Muni Diaries » cable cars

My Love Affair With San Francisco Cable Cars

tara — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:30:07 +0000

Image by Omar Lee

Ed. note: To read this story with a prettier layout, please visit it on The Bold Italic. BTW, pure coincidence, but this guy, featured a few weeks ago here on Muni Diaries, makes an appearance in this story (his name is Freeman).

I was born and bred in the Bay Area, which means I grew up ignoring San Francisco’s cable cars. I don’t even remember my first and only time on the trolley. Even though riding the carousel at Pier 39 is an indelible childhood memory, the cable car is not. That’s right: Pier 39 trumps the cable car for as long as I can remember. Ouch.

And I’m not the only local who feels this way. We can rattle off bus lines, poppin’ neighborhoods, and new restaurants and bars in the blink of an eye. But ask us where the Powell-Hyde cable car goes, exactly, and you’re likely to get a blank stare and a raised eyebrow in response. We’ll ride the cable cars when friends or family visit, sure. But it doesn’t stop us from dramatically sighing and complaining for weeks about the northeast part of town.

It’s sad, really. But admittedly, there are some very good reasons for this. Cable cars are limited in where they go and also in the diversity of its riders. They’re arguably kitschy, something urban people hate unless it comes with a heaping dose of irony. The cars’ relative slowness could shame even the pokiest crosstown bus line and, to add insult to injury, it’s $5 a pop if you don’t have a pass.

But that doesn’t have to be the case. I took my first memorable ride in 2008, the first year I had my own Fast Pass and therefore got “free” rides on the world’s only operating cable car system. I rode one because, well, why not?

Immediately, I was hooked, but no one else seemed to understand. These charming transit vehicles are too good for tourists’ use only. This story is my attempt to shed some light on the most misunderstood of SF icons, the trolley.

Photo by davepatten

Tilt-a-Whirr

Every San Franciscan, even those who would never deign to climb on the cars, can recognize the sound: the whirring of cable car machinery continues long after the vehicle is out of sight. I love that noise, and if it wasn’t among the least-safe things to do around here, I’d stand in the middle of Hyde, Powell, or California Streets and listen to it all day.

Those whirring cables, the backbone of the four remaining cable car lines, run all the time – 24/7/365. Each cable car is equipped with a grip – a huge set of pliers that reaches underground – and a gripman who grabs the moving cable, which then moves the trolley. Unlike the cables, the grip doesn’t whirr as much as it clanks and clatters into place. It doesn’t do this on its own, of course – the gripman handles these pliers for us.

Manning the giant set of pliers takes real skill. The grip has no marks and there’s no cheat sheet indicating how far you need to pull it back. You have to feel it to know whether it’s in its proper position underground. The grip is loosened when the car needs to stop. To go at top speed, 9.5 miles per hour, the grip is set to hold on as tightly as possible. The nuances of turning vary depending on the hill.

To further understand the cable car, culturally and mechanically, I turned to James Bullock, gripman on the California-Powell line, and his conductor, Freeman Chee.

Photo by Maschinenraum

The Gripman Cometh

I hopped on James and Freeman’s trolley on California and Powell one day, after it stopped at the intersection early in their shift.

The California line is the least-ridden one of the bunch, making it far easier to jump on to like they do in the movies. I take a seat near the grip and try to stop sliding around as the car progresses downhill. I envy its cleanliness and general old-timey feel; if only I could drag this thing home and replace the 49 Muni line with it.

I immediately start plying James with questions. He stares straight ahead the whole time, but his face stays open to conversation; he doesn’t miss a beat on this thing. Makes sense after 26 years on the job.

There’s an easy rhythm to both James and Freeman, and it makes perfect sense that they’re both so musically inclined. Both play in a cable-car-driver band called The Slot Blades. With ease they discuss big band music, Count Basie, John Coltrane, and the rise and fall of San Francisco’s live music scene.

Gripman James has been in San Francisco for nearly 39 years and with Muni for 32 of them. He started operating cable cars in 1984, soon after a system-wide overhault of the deteriorating infrastructure. James makes this physical work seem like a piece of cake. Since you throw your whole body into the job, pumping iron at “the barn” (more on that later) at Washington and Mason is key. James surfs in the mornings and has been known to bicycle farther than a lot of us drive in a day. He doesn’t drink, either, opting instead to shoot pool and head home to his wife after his shifts.

When they’re off duty (or whenever they feel like it), The Slot Blades get together for practices or performances. They play at the local Carnaval celebration, the cable car bell-ringing competition in San Francisco, and when commissioned, they jam. As far as their style goes, Freeman says, “It’s got some structure, some anarchy, and a lot of it seems to work.”

Reminds me of Muni, without the a-lot-of-it-seems-to-work part.

Photo by km6xo

If It Ain’t Broke…

One thing that attracts tourists – and should lure in some locals – is the historical importance of trolley service. In this boom-and-bust town, the mechanics of the cable car haven’t changed much at all since 1880.

It was invented in SF, by a Victorian-era player named Andrew Hallidie. He dreamed up the cable car after seeing horses slip, fall, and die after trying to haul their loads up San Francisco’s hills. Modeled after similar vehicles used in gold mines, he invented a system that would work above ground as a mode of transportation. The first car was tested in 1873 on Clay Street. Some 137 years later, this transit system is the only one on the National Register of Historic Places.

How do I know this? Well, I went to the Cable Car Museum, a restored brick building on the corner of Washington and Mason.

It’s Disneyland for transit nerds, except unlike the caricatures of “adventure” and “tomorrow,” these old cables, antique cable cars, and running machinery are the real deal. Upon entering, the place immediately sounds like a loud version of the whirring cable car. What the hell’s going on in here?

Upstairs you come face-to-face with enormous cables: the same ones that wind their way through the city’s underbelly of sheaves. Downstairs, you’ll find more sheaves – measuring 8.5 feet in diameter – that make it all happen. These wheels with grooved rims smoothly turn round and round in the dark barn. Using good ole’ electricity, the sheaves spin and move the cables, which are visible from several points in the museum.

History weaves its way throughout Victorian-era moving-picture clips, an actual cable car bell (go ahead, give it a ring), and the requisite gift shop. A hilariously dated movie from the 1970s plays in one corner, explaining how the cable car works. Everything from the people to the orange-and-white Muni Metro cars is set against a backdrop ripped straight out of The Streets of San Francisco.

Photo by http2007

Zen of Transit

Unlike much of Muni’s driver fleet, James and Freeman actually live in San Francisco. So, as the unofficial ambassadors for the city, what do these locals like about the cable car? Everyone’s in a great mood, they say. It’s sexy. It’s romantic. You get a great view. James calls cable cars the “soufflé of transit experiences,” and I’m inclined to agree with him.

Day to day, cable car drivers see public transit through the lens of a tourist happily soaking in the sights and sounds of SF. The same is true as a rider. Instead of tapping into my BlackBerry or staring blankly out the window, I thought about the nice weather, the vistas I never see on my commute, how it feels to crest a hill and then dip on the other side, and what visitors might be doing or thinking on their trip here: this slow, scenic roller coaster is a good start. You should try it some time.

Do It Yourself

Ride the cable car! Free with a Fast Pass, $5 a ride otherwise. Beginning January 2011, the California Street line will be closed for about six months while its tracks and various mechanisms get an upgrade.

The Cable Car Museum is free (free!) and open almost every day. Other awesome things on various cable car lines include the Buena Vista Café on Hyde and Beach, home to the famous and worth-it Irish coffee, Cordon Bleu on California and Polk, a greasy spoon with some of the best Vietnamese food in town, as well as the kitschy-fun Tonga Room in The Fairmont Hotel. The Tonga Room has been in danger of closing for some time now, so go before you miss out.

Tips for taming the trolley

The cable cars start running at 6 a.m., so get going that early if you can swing it. During weekends, many of these cars fill up immediately at the start of the line, so it’ll be very, very difficult to get a spot if your timing’s off.

Give your money to the conductor and let him or her know where you’d like to get off. The gripman will surely be knowledgeable and helpful, but for safety reasons direct questions to the conductor.

By all means, stand on the side and take in the scenery by hanging on to the post. But, my personal favorite is to stand in the back, facing the opposite direction you’re going. You’re not elbow-to-elbow with as many people, making it easier to find that elusive transit Zen. And it’s fun to catch things as they come into your periphery instead of staring impatiently ahead to see what’s coming next. You’ll know what I mean when you can see Alcatraz from Russian Hill as the Powell-Hyde cable car climbs and dips on its southbound journey.

Photographer Kristen Holden: Love Stories on Muni

eugenia — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:00:46 +0000

Photographer, poet, and model Kristen Holden‘s pictures of Muni riders have caught our eye for a while. We found her on Flickr as “SFLoveStory” and tracked her down to find out what makes Muni such a great subject. Holden grew up in Chicago and has lived in San Francisco for almost seven years. She lives in Russian Hill with her musician boyfriend and their “talentless dog.”

What is it about Muni that inspires you to take photos there?

This simple answer is: I ride a lot and I shoot my surroundings more than I do anything else. But what makes Muni rife for photographic capture is that the exterior environment is always changing around the same structure or, like, bones of the scene. There are endless characters to make up stories about.

What’s it like taking pictures on Muni?

I think people generally assume I’m a tourist. Once in a while someone will ask me about my camera and why I shoot film (I’m currently shooting with a second-hand Canon EOS Elan II SLR with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens.)

Got a favorite Muni line?

I ride the 45 and 30 to get from Russian Hill, where I live, to downtown and vice versa. I take the 47 and 49 quite a bit. Oh, and I’m one of those weird people who actually rides the 19…it gets the closest to the film-processing center I go to in SoMa. I love the cable cars and streetcars too. The mint-green colored streetcar from Brooklyn (Car 1059?) is my favorite.

You can see more of Holden’s photographs on her website, Kristen-Holden.com.

A little daytime TV for Muni employees?

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:55 +0000

Muni rider “D” asks the pertinent question in the headline up there, and sends the photos above and below, along with this commentary:

I saw this while walking past the cable car turnaround at Bay and Taylor st. this morning.

Considering Muni has been saying they need to raise fairs and CUT service, *who* is paying for the Dish Network!!?? The transit employee was watching “Family Feud.”

This while they are cutting routes. This while they’re cutting service. This while their drivers are getting bonuses!!??

I for one want to see an audit as to just where THE HELL THE MONEY IS GOING!!!

To be clear: In the latest MTA budget proposal, no routes are being threatened with elimination. Service is being reduced on almost every line, though.

And we can’t help but imagine that installation of a Dish Network satellite isn’t all that expensive. Basic service plans run around $25/month. Wait, that’s cheaper than our cable! WTF?

But seriously, while legitimate and all, this argument strikes us as a little bit “prisoners get to watch cable TV all day long while I work hard and pay taxes.” A little bit. What do you think?

More photos below:

PS: RIP Ray Combs

Archival SF films show old streetcars, cable cars

jeff — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:06:43 +0000

By now, you might’ve seen a video floating around the intertubes called, to varying discrepancies, “A trip down Market Street.” If not, go watch it. If our guess is correct, and you have this soft spot for San Francisco in the middle of all your frustrations and angst, you’ll love this footage of our city in its simpler, yet equally fascinating days. It shows the view from a streetcar traveling east toward the Ferry Building, on a Market Street free of cars (easier to do in those days), with pedestrians and horses and buggies crossing the tracks ever so lawlessly.

Owing to the popularity of that video, we came across the above program, sponsored by The Long Now Foundation. The very long program is broken up into easy-to-digest chapters. The un-embeddable chapters we want to call your attention to are: Fillmore Hill Cable Car (lots of great footage of Fillmore and other old cable car lines) and South of Market (which includes archival footage of the Transbay Terminal around 1941). There might be other transit-related bits, but frankly, we haven’t had enough time to watch it all. Here’s a link to the entire program, but you can watch it by the chapter.

The man responsible for the footage, Rick Prelinger, will be presenting more archival video of San Francisco on December 4 at the Herbst Theater.

Cable Car routes, explained

jeff — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:00:12 +0000

Pardon the slightly pamphlety approach here, but CBS 5 ran this story about the three cable car routes over the weekend, and it’s just too feel-good for us to pass up on a Monday morning. Call this Getting the Week Started Right.

The story also links to a cool map of the extensive network of cable car lines that existed in the late 1800s, when South Van Ness was called (properly) Howard Street. That map is hosted on the Cable Car Museum’s website, by the way, which you should while away the hours on. You should also visit the museum. If you’re into that sort of thing.

No related posts.

Cable Car Confessions: The new cable car and its presidential guests

jeff — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:30:45 +0000

Presenting the July 2009 edition of Cable Car Confessions. This month, Laura tells us all about the newest addition to the fleet, as well as some of its VIP first riders. Our last president and his family never dared set foot in our little burg, much less hitch a ride on one of our historic treasures.

“Ding ding. All aboard. Next stop Powell Street Chinatown. Tickets please, show me your tickets please.” I heard about the unveiling of the new #15 San Francisco cable car from a blogger friend, who lives in Arizona. After hearing about this great cable car confession, I immediately talked to some of the conductors to hear their thoughts on the new car and the special guests riders.

Max, a cable car conductor, told me, “Even though so much has happened and changed in San Francisco, our cable cars are still the center of the inner workings of our city. To us San Franciscans, the sounds of the cable car bells chiming day and night are the natural sounds to the city. “

In fact, I must confess to you that when I travel and can’t hear the cable car bells at night, it feels too quiet. I can’t get to sleep! And if you told me this when I first got to San Francisco, I would have never believed you. I now can’t live without hearing passing cars, car alarms, foghorns and the ringing of bells.

So, how does San Francisco celebrate its 25^th anniversary of full cable car service returning to the city? Well, this past June, the city unveiled a shiny new cable car. Juan, another cable car conductor, announced, “We’re all excited about welcoming the new #15 car to the San Francisco Municipal family, as I think it will breathe new life into what we do every day.” He also shared that it took more than five years and nearly thirty people to build, create and mold the new cable car by working off century-old blueprints.

A couple of hours after it started operating, cable car #15 was ridden by some very special riders: the first daughters Malia and Sasha Obama, along with their grandmother. Juan observed, “The first daughters were well-behaved, quiet and excited to see the sights of our city. They got onto the cable car at Nob Hill and rode it to Lombard Street. They really made a great day even brighter.”

Did you know that it’s a cable car tradition for the workers, who helped to build the cable car, to sign their names in places that riders will never see? Did you hear about the first family riding the cable car in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago? Have any celebrities or dignitaries visited your city?

Cable Car Confessions #11: Top 10 Manners

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:51:42 +0000

Time for the June 2009 edition of Cable Car Confessions. This month, Laura shares 10 common-sense etiquette rules for the cable car, some of which apply to all Muni vehicles. Pay attention, riders!

Ding ding all aboard. “Next stop Powell Street Chinatown. Tickets please show me your tickets please.” The locals know the following 10 ten list of manners and etiquette on the cable car. Some I agree with and others I try to remember to follow. Either way, riding the cable car is my favorite method of public transportation. Wouldn’t it be yours if you lived in San Francisco?

I have some questions for the woman I saw applying her mascara the other day, during rush hour on the cable car. Does she know that there are some spoken and unspoken manners and etiquette rules? My cable car confession to you is that I wish I knew some of the items on this list before I started riding the cable car. It was a lot of fun learning them though. (Click here to get all caught up with the other cable car confessions.)

Top Ten: Manners and Etiquette on the Cable Car

1) Please have your cable car pass and money ready for the cable car conductors. It must get very trying to wait for locals and tourists to search for their passes. Over and over again :)

2) Try to stand at the cable car sign. Do not try to get on the car while standing in the middle of the road. I have heard some cable car drivers yell at those passengers some lovely choice words.

Trust me, it’s better to not have this happen. I was so embarrassed.

3) The cable car can become packed with people. You can start to feel like a sardine tightly packed in a can. When this happens be aware of your elbows and whose feet you might be stepping on.

Uh sorry mister man wearing a suit. I didn’t mean to elbow you!

4) Ah yes and now we come to ‘the quiet and try not to use your cell phone rule.’ This rule is more like a courtesy to other passengers. Passengers that are looking for a quiet ride home and because of the tight cable car quarters can hear everything you’re saying. I need to remind myself of this rule when my friend “Katie” calls to tell me about her guy-dating drama.

Shhhh Laura!

5) Smile and enjoy. A camera is usually needed for the full San Francisco cable car experience.

6) Pull the cable for the next stop or ask two stops before your stop so the conductors know to slow the cable car down. Having to walk up the San Francisco hills to your missed destination can be very trying on your knees.

Trust me.

7) If you hear two bells, the cable car is about to stop. One bell it’s ready to go.

I love to hear these bells throughout the day.

8 Please help tourists with directions and pictures.

I guess this is the ‘treat others the way you would like to be treated’ rule.

9) While riding on the cable car listen for other cable car confessions.

Email me.

10) Try to apply your makeup before getting on the cable car. Get up earlier and do it at home. Just know that I wish I could put my mascara on while a cable car is twisting and turning.

How do you do it without getting it in your eye?

New Cable Car Enters Service

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:35:06 +0000

As you guys probably all know from SFGate and the Market Street Railway Blog, Cable Car 15 entered service yesterday, with Gavin Newsom as usual on the front.

Anyway, before I rant, here are some pics from today’s ceremony:

That’s it folks!

Cable Car Confessions:#7 The Conductor’s Daughter

Thu, 21 May 2009 15:19:55 +0000

This is our second installment of Cable Car Confessions, originally published on Under the Sheets by Laura. This month, we’re privy to a heart-warming story of a Muni family.

Ding ding all aboard. “Next stop Powell Street Chinatown. Tickets please show me your tickets please.” This cable car confession happened three days before Christmas. I was taking the cable car home after a very long day at work. I sat quiet trying to unwind from my day. The weather had turned cold for San Francisco so I sat inside to stay as warm as possible. I stared out of the window and fell deep into my thoughts, thinking about what I needed to do to prepare for work and for the upcoming holidays. I stared out onto the sides of the street – there were life sized ornaments in front of the office buildings and each building seemed to be wrapped in a holiday bow with white lights, red ribbons and Christmas trees.

I brought my attention back to what was happening inside of the cable car. I noticed that it wasn’t a full car yet and seemed occupied by mostly locals traveling home. There were two cable car drivers on the car. One man who was driving the front of the cable car had white hair, was short and very tiny. (Let’s call him Slim) The second cable car driver who was in charge of driving the back of the car and collecting tickets was tall and weighed around 250 pounds (Let’s call him Bob). We all had to squeeze in to make room as Bob walked by us. He was also very stern while collecting tickets, maybe even a little forgetful – I noticed that he asked for people to show their tickets again after they had just shown them to him.

A lady who was dressed in professional work clothes got onto the cable car at the next stop. She was a petite Asian woman who looked to be in her twenties. At this point, I was completely people watching or eavesdropping. Whatever you want to call it :) I wondered how Bob was going to treat this woman. To my surprise she was greeted by a huge and warm smile from Slim. Slim called to Bob and asked him if he knew who she was? Immediately Bob’s demeanor changed when he saw the woman. He went to her and instead of asking her for her ticket he hugged her.

Slim said to Bob, “She is a conductor’s daughter.”
Slim then asked the woman, “How are you? How is your Dad doing? How old are you now sweetie? You can’t be more then twenty?”
The woman replied, “I am well. My Dad is feeling better and believe it or not I am thirty-three now.”
“Wow!” Bob the cable car driver said. “Are you still living off of the Powell Street line?”
The woman smiled, “Yes we are. Dad could never move us away from the cable car line even after he had to retire because of his illness. The cable car is apart of him.”
Slim then said to Bob, “I remember when she was maybe ten and use to ride the cable cars with her father all day.” Then he turned to the woman and asked.” Your father was a conductor for how long?”
She replied “Almost twenty-five years. It’s still hard for him not be able on the line!”

It was at that moment that I realized that they were treating this woman with as much respect and care that we would for a police officer or preacher’s daughter. Even Bob melted and became warm and friendly to her. Once cable car conductors get through the initiation process of becoming drivers and earn their stripes they then tend to stay driving the cable car for years and years. The salary is really good, they get great pensions and become a part of a San Francisco family.

Maybe I went into the wrong profession and should have become a cable car driver! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be recognized because of your relation to a family member and something that they did? My father is a marketing guy. What did your father do?

Bronstein looks into cable car bell-ringing boycott

jeff — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:00:06 +0000

This just arrived in our inbox from Zoe Stagg:

Good morning,

Phil Bronstein just put up a new story today with an exclusive video [above] and story on Muni operators skipping out on the annual bell ringing competition
after what they think is shoddy treatment of a retiring operator by Muni higher-ups. The story is here in case you’re interested.

Thanks for the tip, Zoe!

If you’ve got Muni or BART news tips, stories, photos, or videos, please email us or use our Diary Submission form.