Clay Street Hill Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Clay Street Hill Railroad was the first successful cable hauled street railway
. It was located on Clay Street, a notably steep street in San Francisco
in California
, and first operated in August 1873.
The promoter of the line was Andrew Smith Hallidie
, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer
. Accounts differ as to exactly how involved Hallidie was in the inception of the Clay Street Hill Railway. One version has him taking over the promotion of the line when the original promoter, Benjamin Brooks, failed to raise the necessary capital. In another version, Hallidie was the instigator, inspired by a desire to reduce the suffering incurred by the horses that hauled streetcars up Jackson Street, from Kearny to Stockton Street.
There is also doubt as to when exactly the first run of the cable car occurred. The franchise required a first run no later than August 1, 1873, however at least one source reports that the run took place a day late, on August 2, but that the city chose not to void the franchise. Some accounts say that the first gripman hired by Hallidie looked down the steep hill from Jones and refused to operate the car, so Hallidie took the grip himself and ran the car down the hill and up again without any problems.
The line involved the use of grip cars, which carried the grip that engaged with the cable, towing trailer cars. The design was the first to use such grips.
The Clay Street line started regular service on September 1, 1873 and was a financial success. In 1888, it was absorbed into the Sacramento-Clay line of the Ferries and Cliff House Railway, and it subsequently became a small part of the San Francisco cable car system
. Today none of the original line survives. However grip car 8 from the line has been preserved, and is now displayed in the San Francisco Cable Car Museum.
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that 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...
. It was located on Clay Street, a notably steep street in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and first operated in August 1873.
The promoter of the line was Andrew Smith Hallidie
Andrew Smith Hallidie
Andrew Smith Hallidie was the promoter of the Clay Street Hill Railroad in San Francisco, USA. This was the world's first practical cable car system, and Hallidie is often therefore regarded as the inventor of the cable car and father of the present day San Francisco cable car system, although...
, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer
William Eppelsheimer
William E. Eppelsheimer was a tramway engineer known for his work on cable car systems. He was born and studied engineering in what is now Germany. Eppelsheimer designed the Clay Street Hill Railroad in San Francisco...
. Accounts differ as to exactly how involved Hallidie was in the inception of the Clay Street Hill Railway. One version has him taking over the promotion of the line when the original promoter, Benjamin Brooks, failed to raise the necessary capital. In another version, Hallidie was the instigator, inspired by a desire to reduce the suffering incurred by the horses that hauled streetcars up Jackson Street, from Kearny to Stockton Street.
There is also doubt as to when exactly the first run of the cable car occurred. The franchise required a first run no later than August 1, 1873, however at least one source reports that the run took place a day late, on August 2, but that the city chose not to void the franchise. Some accounts say that the first gripman hired by Hallidie looked down the steep hill from Jones and refused to operate the car, so Hallidie took the grip himself and ran the car down the hill and up again without any problems.
The line involved the use of grip cars, which carried the grip that engaged with the cable, towing trailer cars. The design was the first to use such grips.
The Clay Street line started regular service on September 1, 1873 and was a financial success. In 1888, it was absorbed into the Sacramento-Clay line of the Ferries and Cliff House Railway, and it subsequently became a small part of the San Francisco cable car system
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
. Today none of the original line survives. However grip car 8 from the line has been preserved, and is now displayed in the San Francisco Cable Car Museum.
In fiction
- In Herbie Rides AgainHerbie Rides AgainHerbie Rides Again is a 1974 comedy film. It is the sequel to The Love Bug, released six years earlier, and the second in a series of movies made by Walt Disney Productions starring an anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
, Mrs. Steimetz owns a cable car from the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which she calls "Old 22".