Cable Car
A cable car going down Hyde Street. Cable cars run by grabbing onto a cable which runs through a groove beneath the car (it's the middle line running under the car, between the two tracks.) The cables are very long loops which are driven by a power station at one end of the track. When the cable cars were introduced in the 19th century, this mechanism was the only way to get a trolley car up and down San Francisco's steep hills. Almost all the routes have since been replaced by electric streetcar or bus routes; three routes remain, that are mostly travelled by tourists.
Cable Car
A cable car going down Hyde Street. Cable cars run by grabbing onto a cable which runs through a groove beneath the car (it's the middle line running under the car, between the two tracks.) The cables are very long loops which are driven by a power station at one end of the track. When the cable cars were introduced in the 19th century, this mechanism was the only way to get a trolley car up and down San Francisco's steep hills. Almost all the routes have since been replaced by electric streetcar or bus routes; three routes remain, that are mostly travelled by tourists.