San Francisco Cable Car History: 1873 to Today

San Francisco’s cable cars made their first run at 4 a.m. on 2 August 1873 on Clay Street, were nearly scrapped in 1947 and are now a National Landmark. Three lines still run. Here is how they got from a Nob Hill experiment to one of the two National Historic Streetcar Landmarks still in operation, as the SFMTA puts it.

Cable Car History at a Glance

1873: The First Line

The Cable Car Museum says the Clay Street Hill Railroad began building its line in May 1873, and its city contract required it to run by 1 August. Andrew Smith Hallidie tested the first car at 4 a.m. on 2 August, a day late, and public service began on 1 September 1873. By 1889 eight companies had operated cable lines in the city and laid 53 miles of track, according to the SFMTA.

Local Legend: The Horses That Inspired the Cable Car, Nob Hill

What is actually true: SFMTA says “legend has it” and the Cable Car Museum says “as the story goes”: the account comes from Hallidie’s own recollection years later. The rest is well documented. The first cable car made its test run at about 4am on 2 August 1873 on Clay Street, and public service began on 1 September 1873. Hallidie knew wire rope from his father’s patent and his mining work, and William Eppelsheimer engineered the system.

1906 and the Rise of Electric Streetcars

The Cable Car Museum says the April 1906 earthquake and fire devastated the system and that electric streetcars became the preferred transit afterward, though some cable lines were rebuilt. The SFMTA notes the Washington-Mason cable car house was rebuilt. More on the disaster is in our 1906 earthquake history.

1947: The Fight to Save Them

In 1947 Mayor Roger Lapham said the city should get rid of all cable car lines as soon as possible, and buses were scheduled to replace the Powell Street lines. Friedel Klussmann founded the Citizens’ Committee to Save the Cable Cars. Voters passed Measure 10 in a landslide, forcing the city to keep the Powell lines. In 1949 another vote led the city to acquire the California Street Cable Railroad. The SFMTA says the system had five lines when the fight began and was cut and reconfigured into the three that run today, saved “not without heavy losses”.

Landmark Status and the Great Rebuild

The SFMTA says the system was established as a National Landmark in 1964, covering everything from the powerhouse and cable winding machinery to the tracks and turntables; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. A major restoration shut the system completely from 1982 to 1984, and the cars returned in June 1984.

How the Cable Cars Run Today

Cars are pulled along by cables running beneath the street. The cable is moved by winding machinery, and special rail pieces guide it over hills and around bends; depression beams push against it where the road dips to keep it out of its channel. Splicing a cable is still done by hand. The California line uses twelve larger, double-ended maroon cars, and the two Powell lines keep 28 smaller, single-ended cars on the roster, according to the SFMTA. The lines are:

• California: California and Market to Van Ness Avenue.
• Powell-Hyde: Powell and Market to the Fisherman’s Wharf area.
• Powell-Mason: Powell and Market to the Fisherman’s Wharf area.

Fares and what to expect on board are in our Muni, BART and cable cars with kids guide and the Cable Car Museum listing.

Still Unconfirmed

• The horse story. The Cable Car Museum itself presents it as “as the story goes”, and SFMTA says “legend has it”. It comes from Hallidie’s own later recollection.
• The cable’s speed. A speed figure is often quoted; it was not on the SFMTA or museum pages we read, so we do not print one.
• Today’s fare. Not on the SFMTA pages we read for this history; check the SFMTA fare page before you ride.

Dates and figures are as the sources state them, read on 20 October 2026.