Details About Cable Cars

Streetcars of changing types dominated urban intercity transportation by the early 20th century before automobiles took priority.

Terminology

The different technologies used in electrified rail transport can cause confusion. Market Street Railway explains that the term "cable car" refers specifically to vehicles that use underground cables, while the terms "streetcar" and "trolley" describe vehicles connected to overhead electrical wires.

Origins

Andy Hallidie created the inaugural cable automobile limit in 1873, based on his education of ore-hauling and suspension-bridge technologies, to guidance passengers get up the steep slopes of San Francisco, according to the Cable Car Museum. The earliest cable car lines ran on steam power instead of electricity.

Cables cars represented the anterior usage tram technology starting in the 1870s.

Technology

Unlike other streetcars or trolleys that cause overhead cables for endowment, cable cars attach to a cable running under the street that pushes the cars forward. This entirely mechanical development depends on the stable rotation of exorbitant wheels at the cable van course's powerhouse, according to the Market Street Railway website.