The Fight to Save the Cable Cars | HISTORY

Подписаться 71 тыс.

Просмотров 61 тыс.

50% 1

The Cable Cars of San Francisco are unique, there are no others like it in operation anywhere in the world today! But preserving them has been quite an uphill battle. Here now is their story from inception and construction in 1873, to the present day (2021).
To get exclusive content and videos featuring "extra" fun facts and entertainment, be sure to take a peek at my Channel Membership service. There is already loads of content to learn about Disneyland and other historical and engineering subjects. Just click this link to learn more:
/ @alexthehistorian
#SanFrancisco #CableCars #History
Time Stamps:
0:00 Introduction to the cable cars
1:24 the inception of the cars
3:00 the first cable car line
4:32 how they work
8:23 the decline of the cable cars
10:36 the fight to save the cars
15:16 the conclusion
VIDEO CREDITS:
4k San Francisco cable car footage credit to Soltau Cruiser:
• 4K | San Francisco Cab...
Cable Car ride credit to inselvideo:
• Experience San Francis...
Full Ride aboard San Francisco Cable Car credit to Pedro Florentin:
• Full Ride Aboard the S...
Below the Surface of the Cable Car credit to RoizWorld:
• Below the surface of t...
Cable Car powerhouse footage credit to Roy J Kerr:
• How Cable Cars Work
Cable Car maintenance footage credit to IBEW International:
• IBEW Keeps San Francis...
Cable Cars Threatened (vintage footage) credit to British Pathé:
• San Francisco Cable Ca...
San Francisco prior to the Earthquake 1906 (vintage footage) credit to Mike Upchurch:
• A Trip Down Market Str...
San Francisco Earthquake devastation 1906 (vintage footage) credit to Rick88888888:
• San Francisco after th...
MUSIC CREDIT:
"Pop" by Alex Productions:
• Cinematic Motivational...
"North Edge" by Keys Of Moon:
• North Edge - Heroic Ep...
"Soft Corporate" by NewHOfTechnology:
• NewHOfTechnology - Sof...
"Sanctuary" by Scott Buckley:
• 'Sanctuary' [Suspense ...
"Ascension" by Scott Buckley:
• Scott Buckley - 'Ascen...
"Way to Dream by Keys Of Moon:
• Way to Dream - Inspiri...
-------------------------------------
My email: alexthehistorian55@gmail.com
Facebook Page: Alex The Historian
Second Channel: Alex Adner / @autisticreaction
If you'd like to buy me a cup of coffee/tea, support my channel, or donate to it, you can choose any of the methods below, thank you! Links:
Patreon Membership: / alexthehistorian
Venmo: @AlexAHistorian
Square: checkout.square.site/merchant...
RU-vid Membership: Join my exclusive RU-vid Membership by clicking "Join" on my RU-vid home page. The "Join" button may also appear just below the video next to "Subscribe/Subscribed"
DISCLAIMER: I am not a University-educated historian, Alex the Historian was a nickname I got while working at Disneyland as a tour guide. After 5 years of using it as a stage name for my channel, it would be detrimental to the channel to suddenly change the name.

Опубликовано:

30 июн 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 282

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

DUNEDIN: yes folks, I accidentally mispronounced the name. Many thanks for the kind folks who have commented on my video this past year, helping to correct that. Cheers!

@taniajohnson9138 2 года назад

Adam The Woo recently posted an SF cable car video, so hopefully some folks who watch that will see my comment.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you!

@lindasolis7117 2 года назад

Not on RU-vid much (well, actually I watch a lot, but not active on my account), but I did share this cool story on my Facebook page. I have lots of friends who love Disneyland and history- hope you get some new fans!

@AlanTownUSA 2 года назад

All of your hard work shows Alex. After I finished watching it, I said "This is one of the best documentaries I have seen." I really learned a lot of things I didn't know about the cable cars and San Francisco, It was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it

@kurtpena5462 2 года назад

My friend works in the cable car shop. Muni must constantly fabricate new running gear for these cars. They fabricate all of these parts by hand. And they must fix all of the pulley systems in the field. What a thrill it must be to maintain the last fleet of cable cars!

@benkanobe7500 2 года назад

Alex, as a 64 year old native of California all I can say is FANTASTIC JOB! From Disneyland to The Queen and now the Cable Cars.... I hope Hollywood recognizes you someday. Outstanding!

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Oh wow, thanks Ben!

@kdm71291 2 года назад

Wait....he did one on Disneyland?! As a Disney Geek, as well as enjoying the cable Cars etc. during my visit in 2012 and historical things in general, I'll have to check that out!

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

I have a whole series based on Disneyland and it's attractions. Enjoy!

@krail5500 Год назад

My father was a cable car Gripman. My mom met him on the car and they fell in love. He used to do his special bell ring for her when he passed her building. There is an amazing picture with him at the controls and she's standing behind him. He eventually was Assistant Superintendent of the cable car barn. Very cool history.

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Awesome!

@dogman15 Год назад

Was it a special rhythm, like "shave and a haircut"?

@krail5500 Год назад

@@dogman15 it was 1 or 2 minutes long. He did it in the Cable Car Bell Ringing Competition around 1987-88.

@scottpecora371 22 дня назад

The glorious cable cars are living moving history anyone can enjoy for the price of a ticket. While in San Francisco many years ago, I was able to take my mentally disabled daughter, who was 8 years old, on the cable car. Watching the squeal of delight on her face while the operator even shared with her how it sort of worked as he would reef back on the different handles making it goes and she would squeal in fascination. Ten years later, we would lose my precious daughter, who was an eternal child, but I still have the image in my mind of that spring day riding the cable cars with her. God Bless you, Friedel, and all those you stood firmly against to save history from the narrow-minded greed of some!

@trippg3261 Год назад

Riding the Cable cars is one of the most exciting and fun experiences in the City. My 70+ year old grandma rode one and even stood on the side rails and swung her hands out. The joy in her face was clearly visible! This is a true national treasure. If you are ever in the City Ride it! Its a unique way to explore the city and forget the seats ride on the sides! Let the wind through your hair!

@00pinkman00 Год назад

I can not imagine a San Francisco without cable cars. It would be as devastating as removing the Lincoln Memorial or Statue of Liberty. Who are we without our history? On visits to San Francisco my late wife and I were no more off the airplane then onto a cable car. I suspect many others hold the fondest memories regarding these iconic treasures.

@paulgracey4697 Год назад

In 1961 I began a year of U.S. Navy training at Treasure Island that gave me my appreciation of the ingenuity of the cable cars, and taught me that 9.5 mph was indeed "rapid transit" in its day. At that time the Muni fares were the same on all forms of their public transit and a day pass on Sunday (the only day I had free at that time)was 50 cents. Not only did I use the cable cars along with the electric busses that also climbed those hills effortlessly, I and other passengers could aid the grip-men as they turned the cars at each end. I note that the 1906 Market street footage you use does show that there were a few electric street cars (trolley cars) in service prior to the earthquake. I also learned some time later that Chicago and New York had cable pulled streetcars around that time too. Contemporary footage in NYC shows street cars sans trolley poles that had to be cable pulled, mixed with the true electric trams. It was the emergence of the electric overhead trolley system (Frank J. Sprague's, a distant relative of mine) that ended most of them where possible. And even allowed the trolley busses you did not show this time, that replaced cable cars on some of the steeper runs up and down those hills.

@flyingmyles Год назад

What a humbling tribute to the magnificent San Francisco Cable Cars. Friedel Klussmann is a true Heroine and the city owes her a lot!

@stephenphillip5656 Год назад

I visited SanFransisco as a 🇬🇧 tourist some years ago & on my "to see/do" list were: Golden Gate Bridge ✅ Alcatraz ✅ Lombard Street ✅ But *absolutely* must see: The cable cars ✅✅! Iconic is a much-used term but totally appropriate here. Thank you & "chapeau" for your tireless efforts to save the cable cars, Ms Friedel Klussmann & the good citizens of S F. (I'll be back....!)

@waynecampbell7609 Год назад

What a fantastic video. It's interesting that both the cable cars and San Francisco Bay itself were saved by women who took up the cause. In the case of the bay, they were disparaged as a bunch of "uppity housewives", but they ended up establishing the first costal protection agency in the world and stopped the destruction of an enormous resource. So thanks to Sylvia McLaughlin, Esther Guilck and Kay Kerr, and Friedel Klussmann.

@MattGrossChannel Год назад

I recall going on an amazing romantic date to Fisherman's Wharf. It was a 5 star Italian Seafood candlelit dinner followed by a cable car ride. And then I returned to my penthouse apartment on the corner of O'Farrell and Larkin dizzy with happiness. The cable car ride is what made the date extra special.

@everettfryman1024 2 года назад

Thank you Alex for this absolutely triumphant presentation on a beloved public icon. I’m very happy that you’re expertise in the production of history videos are finding a new outlet and I sincerely hope this video receives millions of views.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks so much Everett!

@jasonsummers7129 Год назад

This documentary is of high quality. It should be shown at the cable car museum. Lived in the Bay Area for 2 years 2018-20. Miss it terribly.

@8avexp Год назад

I rode on the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines in June of 1981, before the system was rebuilt. I even saw a Rice-a-Roni ad on one car.

@Eric_Ramirez_Gaming_101 2 года назад

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE cable cars!! I've always wanted to ride one, and I have a few model cable cars around somewhere. So much history in these little cars that ride a cable

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

So cool! I love the Cable Cars too!

@mangotail6808 Год назад

If i was able to travel to US, i would absolutally love to ride a cable myself, their so unique

@djplong Год назад

Really good video hitting all the important highlights of the cable cars. When I was growing up, I spent several years in San Francisco (1966-1970) and it's always been the home of my heart. Loved the cable cars and pestered my mother every chance we had to ride on them. I recently went back to SF for the first time in nearly 50 years to run in a half marathon. The cable cars actually served their original purpose of getting people where they needed to go, in my case, as my hotel was near the end of one of the lines and, because of BART and MUNI, I didn't have to rent a car for my trip. You made the comment about how pricey a ride on the cable cars can be - and if you buy a one-way ticket, that's true - it's now $8. What a lot of people DON'T know is that you can buy a 1-day pass for all of MUNI's trains, buses AND THE CABLE CARS for only $13 (they have the "Clipper Card" and a mobile app, depending on how you want to pay/implement). I was there for a weekend and paid $31 for a 3-day pass (note, this does not include BART as SF MUNI doesn't operate that service). So you can get a day pass for less than the cost of a round-trip on the cable cars.

@wildwomanofthewoods 10 месяцев назад

I love the photo of Friedel holding the cable car model in her hands...what a stunning woman!

@jetsons101 2 года назад

Alex you made another GEM.... Wish we had someone like Friedel Klussmann to save some of the Pacific Electric "Red Cars" here. R.I.P. Friedel for your work in saving a American Icon. I still have my ticket from my first ride in 1974. Thanks to Alex for his fine work......

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks Mike! I'm so glad you liked the video!

@screwdriver5181 15 дней назад

I just hope that I shall be able to visit one day. A truly remarkable system and history.

@ericnelson8422 2 года назад

Oh Alex! As a native San Franciscan, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this outstanding documentary about our beloved Cable Cars! Rock on my friend, ROCK ON!!❤

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks Eric! It was so much fun to make and I've wanted to do this video for years!

@karinbinnie1862 Год назад

As a native San Franciscan growing up in the 50s and 60s I was always frustrated that we females weren't allowed to hang off the sides but were required to sit inside. It was explained to me that in the past there had been a problem as the cars crested the hill and the breeze from the bay caught their skirts and hats. As the women grabbed for them, they fell off the car. And yes, we proper females wore hats and gloves. After the hippies came, things changed. I took my 2 year old grandson riding on the bench so he could see out the front window. I have several cars on my Christmas tree. I ran a gold cord through the open top to hang them. And my children have them on their trees too. You can never have too many cable cars. Thanks for the great memories.

@cooper7031 Год назад

The cable car is an important piece of San Francisco history! It must not be eliminated

@paulrowan1501 Год назад

Well done, Alex, nicely done. I started riding the cable cars in the early 1960s. Nothing beat a heavily loaded cable car heading down a steep hill with the smell of burning pine brakes in the cool air, the conductor yanking on the lever on the rear platform! And the distinctive sound of the bell clanging rhythmically- the City still holds an annual bell-ringing contest to showcase the best gripman talent! Some gripmen were identifiable by their particular ringing "call". I have a book titled "Maybelle The Cable Car", published in 1952 by Virginia Lee Burton, another avid cable car enthusiast. Written as a children's book, it chronicles the battle led by Frieda Klussman (to whom she dedicated the book) against the uncaring City Fathers and the mean stinky Muni busses, and the vote to save the cable cars. It's a hoot! Hats off also to Dianne Feinstein, whose campaign to restore the two remaining lines (the Powell and the California) by raising $60 million in donations was not without opposition.

@madelinelipscomb3453 2 года назад

Absolutely LOVE this video Alex! Came for the Disney, stayed for the fascinating expansion into other histories like the Queen Mary and now cable cars! Thanks!

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you!

@huntrrams Год назад

Thank you for this video! As seen in the video, I recommend first time visitors to SF to check out the free Cable Car museum. Really interesting seeing how the cables of the cable cars are controlled and the history behind them.

@hawkeye284 2 года назад

Great job Alex! Your vid brought back fond memories for me as a kid growing up in SF in the 70s. I would hop on a cable car after school with friends to hang out at Fisherman's Wharf. Back then, it cost a nickel for minors to ride the cable car but most of the time the conductor would just let us kids ride for free and didn't hassle us. Hanging off the side at the front of the cable car was always a thrill, especially going up or down a hill. Keep up the great work!

@thomaslevy2119 Год назад

Most people don't know it, but Denver, Colorado also had a cable car system for a short time. It was replaced by electric streetcars and the streetcars were later replaced by buses. A couple of decades ago, the buses on some routes were replaced by the new light rail system. What comes around, goes around.

@timwolfers7880 2 года назад

On my first visit to SF in 1968, the TV ad for Rice-a-roni called it "the San Francisco treat", and there was an ad poster on the cable cars in the commercials. And yes on our visit, the cable cars did have those poster ads on them!

@peteryeoman8813 Год назад

That was wonderful.thank you so much for posting it.brought a tear to my eye

@michaelmeyers4917 2 года назад

I have been watching your channel since the early days, doing the history of Disneyland. Your skills of documentary story telling have kept improving. This episode is a first class result. Very nice!

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Wow, thank you!

@pomonr 2 года назад

Alex, We enjoy your Disney videos however as a SF native you nailed this one. Fantastic! The footage was amazing and your really did our city justice with this one. Great B roll footage too. The history of our cable car system is simple amazing when you really dive into it as you did. Thank you buddy! I hope you can come to SF someday and visit the Powerhouse. It’s really something amazing to behold in person.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks Rob! I love San Francisco, I plan to cover MUCH MORE of its history. Though I've visited the city a hundred times, I have never visited the cable car powerhouse, but I fully intend to!

@MiaCollinsNeighborhood Год назад

I’m from Oakland, so you can tell I know San Francisco very well!

@ArtamStudio Год назад

Funny how two of the things City Fathers most wanted to destroy *_in the name of progress_* are what now makes SF iconic: cable cars and Victorian houses. (oh and of course a certain orange bridge.) With the decline of stevedoring, tourism became SF's most profitable "industry" until tech booms No. 1 and No. 2, and it's still incredibly profitable. Those who run the city still want to destroy "old things" in the name of progress, but there are more safeguards in place. The load no longer needs to be carried by a single person, but thank goodness Friedel Klussmann lived at the right place at the right time. The California Street cable car is still occasionally ridden by residents and commuters for practical purposes. Great job!

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Thanks!

@maisler1 2 года назад

That was really good! There’s so much history in the Bay Area, honestly Alcatraz could be it’s own series

@MrMatavelhas 2 года назад

Independently of its touristic value, the industrial archeological value of it, is invaluable! The amount of technology that needs preservation to keep it running is immense.

@garryferrington811 Год назад

Who doesn't love the San Francisco cable cars?! They're wonderful!

@damianstellabott3613 2 года назад

The cable car fares are high because the operation is legally required to be self sufficient. Part of getting them saved meant forgoing public subsidies even though they are operated by a city department.

@mikeifyouplease 2 года назад

Such a beautiful and moving homage to San Francisco's historic and moving national icon. Kudos to you Friedel Klussmann, where ever you are!!

@hiridavidfeign 2 года назад

Fantastic. I learned so much. You're a national treasure dude. Thanks.

@Hal10034 Год назад

That was great! The story of Frieda Klussman brought a lump to my throat. Just one minor point: If I recall correctly, I bought a weekly MUNI pass when I visited SF. It included the cable cars, so it wasn't expensive at all. I also saw a few non-tourists using the cars, although tourists were the vast majority of the ridership.

@scottlewisparsons9551 2 года назад

Another excellent video. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you, from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

@DrKO2453 Год назад

What a wonderful story. Thank you for this!

@someguy3431 Год назад

Surprisingly people still use them for their intended purpose rather than just a tourist attraction. I remember using one to get back to my car and workers were getting on and off downtown

@Rubycon99 Год назад

I can't remember where I heard it, but I think there's even a benchpress requirement for cable car gripmen. It takes a lot of upper body strength.

@DomingoDeSantaClara Год назад

I'm from Dunedin New Zealand (pronounced Dun-eden),its a travesty we lost our cable cars but there has been support to start rebuilding them and it looks like at least one line may be brought back. Thanks for a very informative video.

@TheOriginalJphyper Год назад

8:16 That footage isn't just "circa" 1906; it's from exactly 1906. Specifically, it was filmed on April 14, 1906, just four days before the Great San Francisco Earthquake.

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Yeah I put "c. April 1906" so people knew it was filmed just prior to the earthquake.

@joeneed1 Месяц назад

Amazing history, so glad for her vision!

@jenniferlevine5406 Год назад

Excellent documentary! Very interesting history. Thanks!

@hiridavidfeign 2 года назад

This is extraordinary. I learned so much. Definitely gonna share it. I'm so proud of you even though we've never met. I'd love to see you be able to write professionally. You deserve all the best.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you so much!

@neville132bbk Год назад

Fascinating...... my wife and I were there briefly in Aug 2004 ...we decided against going on the cable cars because of the price. However, we did enjoy our noisy visit to the museum and power house. We also did a few runs on the wonderful trams and even a trolley bus. The very brief view down High St in Dunedin ( = "dunEEdin") would have been before mid 1957 when the Maryhill-Mornington cars ran their last.-- the DCC the City Council..with the same wisdom and forward thinking that destroyed a widespread and efficient trolley bus system in the early 80s ( about then )...same with the "progressive Wellington Council that closed a very modern trolley bus system only 3-4 years ago... Anyway... I just remember, at the age of 7, going with my grandmother on a pre-closing ride up to the top of High St... and my ice cream falling out of the cone onto the footpath....... A couple of cable cars and a depot are being restored these days.

@xr6lad Год назад

For years in Melbourne we still had a small stub track of cable car track with the slot still evident long after the network closed. Only recently was it tarmac over. Although Melbourne still has the worlds largest electric tram/trolley network of over 200 kms.

@bodybuilderslave7125 Год назад

In 1982 the cable car system was taken down for over a year to replace hundred year old rails.

@bobbaranickstreehouse8848 Год назад

Nice job Alex! San Francisco has so much great history. Thanks for sharing this story. Bob

@californiamade5608 2 года назад

Wow this is an amazing video. It was suggested. But I will most definitely be subscribing. You deserve it! Thank you for this great video!

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks!

@tomklock568 2 года назад

Great job Alex! I am so glad they are still in use today. Thanks for the great historical background!

@michaeltaylor1603 2 года назад

Alex, I crossed this off my bucket list back in 1998. I even got to clang the bell after the trip. My friend filmed me. I love roller coasters. I image the 1st timers thought we would "race" down the hills as they exclaimed in unison "Wooooo!" as we approached the crest and descended in a controlled speed . The operators are "INDEED" highly skilled. NASA even figured out a detection system to warn operators when "not" to grip the cable where there is a splice.

@Ozymandias1 Год назад

I went on the cable car in 1991 and it was lots of fun. Not as much fun though as the taxi which brought us to the hotel, the driver thought he was Steve McQueen in Bullit and drove down the hills at a fast pace, briefly launching the taxi into the air at each intersection. I loved it but my mom was terrified. Good times!

@trentr9762 Год назад

this is a lovely story, thanks kindly for bringing it to light!

@johnkoho1245 11 месяцев назад

In the woods of PA os a trolley car grave yard. Quite the sight to see with dozens maybe even hundreds of Trolleys just in the middle of the woods.

@DougForce 2 года назад

Excellent review of the history behind the cable cars!

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks!

@SuperLisona 2 года назад

What a great video! To be honest, prior to watching this magnificent material, I thought that the cable cars were regular trams with fancy looks, but now I can see that this is a distinct and exceptional piece of technology. I wish the SF cable car/tram system all the best, due to the fact that it makes this city's public transportation system so outstanding compared to most of the US major cities, and I hope that one day it'll expand, sprawl through city, and that overall US urban planning will shift towards buildings cities for pedestrians, usual people like women with children, disabled, etc. like in the UK, Germany or France.

@RaymondHng Год назад

The San Francisco cable cars are not trams. The streetcar/light rail vehicles that cannot climb the steep hills are the tram system.

@doncoletta2091 2 года назад

What a treat. I just Watched Adam the Woo’s channel today and he covered the launch of the Cable cars in San Francisco again. Another great topic Alex. What a talent.

@dennisdaily8700 2 года назад

What a lovely documentary. Great writing and audio. And, the narrator is top notch.

@ScanFan_Ed 2 года назад

Alex, thank you so much for such wonderful videos! I always enjoy them and look forward to the next release. I hope you are doing well! By the way, I hope somehow you end up back in Southern CA and that I can meet you at Disney sometime! 👍

@ExpeditionSteve 2 года назад

Another great video Alex!!! Always like learning something new from your videos!!! Thank you for keeping the history alive for us to enjoy!

@GrowingUpGarden 2 года назад

Great job Alex.

@NA-bk6gb 2 года назад

I found your channel searching for quality Disneyland content. You have always been one of the best. Your skills and content keep getting better. And it’s amazing to see your interests and passions project through your presentation and quality content.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you Andrew! I appreciate the kind words

@stanleybest8833 Год назад

Cable cars can be made more fleet and economical if new ones are built of aluminum and stainless steel. Keep the victorian form. Only a Gillig Phantom/Christina bus has extra provisions for weather.

@zacharyspinks6207 Год назад

This is Such an Amazing Video, Cheers to You.

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Thanks!

@russellmancillas4464 2 года назад

Very well done, thanks.

@Hogger280 2 года назад

Excellent documentary, thank you for this piece of history done so lovingly.

@ritaloy8338 Год назад

As someone who has ridden the Three Cable Car Lines of San Francisco, California Street, Powell & Mason, Powell & Hyde. I do enjoy seeing and riding them. Hopefully I will on my next visit to The City that I will ride them again. Thank you for making this informative video and gaining a new subscriber along the way.

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Thank you!

@Xaunaturalz 2 года назад

Added to my F.B. newsfeed. Nice job Alex. Nice to see to you are expanding your history videos to other subjects. You'll never run out of history to research. 👍

@kdm71291 2 года назад

Good stuff....thanks for posting!

@bcgrittner8076 2 года назад

Well done, Alex.

@lsslbj 27 дней назад

I rode the SF cable car once more than a decade ago and it was a fun ride. Now I live in Hong Kong, I still like to take the tram.

@hpoliver2981 Год назад

Yes, The City's cable cars are quaint and picturesque, but I grew up driving in San Francisco, and when one of those clattering, clanging monsters gets on your rear bumper going down a hill and threatens to run over you, a good old fashioned bus doesn't seem like such a bad idea. On the other hand, the annual cable car bell ringing contest was great fun,. Oh, and don't call them :"street cars" or you'll get the stink-eye from locals.

@sarahpalms5258 2 года назад

OMG I laughed out loud at "these cable cars are socialism"

@spikespa5208 2 года назад

And a small cringe at the pronunciation of Mayor Feinstein's name.

@manthanshah2543 2 года назад

❤

@RaymondHng Год назад

@@spikespa5208 Feinstein is now a U.S. senator.

@Ron_Rhodes 2 года назад

Another great video Alex.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@HeyItsTim 2 года назад

Such a great watch Alex. Thank you for all your hard work on this. Will share..

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you!!

@ericlevitt3769 2 года назад

Alex, you keep surprising me, great video on a man interesting topic! The work you did on it really shows through. Very poetic and great use of tone and music ! Made me want to Learn more

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you so much! I'm glad to here you liked it!

@k.h.4698 2 года назад

After Freida in 47, It was Dianne Feinstein (pronounced Fine-Stine) who saved the cable cars in 1980. She organized a campaign to rebuild the system from the ground up (i.e. grown-down), including modernized car barn. The goal was to reooen the system for the 1984 Democratic Convention to be held in June in San Francisco. To raise money, they even had a Save the Cable Cars Telethon. I remember they had guest stars like Tony Bennett and Patricia Neal, who irked telethon irganizers because she kept calling them trolley cars, like in Meet me. st in Louis. The over-the-top push to save the cable cars ultimately came from local San Franciscans and Bay Area natives who deserve the credit for saving the system.

@RaymondHng Год назад

_Dianne_

@k.h.4698 Год назад

@@RaymondHng Damn auto-spoil (sic) . Noted and corrected, TY

@ericfung5279 Год назад

One thing for sure, some of the cable cars are painted in the historical livery that they used to wear in the past. Not to mention that after the Cable Car rebuild (Between 1982 & 1984), Cable Car No. 3 remained in the Simplified Green & Cream livery that they used to wear between 1960 & 1982.

@AstiJay Год назад

A most informative and entertaining documentary! I applaud you.

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Thank you!

@halnwheels 2 года назад

Thanks for this informative and fascinating video. I rode down to Fisherman's Wharf on the cable car back in the 70s and appreciated it then. The cable car system is as iconic as the hills of San Francisco itself. Once you break up the infrastructure of the cable system, there's no going back. I understand that sometimes there's a two hour wait to get on a cable car now. Killing off some of the lines was a self-fulfilling prophecy, creating these long lines. That's why it's mostly tourists now. If I ever find myself back there, I'll be sure to ride again.

@GeeBoggs Год назад

@Alexthehistorian: One more well produced, interesting and informative documentary. This is the second of your work that I have watched. I am most impressed and truly enjoyed both. This was special as I am a former long-time San Franciscan. I didn't know the facts you uncovered and presented. Thank you. - Gee Boggs, Sonoma, CA

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Thanks Gee! Glad you're enjoying the content!

@TrunksWD 2 года назад

Alex, that was another fantastic video. You deserve far more views and subscribers than you have. I've only been to San Francisco once and that was when I was a kid in the late 90's. The only thing I recall from that visit is riding the Cable Cars.

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thank you so much!

@Dan-7550 2 года назад

Another great video my friend. Looking forward to what ever you come up with next

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks 👍

@cliffwoodbury5319 Год назад

This is such an amazing system and i don't know why it isn't used in other cities

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Because its more expensive to run than busses. By a lot

@iannarita9816 Год назад

I should also mention that much of the black and white footage shown was from recently discovered film in the National Archives. The film is noteworthy as it was shot in the week before the 1906 earthquake.

@princessmarlena1359 Год назад

I remember the stories my Aunt Jessica and Uncle Roger used to tell me and my siblings, about how in 1947 they had foiled the plans to get rid of the Red Cars and Toontown in favor of a “Freeway”…unfortunately they only bought time, delaying the inevitable.

@miyakawaso Год назад

Extremely well done.

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

Thanks!

@TheNotverysocial 2 года назад

Come to LA and see what relying on motor vehicles too much does. The inevitable outcome of too many meat sacks with varying personalities from patient to impatient piloting multi ton high speed machines snarls traffic, to say nothing of the countless killings and maimings. And the effect of pollution on collective health. These provide an alternative, and to get rid of them would be just as bad as what happened in most American cities, Los Angeles being the worst. There is something about trolleys and trains that is appealing. They are run by professionals, on a set route, and have enough passengers to displace dozens of vehicles. If these same people on that trolley are going to the same place, and driving a dozen cars, that is far more driving than is needed, say nothing of parking. This keeps SF from becoming a huge parking lot like most of LA has.

@DavidinSLO 8 месяцев назад

It's difficult to image San Francisco without their beloved cable cars. Yes, the city might be going through a "rough patch" right now -- here's hoping for a quick turn around.

@heene Год назад

I want to go there one day and I expect them to be there when I go! Blackpool got rid of their vintage trams and the seafront isn't he same without them now.

@Rubycon99 Год назад

We actually have one of your boat trams on the F Market line :) I don't see it out very often, but I rode it as a kid on the line's opening day back in 1995. I wish they made modern double deckers like Hong Kong when they modernized the Blackpool system. It would be so much more interesting if UK tram systems used those.

@RaymondHng Год назад

@@Rubycon99 We actually have two of the Blackpool trams: cars 228 & 233

@lindasolis7117 2 года назад

Alex- wonderful job! I live in Northern CA and learned so many new things today from your fabulous video!! Thank you for this treat. Note: You have such a wonderful narration voice, did you ever think of getting voiceover work?

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

I did consider it, but its a very tough business to get into.

@lindasolis7117 2 года назад

@@AlextheHistorian Understand. I studied voice (opera) and theater in college, and know how terribly competitive it all is. Wish I had some connections for you!

@mattbrewster8051 Год назад

Thanks for this wonderful documentary! I'm so happy to see these marvels of "steampunk" technology still operating! Do the trolleys at Disney's California Adventure run on cables or a catenary?

@AlextheHistorian Год назад

The ones at California Adventure are caternary. The San Francisco Cable Cars are the only existing true "cable car" street cars in the entire world.

@scratchbuilder5952 2 года назад

Great content

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks!

@terryansell6641 Год назад

Thank you this was very interesting from New Zealand

@thezedable 2 года назад

Thanks for doing this video on the city I was born and raised. I wrote a thesis on San Francisco’s Chinatown. If you’d like, I could help or information on said topic, I’d love to help

@Brianrockrailfan 2 года назад

Awesome video

@AlextheHistorian 2 года назад

Thanks!

@L-Taraval Год назад

Very good history, Alex. However, there are a few corrections. There were several references to these as "streetcars" which these certainly are not. The large winding wheels, sheaves, are actually pronounced "shivs." Finally, you have the braking systems reversed. The foot pedal/brake operates the metal shoes that squeeze the wheels. The brake lever operates the wood blocks that press against the rails. #TalesOfTheRails