cable car
)
The streetcars of San Francisco, California, USA, operate on a virtually unique system by which the driver can, at will, attach the car to or detach it from a permanently moving cable running between the rails and below the surface of the road. Other forms of propulsion have been tried, but the gradients in many parts of the city are simply too steep for independent traction.
Method of transporting passengers up steep slopes by cable. In the cable railway, passenger cars are hauled along rails by a cable wound by a powerful winch. A pair of cars usually operates together on the funicular principle, one going up as the other goes down. The other main type is the aerial cable car, where the passenger car is suspended from a trolley that runs along an aerial cableway.
A cable-car system has operated in San Francisco since 1873. The streetcars travel along rails and are hauled by moving cables under the ground.
How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|
?Sign in  |
|---|