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64-397: The museum contains several preserved cable cars , together with smaller exhibits and a gift shop. The cable cars displayed include: The museum is part of the complex that also houses the cable car power house, which drives the cables, and the car depot ("barn"). The car depot is not open to the public, but two galleries allow visitors to view the power house from above, and to descend below

128-406: A cable tram outside North America) is a type of cable railway used for mass transit in which rail cars are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required. Cable cars are distinct from funiculars , where the cars are permanently attached to the cable. The first cable-operated railway, employing

192-556: A cable car at New Orleans and was issued U.S. patent 97,343 . Other cable cars to use grips were those of the Clay Street Hill Railroad , which later became part of the San Francisco cable car system . The building of this line was promoted by Andrew Smith Hallidie with design work by William Eppelsheimer , and it was first tested in 1873. The success of these grips ensured that this line became

256-488: A car would leave the terminal every 15 seconds. A few funicular railways operate in street traffic, and because of this operation are often incorrectly described as cable cars. Examples of such operation, and the consequent confusion, are: Even more confusingly, a hybrid cable car/funicular line once existed in the form of the original Wellington Cable Car , in the New Zealand city of Wellington . This line had both

320-492: A continuous loop haulage cable that the cars gripped using a cable car gripper, and a balance cable permanently attached to both cars over an undriven pulley at the top of the line. The descending car gripped the haulage cable and was pulled downhill, in turn pulling the ascending car (which remained ungripped) uphill by the balance cable. This line was rebuilt in 1979 and is now a standard funicular, although it retains its old cable car name. The best-known existing cable car system

384-507: A couple of cable tram routes. Cable cars rapidly spread to other cities, although the major attraction for most was the ability to displace horsecar (or mule -drawn) systems rather than the ability to climb hills. Many people at the time viewed horse-drawn transit as unnecessarily cruel, and the fact that a typical horse could work only four or five hours per day necessitated the maintenance of large stables of draft animals that had to be fed, housed, groomed, medicated and rested. Thus, for

448-521: A curve, since Dunedin's curves were too sharp to allow coasting, while the latter forced a wedge down into the cable slot to stop the car. Both of these innovations were generally adopted by other cities, including San Francisco. In Australia, the Melbourne cable tramway system operated from 1885 to 1940. It was one of the most extensive in the world with 1200 trams and trailers operating over 15 routes with 103 km (64 miles) of track. Sydney also had

512-477: A moving rope that could be picked up or released by a grip on the cars was the Fawdon Wagonway in 1826, a colliery railway line . The London and Blackwall Railway , which opened for passengers in east London , England, in 1840 used such a system. The rope available at the time proved too susceptible to wear and the system was abandoned in favour of steam locomotives after eight years. In America,

576-524: A period, economics worked in favour of cable cars even in relatively flat cities. For example, the Chicago City Railway , also designed by Eppelsheimer, opened in Chicago in 1882 and went on to become the largest and most profitable cable car system . As with many cities, the problem in flat Chicago was not one of incline, but of transportation capacity. This caused a different approach to

640-619: A second route for East Kew and Mont Albert electric trams to reach the city (along with Bridge Road). The rest of the Collins Street line was converted to electric traction and reopened on 8 December 1929. The powerhouse was located on the north-east corner of Victoria Parade and Brunswick Street. The car shed was located on Victoria Street near the Victoria Bridge terminus. The Clifton Hill line opened on 10 August 1887, and ran between Clifton Hill and City (Bourke Street). When

704-458: A system in that its cars are not permanently attached to the cable and can stop independently, whereas a funicular has cars that are permanently attached to the propulsion cable, which is itself stopped and started. A cable car cannot climb as steep a grade as a funicular, but many more cars can be operated with a single cable, making it more flexible, and allowing a higher capacity. During the rush hour on San Francisco's Market Street Railway in 1883,

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768-486: Is due to the economy of centrally located power stations, and the ability of descending cars to transfer energy to ascending cars. However, this advantage is totally negated by the relatively large energy consumption required to simply move the cable over and under the numerous guide rollers and around the many sheaves . Approximately 95% of the tractive effort in the San Francisco system is expended in simply moving

832-416: Is relatively constant depending on the number of units gripping the cable at any given time. The cable car begins moving when a clamping device attached to the car, called a grip , applies pressure to ("grip") the moving cable. Conversely, the car is stopped by releasing pressure on the cable (with or without completely detaching) and applying the brakes. This gripping and releasing action may be manual, as

896-716: Is the San Francisco cable car system in the city of San Francisco, California . San Francisco's cable cars constitute the oldest and largest such system in permanent operation, and it is one of the few still functioning in the traditional manner, with manually operated cars running in street traffic. Other examples of cable powered systems can be found on the Great Orme in North Wales, and in Lisbon in Portugal. All of these however are slightly different to San Francisco in that

960-430: Is wheelchair accessible via a separate entrance. This San Francisco -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a building or structure in San Francisco is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This California museum-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cable car (railway) A cable car (usually known as

1024-479: The 12 local councils served by the system. The trust bought land, laid the tracks, and built the cable winding houses. The Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company (MTOC) provided the trams and operated the services from 1885 to 1916 under an exclusive 30-year franchise arrangement with the Victorian Government. MTOC had been founded by Francis Boardman Clapp, an American emigrant, who had purchased

1088-649: The Brighton Road line. Trams then ran via St Kilda Road and Swanston Street to Lonsdale Street where trams continued onto Collingwood. The line was truncated to City Road on 26 December 1925, when the Swanston Street line was closed for electrification. The line was further truncated back to Domain Road on 12 January 1926, when the St Kilda Road line was being converted to electric traction. The rest of

1152-571: The Clifton Hill - Northcote line opened in 1890, it interchanged with the Clifton Hill line at its southern terminus. Passengers initially had to physically walk between the two lines for a through service. When the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board took over the line in 1925, the two lines were connected together and a through-service was established between Northcote and the city (Bourke Street). The combined Clifton Hill/Northcote line

1216-599: The Collingwood and North Carlton lines were truncated back to Lonsdale Street. The line was finally closed on 15 April 1939, being converted into a bus service. The powerhouse was located on the north side of Johnston Street, near Brunswick Street. The car shed was located near the Johnston Street Bridge terminus. The Brighton Road line opened on 11 October 1888, and originally ran between Brighton Road and City (Swanston Street). The initial city terminus

1280-625: The Holden Street line. The powerhouse was located on the north-east corner of Victoria Parade and Brunswick Street . The car shed was located at Holden Street near the North Fitzroy terminus. The Victoria Bridge line opened on 22 November 1886, and ran between Victoria Bridge and City (Collins Street). The Victoria Bridge line was closed on 13 July 1929 for conversion to electric traction between Victoria Bridge and Brunswick Street. This section reopened on 15 September 1929, providing

1344-571: The Northcote line) on 26 October 1940. Initially, the MMTB replaced the line with buses. Within a few years, it was noticed that the bus route could not cope with the routes' high demand, so conversion of the Northcote line to electric traction was scheduled to take place right after World War II ended. However, the line remained closed until 1956. The powerhouse building still stands on the south-east corner of Nicholson and Gertrude Streets. The car shed

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1408-483: The Northcote/Clifton Hill route finally reopened. The powerhouse was located on the south-east corner of Nicholson and Gertrude Streets . The car shed was located on Queens Parade near the Clifton Hill terminus. The Nicholson Street line opened on 30 August 1887, and ran between Nicholson Street and City (Bourke Street). The Nicholson Street line was among the last cable lines to close (along with

1472-587: The Port Melbourne terminus. The Windsor - St Kilda line opened on 17 October 1891, and ran between Windsor Railway Station and St Kilda Beach. It was the final cable tram line to open, but was also the first major line to close for electrification on 29 August 1925. The powerhouse was located on the north side of Wellington Street, near Marlton Crescent. The car shed was located near the St Kilda terminus on Acland Street. The Clifton Hill - Northcote line

1536-412: The St Kilda Road line was being converted to electric traction. The rest of the line was finally closed on 1 October 1926. Both the car shed and the powerhouse located on the north-west corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street. The North Melbourne Line opened on 3 March 1890, and ran between Flemington Bridge and City (Elizabeth Street). Trams initially terminated at Flinders Street, but due to congestion,

1600-531: The Victoria Street car shed from 18 July 1925 onwards. The South Melbourne opened on 17 June 1890, and ran between South Melbourne and City (Collins Street). Initially, the city terminus was located on Gisborne Street at Victoria Parade, but after the Collins Street line was closed for electrification on 14 September 1929, the South Melbourne line was truncated back to Market Street. Eventually,

1664-727: The Victorian rights to the patents of the cable system developed by Andrew Hallidie . George Smith Duncan , who had built the Roslyn cable tramway in Dunedin , New Zealand, was the engineer in charge of the development of the Melbourne cable network. On the expiration of the MTOC's franchise in 1916, the cable tram network was transferred to the Victorian Government, and then passed to the government-owned Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) on 1 November 1919. The Northcote tramway

1728-546: The cable, the Minimetro system from Poma /Leitner Group and the Cable Liner system from DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car both have variants that allow the cars to be automatically decoupled from the cable under computer control, and can thus be considered a modern interpretation of the cable car. The cable is itself powered by a stationary engine or motor situated in a cable house or power house. The speed at which it moves

1792-402: The cable. Because of the constant and relatively low speed, a cable car's potential to cause harm in an accident can be underestimated. Even with a cable car traveling at only 14 km/h (9 mph), the mass of the cable car and the combined strength and speed of the cable can cause extensive damage in a collision. A cable car is superficially similar to a funicular , but differs from such

1856-415: The car. As many early cable car operators discovered the hard way, if the grip is not applied properly, it can damage the cable, or even worse, become entangled in the cable. In the latter case, the cable car may not be able to stop and can wreak havoc along its route until the cable house realizes the mishap and halts the cable. One apparent advantage of the cable car is its relative energy efficiency. This

1920-497: The cars are permanently attached to the cable. Several cities operate a modern version of the cable car system. These systems are fully automated and run on their own reserved right of way. They are commonly referred to as people movers , although that term is also applied to systems with other forms of propulsion, including funicular style cable propulsion. These cities include: Information Patents Melbourne cable tramway system The Melbourne cable tramway system

1984-510: The cars into and out of the terminals. After 1896 the system was changed to one on which a motor car was added to each train to maneuver at the terminals, while en route, the trains were still propelled by the cable. On 25 September 1883, a test of a cable car system was held by Liverpool Tramways Company in Kirkdale , Liverpool . This would have been the first cable car system in Europe, but

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2048-499: The centre of Melbourne to neighbouring suburbs. It was one of the largest cable car systems in the world, comparable with those of San Francisco which had 23 lines, and Chicago which had 66.0 km of double track. With the exception of the Northcote tramway, which was privately built and managed, the infrastructure of the network was built by the Melbourne Tramway Trust, which consisted of representatives of

2112-454: The cheaper to construct and simpler to operate electrically -powered trolley or tram started to become the norm, and eventually started to replace existing cable car systems. For a while hybrid cable/electric systems operated, for example in Chicago where electric cars had to be pulled by grip cars through the loop area, due to the lack of trolley wires there. Eventually, San Francisco became

2176-547: The city directly. The powerhouse was located on Bridge Road, at Hoddle Street , and has since been demolished to provide for a left-turn lane. The remains of the Richmond cable tram depot now form part of the Amora Hotel, near Hawthorn Bridge. The North Fitzroy line opened on 2 October 1886, and ran between North Fitzroy and City (Collins Street). The line was converted to electric traction in stages. The North Fitzroy Line

2240-434: The city terminus was located on Gisborne Street at Victoria Parade, but after the Collins Street line was closed for electrification on 14 September 1929, the Port Melbourne line was truncated back to Market Street. Eventually, the line entire line closed on 13 July 1937, being replaced by a bus service. The powerhouse located on the south side of City Road, near Cecil Street. The car shed was located on Beaconsfield Parade near

2304-429: The city. Following this point, Brighton Road trams were through-routed to North Melbourne via Lonsdale Street. The Brighton Road tram line fully closed for electrification on 26 December 1925, but the section between City Road and Domain Road remained for Toorak and Prahran trams to use. An electrified line from Lonsdale Street to Brighton Road was completed on 29 August 1926. Both the powerhouse and car shed were located on

2368-478: The city. When the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board took over the line in 1925, the two lines were connected together and a through-service was established between Northcote and the city (Bourke Street). The combined Clifton Hill/Northcote line was among the last cable lines to close (along with the Nicholson Street line) on 26 October 1940. Initially, the MMTB replaced the line with buses. Within

2432-488: The combination of grip car and trailer. Rather than using a grip car and single trailer, as many cities did, or combining the grip and trailer into a single car, like San Francisco's California Cars , Chicago used grip cars to pull trains of up to three trailers. In 1883 the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway was opened, which had a most curious feature: though it was a cable car system, it used steam locomotives to get

2496-413: The company decided against implementing it. Instead, the distinction went to the 1884 Highgate Hill Cable Tramway , a route from Archway to Highgate , north London, which used a continuous cable and grip system on the 1 in 11 (9%) climb of Highgate Hill. The installation was not reliable and was replaced by electric traction in 1909. Other cable car systems were implemented in Europe, though, among which

2560-553: The first cable car installation in operation probably was the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway in New York City , as its first-ever elevated railway which ran from 1 July 1868 to 1870. The cable technology used in this elevated railway involved collar-equipped cables and claw-equipped cars, proving cumbersome. The line was closed and rebuilt, reopening with steam locomotives . In 1869 P. G. T. Beauregard demonstrated

2624-417: The four cables at 15.3 km/h (9.5 mph). Electric cars with regenerative braking do offer the advantages, without the problem of moving a cable. In the case of steep grades, however, cable traction has the major advantage of not depending on adhesion between wheels and rails . There is also the advantage that keeping the car gripped to the cable will also limit the downhill speed of the car to that of

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2688-580: The junction of Washington and Mason streets to view the large cavern where the haulage cables are routed via large sheaves out to the street. The museum was established in 1974, and is run by the Friends of the Cable Car Museum. The entrance is at Washington and Mason and the museum is open from 10 AM to 6 PM between April 1 and September 30 and from 10 AM to 5 PM between October 1 and March 31, apart from some public holidays. The museum main level

2752-503: The line entire line closed for electrification on 13 July 1937, but the electric line instead ran to the city via Spencer Street, the City Road section being abandoned. The powerhouse was located on the south side of City Road, near Cecil Street. The car shed was located near the South Melbourne terminus on Victoria Avenue. The Port Melbourne line opened on 20 June 1890, and ran between Port Melbourne and City (Collins Street). Initially,

2816-537: The line was closed on 28 August 1926. However, Toorak trams still used the line between Domain Road and Chapel Street until October 1 later that year. The powerhouse and the car shed were both located on the north-west corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street . The North Carlton line opened on 9 February 1889, and ran between North Carlton and City (Lonsdale Street). In 1897, the North Carlton service began running through-routed services to St Kilda Beach. The line

2880-591: The line was diverted at Lonsdale Street and through-routed to Brighton Road on 11 February 1924. The section between Flemington Bridge and Abbotsford Street was closed for electric conversion on 18 July 1925, which was first section cable line in Melbourne to close. The rest of the line closed for conversion to electric traction on 20 July 1935, though the Brunswick Line continued to use the Elizabeth Street section until 28 September 1935. The powerhouse

2944-527: The model for other cable car transit systems, and this model is often known as the Hallidie Cable Car . In 1881 the Dunedin cable tramway system opened in Dunedin , New Zealand and became the first such system outside San Francisco. For Dunedin, George Smith Duncan further developed the Hallidie model, introducing the pull curve and the slot brake; the former was a way to pull cars through

3008-489: The only street-running manually operated system to survive – Dunedin, the second city with such cars, was also the second-last city to operate them, closing down in 1957. In the last decades of the 20th-century, cable traction in general has seen a limited revival as automatic people movers , used in resort areas, airports (for example, Toronto Airport ), huge hospital centers and some urban settings. While many of these systems involve cars permanently attached to

3072-584: The rest of the line closing on 29 June 1927. The converted line between Swanston Street and Spencer Street opened on 14 July 1927. The section between Swanston Street and Simpson Street opened on 17 September 1927, and the rest of the line to Hawthorn Bridge opened later that year on 4 December, connecting with the Church Street line and the Burwood Road line, which were already in operation. This conversion enabled Mont Albert and East Kew trams to reach

3136-467: The south-east corner of St Kilda Road and Bromby Street. The Prahran line opened on 26 October 1888, and ran between Prahran and City (Swanston Street). All Prahran line trams were through-routed to Collingwood via Lonsdale Street. The line ran along Chapel Street from Carlisle Street and Toorak Road where it met the Toorak line, along Toorak Road, Park Street and Domain Road to St Kilda Road where it met

3200-443: The terminus of the cable system. From 1924 the cable tram lines were progressively converted to electric traction. The last Melbourne cable tram ran on 26 October 1940, on the Northcote to Bourke Street route. The Richmond line opened on 11 November 1885, and ran between Hawthorn Bridge and City (Spencer Street). The line was converted to electric traction in stages. The line was at first truncated to Swanston Street on 15 May 1927,

3264-531: Was a cable car public transport system, which operated between 1885 and 1940 in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia . The first line, from Spencer Street to the end of Bridge Road Richmond via Flinders Street, was opened on 11 November 1885, and all planned lines were built by 1891, the last being the short Windsor-St Kilda Esplanade line, opened 17 October 1891. By then it had about 75 kilometres (47 mi) of double track (103.2 route km or 64.12 route miles) and 1,200 cars and trailers, on 15 routes radiating from

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3328-432: Was among the last cable lines to close (along with the Nicholson Street line) on 26 October 1940. Initially, the MMTB replaced the line with buses. Within a few years, it was noticed that the bus route were unsuccessful at coping with the high demand of the routes, so conversion of the Northcote line to electric traction was scheduled to take place right after World War II ended. However, it was not until 26 September 1955 that

3392-505: Was at Flinders Street, but this was extended northwards towards Queensberry Street on 20 January 1889. The line was truncated from Queensberry Street to Lonsdale Street on 11 February 1924 to allow the electric trams from the North to terminate in the city. The line was truncated to City Road on 26 December 1925, when the Swanston Street line was closed for electrification. The line was further truncated back to Domain Road on 12 January 1926, when

3456-424: Was at Flinders Street, but this was extended northwards towards Queensberry Street on 20 January 1889. The trams operated along Brighton Road, High Street (now just St Kilda Road), St Kilda Road and Swanston Street from Brunning Street, Balaclava to Queensberry Street, Carlton. The line was truncated from Queensberry Street to Lonsdale Street on 11 February 1924 to allow the electric trams from the North to terminate in

3520-437: Was closed on 1 August 1936, being replaced by a bus service, though the Collingwood line continued to use the section of track between Rathdowne Street and Lonsdale Street until it closed on 15 April 1939. Both the powerhouse and the car shed were located at the south-west corner of Rathdowne and Park Streets. The Toorak line opened on 15 February 1889, and ran between Toorak and City (Swanston Street). The initial city terminus

3584-640: Was closed on 20 July 1935, being replaced by buses, though the Elizabeth Street section of the line was used by the Brunswick Line for a few months after until it too closed on 28 September 1935. The powerhouse was located at the south-west corner of Queensberry Street and Abbotsford Street. The car shed for the West Melbourne line was always shared with the North Melbourne line, first using the Flemington Bridge car shed and later using

3648-452: Was located on Nicholson Street near the Nicholson Street terminus. The Brunswick line opened on 1 October 1887, and ran between Brunswick and City (Elizabeth Street). The Brunswick line was converted to electric traction in stages. The line was first truncated to Victoria Street on 29 September 1935. It was further truncated to Leonard Street, Parkville on 17 November 1935. The Brunswick Line was finally closed on 11 January 1936. The powerhouse

3712-578: Was located on the north-west corner of Brunswick Road and Black Street. The car shed was located near the Moreland Road terminus. The Collingwood line opened on 21 December 1887, and initially ran between Collingwood and City (Lonsdale Street). When the Prahran line opened in 1888, the Collingwood line operated through-routed services to Prahran. When the Swanston Street line was truncated back to Princes Bridge on 26 December 1925 for electrification,

3776-411: Was located on the west corner of Queensberry and Abbotsford Streets. The car shed was located was located near the Flemington Bridge terminus, but later was moved to Victoria Street, near the intersection of Howard Street after the Flemington Bridge section of the line was closed. The West Melbourne line opened on 18 April 1890, and ran between West Melbourne and City (Elizabeth Street). The entire line

3840-407: Was opened by the Clifton Hill to Northcote & Preston Tramway Company on 18 February 1890, and was Melbourne's only privately built and operated cable tramway. It ran between the northern terminus of the Clifton Hill line, and Dundas Street, Northcote. Early in its existence, the line struggled financially. Passengers initially had to physically walk to the Clifton Hill line for a through service to

3904-762: Was the Glasgow District Subway , the first underground cable car system, in 1896. ( London , England's first deep-level tube railway, the City & South London Railway , had earlier also been built for cable haulage but had been converted to electric traction before opening in 1890.) A few more cable car systems were built in the United Kingdom , Portugal , and France . European cities, having many more curves in their streets, were ultimately less suitable for cable cars than American cities. Though some new cable car systems were still being built, by 1890

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3968-420: Was the case in all early cable car systems, or automatic, as is the case in some recent cable operated people mover type systems. Gripping must be applied evenly and gradually in order to avoid bringing the car to cable speed too quickly and unacceptably jarring passengers. In the case of manual systems, the grip resembles a very large pair of pliers , and considerable strength and skill are required to operate

4032-568: Was transferred to the MMTB on 20 February 1920. Although the first electric tram service was introduced in 1889, and ran for seven years between the outer Melbourne suburbs of Box Hill and Doncaster , the electric tram network did not seriously commence until 1906, when the Victorian Railways built an "Electric Street Railway" from St Kilda railway station to Brighton , and The North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company built an electric tramway towards Essendon from

4096-412: Was truncated to Brunswick Street on 14 September 1929. The line was eventually fully closed on 12 July 1930. The Collins Street section was converted to electric traction and opened on 8 December 1929. The line between Brunswick Street and North Fitzroy was reopened on 26 October 1930. This conversion enabled a direct route for West Preston and East Preston electric trams to reach the city, rather than using

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