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The very best San Francisco has to offer.

By plane, train, bus or car: all about arrival

Selected from hundreds, here are our “hits” for tourists.

Don't miss: Here are important tips for a smooth trip!

Kids will love San Francisco (if you know where to go).

Here we help you figure out where to go in the evening.

Living in San Francisco isn't cheap. Find out how to avoid overpaying at a hotel.

Shopping in different parts of the city (and, at the same time, a little history).

You need to get around these hills somehow. Here's how.

ROPE TRAM

Short...

For more than a century and a quarter, cable car cars have carried passengers up and down the hills of San Francisco, propelled by cables that run right under the tracks, in the middle. Today there are three routes covering 69 city blocks. Two main lines connect the main tourist areas - Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square. This, plus the fact that it's fun and a uniquely San Francisco thing, explains why the cable car is so popular with tourists.

• Pros:
• It's a pleasure to ride on it.
• it is a good connection between the Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square areas.

it only exists in San Francisco.

• Minuses:
• long queues at the final stops.

a lot of people.

Working hours:

from 6:00 to 00:30 daily

Fare:

$6.00 (cash only. Change can be made from $20, no more. You can also present a one-time ticket for municipal transport and pay an additional $4). You can also buy a ticket at the ticket office at the final stops: at the corner of Powell/Market streets (near Union Square) and Hyde/Beach (Fisherman’s Wharf area). The conductor sells a one-day pass (All-day passport, $14; valid for other types of public transport on the same day). Children under 5 years old are free. Also suitable for travel are: CityPASS, 1-3-7 days Muni Pass and monthly public transport passes (Monthly Muni passes).

This might be interesting...

This can be useful: there is no need to stand in long queues at final stops (otherwise known as turntables) - conductors always leave space in the car to pick up passengers along the route. It’s easier to walk along the line a couple of blocks and jump into the carriage or onto the step without any queue (from either side). Wave to the driver to stop at your stop.

History of appearance

The cable car is a local invention. The idea came to a cable maker named Andrew Smith Halliday after he witnessed the horrific deaths of horses pulling a horsecar up the steep rise of Jackson Street. The horses stumbled and the heavy carriage dragged them down the hill to their death. Together with engineer William Appelshamer, Halliday came up with a system driven by a steam engine, in which the cars were attached to a cable using a special catching lever. From an engineering point of view, the ropes themselves were made interestingly: the cables were made of steel wire and had a jute core. While the outer steel wrap helped support the load, the jute rope inside allowed the lever to grip the rope more tenaciously, as the rope was slightly compressed. This system was the best for steep descents and ascents until the 1920-1930s, when competitors appeared - buses capable of conquering hills.

The first cable tram line began operating in 1873 and was a great success. Over time, 8 cable tram companies operated in the city with 600 cars and a line length of 82 kilometers.

1906

In the 1890s, the time of electric trams arrived. Although they covered the city in an ugly web of electrical cables, they were much cheaper to build and operate. Do you know who most often wins the “beauty versus economy” debate?

The powerful earthquake of 1906 accelerated the outcome: it destroyed most of the cable tram lines and tram depots, and 117 cars burned in fires after the earthquake. When the city was being rebuilt, modern electric lines were laid in place of the cable tram lines.

Cable Car Rescue Committee

By the early 1950s, there were only five cable car lines left in the city, and city officials were planning to permanently remove them from the streets of San Francisco. Then residents rose to defend their favorite: they created the Committee to Save the Cable Tram and submitted the issue to a city referendum. It was decided by an overwhelming majority and confirmed by city law that the cable tram remains. Thanks to this, we can still hear his calls heard here and there across the hills of San Francisco.

Cable (or cable) trams are one of the most important features of San Francisco that makes it unique. Previously, there were similar systems in different American cities, but the only operating similar system remained in San Francisco.

The city's cable tram system consists of three routes in the city center. The tram does not have its own engine and travels by hooking onto a special cable that moves under the pavement. The tram driver's task is simple - to hook onto the cable or unhook from it using a special lever. There is also a brake pedal.

Since all tram routes go over the largest hills, it can be assumed that at the time when they were created, there were simply no engines of the required power that could pull the tram up such a steep mountain. To experience the coolest coasters in San Francisco, you just need to ride the trams.

The trams were left to the delight of tourists and are very popular, despite their cost - as much as $6 for one trip. A special tourist pass allows you to save money (by the way, it is very profitable for intensive exploration of the city) - 21 bucks for 3 days, or 27 for seven. The pass allows you to travel on all transport systems of the muni public transport system (with the exception of BART trains).

If you approach the tram rails, you can hear the noise of a moving cable underneath them. What’s interesting is that trams not only run straight, but also turn (there are several turns).

In addition to the seats inside the carriage, you can sit with your legs dangling directly above the pavement, or stand on the step in front holding the handrail. You cannot enter these places, at the front of the carriage, from the passenger compartment. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get on the bandwagon; all the tourists were trying to take exactly these hardcore places 😉

The trams pass through scenic views of downtown San Francisco.

I was surprised that cable trams are quite a fast and convenient form of transport. True, due to the large number of tourists, it is not very practical.

We arrived at Union Square.

The majority of tram drivers are of Chinese origin. The work is not dusty, they smile and joke. One nicknamed me “Canon Guy” and drove me into the interior of the salon, after I constantly climbed out behind his back to photograph the view from the street.

At the final stations, the tram is very atmospherically unfurled by hand, and this is one of the most popular tourist attractions. The tram is rolled onto a wooden circle, turned, and pushed onto other rails like a toy.

You can see a large line on the left and right in the photo, it went around behind me. To get on the tram at the terminus you need to wait in line for half an hour. The easiest way is to take the tram somewhere in the middle of the route.

In general, the city has a fairly developed network of public transport, which is not entirely typical for the United States. Interestingly, all the guidebooks do not specifically indicate routes that turn into “bad” areas of the city, only those that go through good areas and tourist places.

After the end we get straight to Union Square, the very center of the city.

Union Square is an area near downtown with many different brand stores. For shopaholics, this is the most important point in San Francisco 😉

From Union Square towards the bay, the city's business center with skyscrapers begins.

In addition to cable trams, it is worth special mentioning the tram line F, which runs from pier 39, along the coast, then through the city center to the Castro district. It represents old, restored trams of various American models. In San Francisco, it is very noticeable that the authorities are trying very hard to preserve all the old attractions (and make money from it 😉

Cars drive briskly along the tram rails, probably this is allowed here.

Looking at these trams, it’s immediately clear where Soviet trams were ripped off from - the appearance, interior and wheeled bogies are very similar.

Another, older model.

For example, this tram is from 1947.

The Android sits comfortably on the sidewalk.

Marine Station.

It's time to visit the shoes of the heroes of American films and take a ride on the famous cable trams

In the notebook: the cable tram in San Francisco is a purely local invention, a kind of public transport with a rather original cable drive system that allows the car to be dashingly moved along the hills of San Francisco. The first cable tram appeared on the streets of Frisco back in 1873, then this type of transport gained popularity and there were 8 tram lines in the city. But gradually, when electric-powered trams began to appear, the use of a cable system became an unprofitable enterprise. The earthquake of 1906 destroyed most of the cable lines, and more than a hundred cable trams burned down. When the city was rebuilt, electric lines were laid everywhere. The need for ropes has practically disappeared. By the beginning of the 50s of the last century, only 5 cable tram lines operated in the city. The authorities wanted to completely close this type of transport, but then the residents of San Francisco intervened in the course of events and in a city referendum it was decided to preserve the cable lines. Now the city operates and this is one of the most favorite entertainments for tourists. Along with the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable car is a symbol of San Francisco. The city even holds competitions and festivals of tram bells. Here's the story :)

As you understand, we simply had no right not to ride the cable tram :) Moreover, this is a real show! The queue we saw as we approached the final tram stop on Rybatskaya Embankment was somewhat confusing. But what to do...

The fare costs 6 dollars. You can buy a One day ticket for 14 bucks. And if you came to San Francisco for a few days, and even settled somewhere in the Fisherman’s Embankment area or on Russian Mountain, then the best solution would be to buy a CityPass card, which is valid for a whole week and allows you to ride the tram as much as you like, because In this case, the cable tram will come in handy as a convenient means of transportation. No need to worry about queues. As it turned out, the queues are only at the final stops, where there are a lot of tourists. The conductor always leaves free seats on the step and if you wave your hand at a passing tram at a regular stop, they will definitely pick you up.

But let’s return to our tourist adversities, hardships and hardships :) As I already said, the queues for boarding were decent, we stood for about forty minutes. But during this time you will see how conductors manually turn the trams around

This is purely a tourist joke, but it looks funny

And street musicians and various self-made showmen won’t let you get bored :) This strange couple has been preparing for their show for a very long time and slowly. The line stared displeasedly at the preparations, realizing that they would now show another piece of garbage and start begging for money for it.

But everything turned out to be completely different from what was expected :) A dark-skinned citizen tied to a pole suddenly began to make the inviting sounds of Tarzan getting married and after that announced that he was none other than the real “EscapeMan”. You remember that Alcatraz is nearby, right? :) After that, he put on a show that made the whole line laugh! This should have been filmed, but, alas, I again forgot about the camera in my mobile phone...

In general, under his own comments, within a minute and a half (he promised in a few seconds) he freed himself from the shackles and the whole line almost gladly unfastened their hard-earned money for him :) Honestly, I wish there were more such street showmen!

In the meantime, our turn had come, we had to take the “trump” places :) But there’s no need to rush too much, you can catch up quite a bit...

But we were lucky, we were in the front row without any injuries

This is the mechanism that controls the rope system

The conductor jauntily rang the bell and we set off.

On the way we crossed another tram line

Looked at new angles of San Francisco

We tried some very unusual design solutions

We jumped over the last hill and found ourselves in the center

The trolley took us straight to Union Square

The center is the center...

But in San Francisco it’s still not quite American...

Here you can go to the largest shopping center

As usual, all people with oddities tend to the center

and the beggars...

Here is the residence of Evil :)

And the police in funny cars protect us from all evil spirits :)

San Francisco has three streetcar systems. The oldest of them, and perhaps the most famous outside the city, is a network of cable cars. On the one hand, these cute old trailers are more fun for tourists than a serious form of public transport. On the other hand, the uniqueness of this system makes it very interesting from an engineering point of view.

Plus, today no other city in the world can boast of operating trams operating on this principle...

As you can guess from the name, the cable tram moves due to a cable that stretches along the entire length of its route. The cable runs underground, in a special groove between the tram rails. If you look there, you can clearly see it - it always moves at a constant speed - about 15 km/h.

Accordingly, the trailers themselves do not have any motor - in order to move, they cling to this cable with a special clamp. If you need to stop, the conductor opens the clamp, releasing the cable, and activates the brakes (there are as many as three braking systems).

The first cable car appeared in San Francisco in 1873. The city center has many very steep hills that were difficult for pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles to climb.

A tram pulled by a cable solved this problem. The first line was very profitable, and over the next twenty years, 23 cable tram lines were built in the city!

At the very end of the 19th century, electric trams began to appear, the kind we are all accustomed to. The city authorities calculated that building such lines was half the cost of cable lines, and the cost of maintaining them was generally six times lower! Therefore, by 1912, only eight cable lines remained in San Francisco. But they all climbed the famous local hills. Electric trams simply could not handle such steep slopes. The maximum inclination is 21 degrees. So the cable tram survived, although there were several attempts throughout the 20th century to close the system completely.

Today there are three lines in operation. As I already said, the cable tram is no longer suitable for serious public transport. The cars move slowly, with frequent stops, and the vast majority of passengers willing to pay $6 for a ride are tourists. At the same time, trams are often packed to capacity, and at the end stations there are long queues of visitors wanting to take a ride.

But it was not for nothing that I said that the system is very interesting from an engineering point of view.

After all, stretching several kilometers of cables under the streets of a big city is not an easy task. All these cables converge to one building, in the basement of which there is a motor station. Inside, huge General Electric motors turn four sets of large wheels, which drive four long cables around the city (one for each of the routes, and another to deliver the trams to the depot at night).

These wheels can move back and forth in order to maintain the required tension in the cable (otherwise it may come off!) Each cable weakens over the years, and the wheel moves further and further to keep it taut. When there is nowhere to go further, the cable is changed - this is a difficult process, but the mechanics must have time to do everything in one night, while the trams are standing still.

By the way, this room is open to visitors, there is a museum of cable trams, and if you are interested in this topic, it’s worth a look there.

By the way, cable tram drivers (they are called “gripmen”) require enormous coordination and strength. The lever that controls the clamp is very heavy, and it must be closed and opened in very precise places. Release the cable a second too early and the tram will roll back down the hill. There is also one place in the system where two cables intersect, and one goes on top of the other. The gripman of the tram on the “lower” cable must release it in the right place so that the car passes this intersection by inertia. If he hesitates and does not do this at the right time, the upper cable may receive serious damage. Having passed a dangerous place, the cable is captured again, and the tram moves on, and the passengers do not even notice that anything has happened - for them, pulling the lever with a gripman is similar to a bus driver changing gears.

The picture shows the reconstructed building of the main station of one of the cable tram companies. It is very close to the original 1887 structure. Only the pipe was significantly higher before the 1906 earthquake. Do you know why there is a chimney on this house? Because it housed a steam engine. The trams were powered by a coal boiler, like steam locomotives. In English, such a station is called Powerhouse, literally “house of power”. There were quite a lot of these same houses before the earthquake, and they consumed an incredible amount of coal. Coal was delivered on the same trams, only freight ones. Currently there is only one powerhouse in San Francisco. Everyone is allowed inside without any problems.

Let's take a closer look at the house. On the second floor behind semicircular windows there is a depot. Inside the depot, trams are rolled by hand on a flat surface. The cars, ready for use, roll out from the second floor downhill past parked cars, reach the main line (it’s in the lower right corner of the photo) and pick up the cable there. Trams enter the depot from the other side; the entrance from this corner is not visible.

The power plant is located on the ground floor. The entire San Francisco ropeway industry is now organized into four loops, and all the loops are operated from this building. The longest loop has 7.5 kilometers of cable, the other three loops are shorter. Of course, the steam engine no longer exists. The cables rotate four electric motors of 510 horsepower each.

This is what the depot looks like during the day. Trams at work. A total of 40 carriages are maintained in working order, but at the time we were there, one of the three lines was closed for reconstruction. Accordingly, non-working cars from this line are also now in the depot. The cars belong to tram operators who come to work.

And here is the heart of this whole structure. 80 meters of the length of the barn are allocated for taking out the slack of the cable. The distant pulleys are movable, and as the cable is pulled, they move towards the wall. When there is nowhere to move further, the cable is replaced with a new one. This operation takes three hours and occurs once every 6-8 months. The cable is delivered on monstrous spools, which are suspended in some correct place. The old cable is cut, woven with the new one and the system is made a full turn, while at the same time winding the old cable onto an empty spool. The inscriptions above the cables are the names of the lines. Why, if there are three lines, there are four moving cables? Because of the switches, or rather, the switch located not far from this station. There is one cable before the arrow, and two after. As a result, three cables are used on two lines. It turns out it's easier this way.

It's a tricky topology. I can’t tell it on my fingers, but I don’t want to draw a diagram. In short, four loops cover the entire rail system, including the delivery of cars to the depot along short sections away from the main lines.

In the foreground, the wheels are not spinning because this particular line was turned off during filming.

Here she is. Naturally, it is far from the level of a modern plant. The Kulibins who work here repair equipment day and night, which is naturally almost 100 years old, and they must have the appropriate skills. Handmade. The art of rope braiding is alive. This is an amazing skill; there are only a few gossipers in the world. Gossipist is a piece of work, mainly involved in the ski industry and cable car transport. But on any ski lift the services of a gossip are hardly needed more than once a year. Here, due to cable deformations by rollers and tram grips, the cable threads constantly break. A special primitive device (an ordinary loop like a coal eye) catches a broken thread at the entrance to the power plant. A signal sounds, the machine stops, and the gossipers must very quickly fix the defect by weaving the damaged thread back into the cable. There are six cores in the cable with 19 threads in each core.

There is another floor under the workshop. This is a distribution device that directs cables to tram routes. The photo was taken from behind glass, which is why it is so blurry. This farm leaves a strong impression. A dozen wheels of different sizes spin whistling at different angles, directing the cables in four directions.

Deep ditches have been dug throughout the center of San Francisco, in which, if I'm not mistaken, 1,400 rollers are hidden that guide these cables. The design of the rollers is very clever; there are several types of them. The roller bushings used to be wooden, but have now been replaced with something more solid. Naturally, all this farming requires constant care. From time to time, cable transport needs to be repaired.

In addition to the cost of support and repairs (overhaul of the entire network cost 60 million dollars in 1984, that is, about 150 million at current prices), in addition to the difficulties created by conventional transport, in addition to the incredible labor costs and the emergence of exotic professions, the costs When using a cable tram, you should record the incredible noise it makes. Cheerful hysterical calls from morning to evening, clanging and vibration from the ancient unspring wheels and the snake hissing of the cable (it produces an incessant underground sound like "whee-whee-whee-whee-whee-whee" - try to say that quickly) should produce the inhabitants of the houses along the line (and these, let me remind you, are the most expensive and fashionable buildings) have the most depressing impression.

As I already said, one line during our visit (specifically this one) was closed for repairs. Instead of ancient tarataykas, the most ordinary vulgar buses walked along it. What to say? It's warmer, more comfortable, lighter and just so much better. Alas. But the line will be restored, no doubt. What explains this masochism? To answer this question, let's go back to the power station barn.

Here are two carefully restored carriages and trailers that ran through San Francisco from the very beginning, from the 1870s until the 1906 earthquake. The damage caused to the cable tram by the earthquake was enormous. All lines, all power stations and most of the wagon fleet were destroyed. They were restored, but... an electric tram had already appeared. No, no, no normal tram can climb the hills of San Francisco, that's out of the question. However, all the lines that operated in the flat part were removed from the cable traction system. Only those directions remained where it was absolutely impossible without a rope. But they were killed by a bus. After the war, the last cable tram company went bankrupt, and its fate was sealed. The mayor of the city announced that that was it, the end of the archaic means of transportation. However, there was a passionate woman who managed to achieve a city referendum. And here the townspeople overwhelmingly spoke in favor of the existence of the tram.

A bas-relief of the "cable lady" Frieda Klussman, who fought for the preservation of the cable tram for six years, hangs at the entrance to the depot. She ensured that the city bought the entire business from the last bankrupt company operating cable trams and took patronage of the network that still exists today. Social activist, activist, defender of historical heritage - such an interesting fate was the person’s. Now bas-reliefs are dedicated to her.

A stand with newspaper headlines about the referendum organized by Frieda Klussman.

Why did the Americans support the cable tram? I have my own theory about this. This is a very young country, and people in it understand that, on the one hand, the more they save for posterity, the more grateful these descendants will be to them, and on the other hand, that they do not have antiquity, and there is nowhere to take it from. It can be brought from overseas, and yes, they do. They carefully dismantle, pebble by stone, monasteries and bridges, churches and roads somewhere in Italy or Spain, so that they can then recreate exactly an ancient bridge somewhere in Arizona. But this is not all that, a lure for tourists. And here there is something of its own, unique, albeit impractical, but special. Must be saved. It may be expensive, it may be inconvenient, but all this should work as long as you have the strength and means to keep your own history in working order. A position worthy of all respect.

---------------------

In parting, a few more shots from San Francisco close to the topic. There is also one line of conventional electric tram. At one time, in all American cities, except Toronto and New Orleans, trams were removed from the streets. In New Orleans they were also removed, but then three lines were quickly restored. The tram only runs in its original form in Toronto. What did San Francisco do when they got the tram back? They sent out a cry all over the world to “help as much as you can.” And ancient electric trams were brought to them from old storerooms, museums, and some landfills. Our own carefully preserved supplies of junk also came in handy. They restored all this stuff and put it on line.

A 1952 streetcar that spent its entire life working in San Francisco.

This tram was running in Milan even before the war. All inscriptions inside are in Italian. We were driving in it, funny.

There is also a Milanese tram here, only even older, built in 1928. Pre- and post-war trams from Melbourne, Chicago, Boston, Brooklyn, Minneapolis, Blackpool (England), Los Angeles run along the streets of San Francisco... All these old cars, more than 40 cars, are carefully restored and put on the line. A special subculture has been created around this line. There is a website for tram lovers, small copies for sale, a museum, books, posters. Since the 80s, the city has held tram festivals that attract a lot of people.

A pair of historical wooden buses. There are such amazing exhibits roaming the streets, I just didn’t have time to take photos. Unfortunately, some of the unusual vehicles were not captured by the lens.

However, the last photo of the report is the most modern. A three-wheeled motorcycle with a GPS navigator tells the driver and passenger through headphones what object they are passing by and where to look. In the background are the same excursion bicycles. The company that patented the idea is located in San Francisco, and in five cities around the world, including distant Madrid and Lisbon, you can rent a bright yellow motorcycle for quite reasonable money to explore the city at your own pace. Who knows, maybe in 120 years the first cars of this company will end up in a museum, and their exact copies will ride through the streets filled with people with attached wings (why not?), and these people will wonder how noisy and uncomfortable they were moving ancestors. But it cannot be thrown into a landfill, because it is history, and it should not only be preserved, but also actively used.