cable car

A cable car is a street vehicle pulled by a moving underground cable, most famously operating in San Francisco since 1873, where three surviving lines remain iconic tourist attractions. Cable cars climb extraordinarily steep hills using mechanical power transmitted through a continuously moving steel cable buried beneath the street, rather than relying on electric motors or traditional wheels. Operators grip and release the cable using a special lever to control movement, a technique requiring considerable skill and strength.

The San Francisco cable cars became so beloved that citizens voted to preserve them when automation threatened their existence in the 1950s. Beyond San Francisco, cable cars historically operated in cities worldwide including New Orleans, Seattle, and numerous European cities, though most were replaced by electric trolleys. The surviving San Francisco cable cars remain among the most recognizable symbols of the city, featured in films, postcards, and tourist itineraries worldwide.