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The Clay Street Hill Railroad was the first successful cable hauled street railway. It was located on Clay Street, a notably steep street in
Who Was Important in the History of the Cable Car?
Retrieved May 27, 2005. has him taking over the promotion of the line when the original promoter, Benjamin Brooks, failed to raise the necessary capital. In another version,Edgar Myron Kahn (1940)
California Historical Society Quarterly - Andrew Smith Hallidie
. Retrieved May 27, 2005. 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 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 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
The railroad was designated as
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and first operated in August 1873.
History
The promoter of the line wasAndrew Smith Hallidie
Andrew Smith Hallidie (March 16, 1836 – April 24, 1900) 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 ...
, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer William Eppelsheimer (January 26, 1842– June 9, 1920) was a tramway engineer known for his work on cable car systems. He was born in Alzey in Germany and studied engineering at the Polytechnikum Karlsruhe. in 1868 he left Germany by ship f ...
. Accounts differ as to exactly how involved Hallidie was in the inception of the Clay Street Hill Railway. One versionJoe Thompson (1998-2004)Who Was Important in the History of the Cable Car?
Retrieved May 27, 2005. has him taking over the promotion of the line when the original promoter, Benjamin Brooks, failed to raise the necessary capital. In another version,Edgar Myron Kahn (1940)
California Historical Society Quarterly - Andrew Smith Hallidie
. Retrieved May 27, 2005. 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 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 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
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. The system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway ...
. 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
The Cable Car Museum is a free museum in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 1201 Mason Street, it contains historical and explanatory exhibits on the San Francisco cable car system, which can itself be regarded as ...
.
Design
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.Legacy
The railroad was designated as California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
#500, with the landmark marker being placed in Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most densel ...
at the site of its eastern terminus near the corner of Clay Street and Kearny.
In fiction
*In the film ''Herbie Rides Again
''Herbie Rides Again'' is a 1974 American comedy film and the second installment of ''The Love Bug'' film series made by Walt Disney Productions starring an anthropomorphic (and quite autonomous) 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie. The ...
'', Mrs. Steimetz owns a cable car from the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which she calls "Old 22".
References
Specific: General: # {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay Street Hill Railroad Streetcars in California Cable car railways in the United States Public transportation in San Francisco History of San Francisco Defunct California railroads Defunct public transport operators in the United States Landmarks in California Landmarks in San Francisco 1873 establishments in California 1942 disestablishments in California