Cable Car Museum & Powerhouse

This is San Francisco's Cable Car Museum & Powerhouse. It is the central hub of where all the running cable cars in the city get their power and a place to view vintage equipment and cable cars.

Before I visited this museum, I had no idea how cable cars were powered, but the diagram here shows you the basics. Cables seen in the first photo go in motion whenever cable cars in the city moved forward. It is quite fascinating. To read more about the museum, click here and to read more about the powerhouse, click here.

In 1873, the cable cars replaced the horsecars due to the animals' difficulty in climbing the steep hills of the city. When the electric streetcar became more economical to operate in 1947, the mayor requested the cable car service be stopped. Citizens rallied to save the cable cars and the rest is San Francisco history. Today, if you visit San Francisco and want to ride the cable car, even at $5 a pop, your wait can be up to 90 minute to board during the height of the tourist season.

- Karen