Cable car is an engineless passenger vehicle that is pulled by a constantly moving wire cable. Some aerial cable cars, such as ski lifts, climb hills or mountains on cables suspended between towers. However, most cable cars ride in cities on rails. In such systems, the cable runs in a channel beneath the street. An engine in a central station propels the cable at about 9 miles (14 kilometers) per hour. A cable car moves when its operator pushes a lever that causes the car’s heavy metal grip to clamp onto the moving cable.
Andrew S. Hallidie, an American manufacturer, invented the cable car, and in 1873 he helped install the first cable-car line, in San Francisco. Cable cars soon became popular throughout the world. During the 1890’s, however, electric streetcars began to replace them (see Streetcar ).
See also San Francisco (Transportation and communication) .
