Cable Car

transport · cable power · steep hills · cities

Gripping the cable. Cable cars work by gripping onto a thick metal cable that runs continuously under the street. When the operator wants to stop, they release the cable and the car slides to a halt.

Perfect for steep hills. Cable cars excel on really steep hills where regular trains would slide backward. San Francisco's famous cable cars climb hills so steep that you'd have trouble walking up them.

Continuously moving power. The cable never stops moving, running at a constant speed through pulleys under the ground. The cars just grip it when they need to go and let go when they need to stop.

Not like funiculars. Cable cars are different from funiculars because the cars can grip and release independently. Funiculars have cars permanently attached to the cable, so they always move together.

Moving lots of people. Cable cars were designed for mass transit in cities, so they could carry many passengers up and down steep streets efficiently without needing horses or motors in each car.