

Charles Russo / SFGATE

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:40 p.m. to show the system has three lines, not four.

The post San Francisco’s Cable Automobile Museum is greater than a vacationer lure appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – An extensive Xfinity cable and internet outage was reported in the Bay Area on Monday evening and early Tuesday morning, affecting much of the Bay Area.

The DownDetector.com website showed an increase in Xfinity outages reported just before 10 p.m. More than 24,000 people reported the outage, according to the website, but rampant complaints on social media suggested the outage was widespread, affecting customers in San Francisco and the Peninsula, East Bay, and North Bay.

CONTINUE READING: San Francisco Safeway adds barriers to prevent rampant shoplifting

The outage was so widespread that the Marin County Sheriff tweeted a reminder to residents not to call 9-1-1 to report or complain about their internet outage and to contact their provider instead.

There have been reports of internet outages across Marin and Sonoma Counties.

Please do not call 911 to ask why your internet is down. Call your Internet Service Provider. pic.twitter.com/Re5Eb560Gm

– Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) November 9, 2021

While service was restored to some customers by early Tuesday, Comcast’s service heat map showed that several Bay Area communities were still experiencing outages.

Comcast begins getting customers up and running after the widespread Internet outage in the Bay Area.

Full recovery could take some time across the region.

Comcast has not disclosed the reason for the outage – more information on this specific issue will follow.

– Mike McGuire (@ilike_mike) November 9, 2021

More than 54,000 customers reported service disruptions by Tuesday morning.

The number of outages appears to be falling significantly a few hours after a rise on Tuesday morning, which had more than twice as many reports of service problems as the previous evening around 5 p.m.

CONTINUE READING: SF Supervisor Preston is proposing a 10 day warning period for tenants who are about to be evicted

On Tuesday morning at around 8:00 am, the Xfinity support Twitter account published that “a network problem” led to “temporary service interruptions” for some customers.

Some customers experience intermittent service interruptions due to a network problem. Our teams are actively working to bring affected customers back online as we investigate further. We apologize to those affected.

– Xfinity Support (@XfinitySupport) November 9, 2021

Meanwhile, the Xfinity outage website was loading extremely slowly on Tuesday morning. Customers were encouraged to visit the Xfinity support page or the Xfinity Response Center to see when their local outage could be resolved.

Major outages were also reported in and around Philadelphia, near Chicago, the Indianapolis area, near Detroit, New England and the Los Angeles area on Tuesday morning.

Sooooo … Comcast is down all over the city of Chicago? Fun! The whole country? Even better! #comcastdown #comcastoutage

– Nicole Oppenheim (@namoagogo) November 9, 2021

Here’s a map showing the much greater extent of the Comcast outages on the east coast. There are some outages in California but not that widespread pic.twitter.com/nysluNuHSS

– BREAK NOW !! (@GRApidsnews) November 9, 2021

Major # Internet failure detected: #Comcast in #Pennsylvania since 8:05 am

Live map and analysis
https://t.co/SKti7Iwh6B

Retweet if for you below # comcastcares #Comcastdown #Comcastoutage #nointernet #EarlyMorning pic.twitter.com/pOoFj4pe15

– Fing Internet Alert (@outagedetect) November 9, 2021

Significant #internet failure detected: #Comcast in #Indiana since 8:05 am, affecting #Chesterton #MichiganCity #Griffith +14 areas

Live map and analysis
https://t.co/gaDruAUTFL#comcastcares #Comcastdown #Comcastoutage #nointernet #EarlyMorning pic.twitter.com/PaUe8USeuD

– Fing Internet Alert (@outagedetect) November 9, 2021

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The post Widespread Xfinity Cable, Web Outages Reported Throughout Bay Space – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – thing! Thing! The iconic San Francisco cable cars rang their bells on Monday and rolled back up the city’s hills after being incapacitated by the pandemic for 16 months.

At Powell and Market, one of the cable car stops, a line of people wound around a cable car turntable, waiting to drive to Ghirardelli Square or Fisherman’s Wharf.

“Our cable cars are part of what makes San Francisco a world-class travel destination, and their return is just the latest sign that our city is recovering,” said the Mayor of San Francisco London Breed.

Breed said it will be free to ride the cable cars in August and asked people to be patient as the service won’t follow a regular schedule until September, when the historic trams go into full operation on all three lines and one Collect the fare.

Frank Miller of San Antonio said he and six members of his family arrived in San Francisco last week and had already visited some of the city’s top attractions. They took the ferry to Angel Island and visited Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf, but Miller said riding the cable cars was a highlight for him.

“I grew up on ‘full house’ so everyone knows the cable cars. We definitely want to take the trams around town,” said Miller, 40, who was waiting with his family from Powell Street and the Market drive to the fisherman’s wharf.

Before the pandemic, 25 million tourists visited San Francisco annually, many of whom rode the cable cars as synonymous with the city as Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Roughly 17,000 riders packed the cable cars daily before they were parked in March 2020 when the city was cordoned off and protected. According to the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency, it was the longest shutdown since the 1980s when the system was fully reconstructed.

The post Ding! Ding! San Francisco’s cable vehicles are working once more | Bay Space appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – After parking in a Muni yard for more than a year, the city’s iconic cable cars returned to the streets of San Francisco on Monday for test drives and free rides as the transit line made its return prepared for full operation in September.

The return of the cable car is just another sign that San Francisco is recovering after more than 15 months battling COVID-19.

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“I’ve been counting the days,” said William Kouzi, a North Beach resident who was lucky enough to catch one of the first free rides on the Van Ness-California route. “I asked them (when would they return to public service) and they were so nice. They said, ‘Come on, since you live here.’ It was amazing.”

The West family from New York were fortunate enough to be in the Embarcadero turnaround when the test runs began.

“We came here hoping we could get on the cable cars,” they said. “It’s a pleasant surprise.”

Last month, an upbeat Mayor of London Breed revealed plans for the return of the legendary cable cars.

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When the city closed in March 2020, the cable cars were parked in their service yard as public transport was practically suspended during the months of on-site protection. While Muni resumed operations in the following months, the cable cars remained silent.

Muni officials had told Breed that they would not be able to put the cable cars back into operation until the fall.

“I didn’t want to hear it,” she said. “But he (Muni boss Jeffrey Tumlin) found a creative solution. Even if we expected to bring the cable cars back in autumn, we will do something absolutely extraordinary. “

But their arrival on the streets for testing was a little earlier than even Breed expected. When announcing in June, Breed said testing and rides would begin in August.

“From the beginning of August, the mountain railways will be available to all drivers free of charge for the entire month of August. So let’s bring them back a little earlier, not as early as I would have liked, but early enough for you to catch them at the end of summer, just before you send your kid back to school when they open this fall, and they’d better be open this fall. “

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Tumlin said the cable cars will run near their normal timetables during the tests. You will return to the normal timetable at the full tariff on September 1st.

The post Sound Of Clanging Cable Automobile Bells Returns To San Francisco Streets – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

A few streetsblog stories are a bit advanced. Here are some quick news nuggets to start your Juniteenth weekend away.

Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Says “No Thanks, We’re Keeping Our Protected Bike Lanes”

The Oakland BPAC unanimously voted Thursday night to keep the protected bike lanes on Telegraph Avenue in KONO, despite recent pressures by some dealers and the Department of Transportation to remove them in favor of deleted lanes.

The move wasn’t very surprising – BPACs generally don’t support cities that are wasting valuable resources on dismantling cycling infrastructure. As Bike East Bay pointed out, Oakland has higher priorities than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars removing park-protected bike lanes that have been tried and tested in KONO and elsewhere. “Thanks to everyone who called to show your support,” Bike East Bay wrote on social media of the vote.

The proponents not only want to stop the destruction of this infrastructure, but also expand it with continuously protected cycle paths from the city center to Temescal, which connect the two already existing sections. “We are organizing the extension of protected cycle paths and the improvement of pedestrian safety in the north through Temescal by creating a continuous cycle path from the city center to 57th Street,” they wrote on their blog.

Of course, this fight is far from over. The next major meeting on the subject will be the City Council’s Public Works Committee on June 22nd. Bike East Bay urges lawyers to sign up for email notifications and stay informed of the machinations of motorists to clear the lanes.

Would you like to help shape regional transport policy?

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is looking for interested Bay Area residents to volunteer for the Policy Advisory Committee to help them figure out how to keep the area moving. From an MTC version:

This committee advises MTC – the region’s transportation planning and funding agency – on transportation-related policies in the San Francisco Bay Area, taking into account various environmental, economic, and social justice perspectives. Members are appointed by the Commission for a term from January 2022. Please complete this application by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, August 1, 2021.

If you would like to advise the MTC on assisting regional tariff integration, new projects, etc., and have time to serve, click HERE to apply.

Ringing, ringing and ringing!

A cable car in earlier times. Photo: Roger Rudick

Last but not least, the Mayor’s Office and SFMTA announced this week that the San Francisco soundtrack will sound a little more normal starting in August with the return of the cable cars and their signature bells. From the mayor’s message:

“San Francisco just isn’t San Francisco when the cable cars aren’t running, and this is just the latest sign of the City is recovering and recovering,” Mayor Breed said in a statement. “People are ready to visit San Francisco again and experience all that we have to offer, and we know that taking the cable cars is always high on the list of things people want to do.”

SFMTA staff will begin inspecting the cable cars in mid-July, and the city will be offering free rides, albeit unscheduled, until the first week of August. Revenue service will resume in the fall, provided everything goes well.

The post Telegraph, Cable Automobiles – Streetsblog San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – San Francisco’s iconic cable cars are being sidelined from the coronavirus pandemic, but officials said the city’s historic trams will start rolling again this weekend on Friday.

With tourists flocking to San Francisco again and the city reopening more of its economy, it plans to restore service to the vintage trams that run along Market Street and the Embarcadero on Saturday, the mayor’s office said in a statement .

Mayor London Breed and other city officials planned to celebrate the return of trams and other public transport on Friday afternoon with a ceremonial ride to Fisherman’s Wharf. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority will also resume operations on Saturday at subway stations that were closed during the pandemic, the statement said.

Erica Kato, a spokeswoman for SFMTA, said the iconic wooden ropeways are expected to resume operations in the fall.

Prior to the pandemic, 25 million tourists visited San Francisco annually, many of whom rode the cable cars as synonymous with the city as the Golden Gate Bridge.

Roughly 17,000 riders packed the cable cars daily before they were parked in March 2020 when the city was cordoned off and protected. The city continued to operate a skeleton network of transit lines during the closure and gradually restored service.

The post San Francisco streetcars are again however no cable vehicles but | Bay Space appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.