How do the San Francisco cable cars work?

Answer 1

The cars have no independent power. all momentum comes from the moving cable which is going at approximatley nine miles per hour- true the cars go faster downhill when they let go of the cable. The gripman stands in the center of the car and controls the key grip (center lever) which connects the car to the cable, per se. there are other levers for hand , wheel and track brakes and an emergency brake, nicknamed the Red Line or Red Handled, from its color. the cables are driven from the power house by electric motors (formerly steam was used) running at a steady nine miles per hour. the cars are believed to be narrow gauge. there were some cities that had combination trolley and cable cars-probably center third rail- around the turn of the century this hybrid car thing never caught on.