San Francisco Cable Car Photo

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San Francisco Cable Car
A scenic picture of a San Francisco Cable car coming up Hyde Street. San Francisco's cable cars are unique in that they are the only street railway in which the cars do not operate under their own power. Instead, the cars are propelled mechanically, by "gripping" a continuously moving steel cable which runs in a conduit underneath a slot between the rails. The cable is kept in motion by an engine in a centrally-located powerhouse. The cable car system was developed in San Francisco because of a guy named Andrew Hallidie whom in 1869 witnessed a horse-car accident and wanted to develop a cable railway to stop such accidents. In 1873 HGallidie tested the first cable car system near the top of Nob HIll at Clay and Jones Streets. Ever since this date the Cable Car system kept growing and became one of the symbols of San Francisco.

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Full Size: 3.56 MB (jpg) | 17.3 MB (tif) | 2012 x 3000 pixels

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cable car, trolley, scenic san francisco cable cars, trolleys, san francisco trolley, hyde st and powell st cable car, moving cable car

Camera Settings (EXIF Data)
  • Shutter Speed: 1/400 seconds
  • Lens Aperture: F/11
  • Focal Length: 80 mm
  • Image Resolution: 2012 x 3000 pixels
  • Image Size: 3.56 MB (JPG), 17.3 MB (TIF)
  • Date Photo Taken: May 14, 2005 3:27 PM
  • File Name: 489_cable_car.jpg
  • Image ID: # 489
  • Date added to website: 6-Jul-2005

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