Dougrun's Fotothing

Here is a car loaded up and leaving the turntable area. An underground cable is grabbed by a mechanical device manually operated by a person in the car, and pulled up the very steep San Francisco hills. Another handle applies a brake pad down onto the track to slow the car down on descents, again, manually operated by a person! The Cable Car system is antiquated and very simple but it si a symbol of San Francisco and I'm sure it will never be taken away!! The system started operation in 1873 and has been in constant use since then except for three shutdowns for modernization and rebuilding and for a period after the 1906 earthquake.