The Cable Car

The cable car has been in use in major cities across the country since the late 1860s. The first cable car system was implemented in New York City and the system was called the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway. The railway ran from July 1, 1868 to 1870 but had to be shut down and rebuilt. When the system reopened it was run by a steam locomotive. The very first cable car system to use grips was the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which later went on to become a part of the San Francisco cable car system; one of the most recognizable systems in not only the country but also around the world.

This form of transportation is used to transport pedestrians to and from work, their home, school, shops, restaurants, the movie theater and anywhere else they wish to go along the route of the car. The cable car is powered by a cable. When pressure is applied to the cable, the car begins to move forward. When pressure is removed from the cable, the car begins to come to a stop. As the success of the San Francisco system continued to grow, other cities across not only the country but also the world took notice and began to build their own systems for transportation. Chicago added a railway system; Dunedin, New Zealand did the same; London operated their first system as well as other cities around the world.

As of today there aren't many cable car systems still in operation. The San Francisco system is the country's only moving National Historic Landmark (it began operation in 1873) and the only other operable system in the country is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The system in Las Vegas takes patrons between three hotels. The only other operable system in the world is located in Milan, Italy. This system takes patrons from the San Raffaele Hotel to the Cascina Gobba station. Cable cars are enclosed and can hold quite a few people. There are seats as well as polls to hold onto in case the passengers have no room to sit down on the car. They can be rented out for weddings and one of the most famous scenes from television is the Tanner family using a cable car in San Francisco in the opening of the show "Full House."

The previous cities in the United States to operate a cable car system are Baltimore, Maryland; Binghamton, New York; Brooklyn, New York; Butte, Montana; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Hoboken, New Jersey; Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Oakland, California; Omaha, Nebraska; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; Providence, Rhode Island; Saint Louis, Missouri; Saint Paul, Minnesota; San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; Sioux City, Iowa; Spokane, Washington; Tacoma, Washington; Tulsa, Oklahoma, Washington D.C. and Wichita, Kansas.