Cable Car

Front:
DAKLAND ALAMEDA&BERKELEY CARE FERRY S SAN JOSE SACRA IENTO L05 ANGELEC ciạCAGO MARKET ST-IFHOUSEPAKK-&FERRJIES ARNAA STREET FRANCIS ОСТ 28 1988 94188 USA 20 Cable Car 1880s USA 20 Cable Car 1880s Fail CA AN

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CABLE CAR First Day of Issue: October 28, 1988 First Issue Location: San Francisco, California Cable cars were largely an American institution that transformed city travel in the late nineteenth century. They were popular among travelers because they moved faster than horse-drawn carriages — a brisk eight to nine miles per hour – and made very little noise. Andrew Smith Hallidie devised the first passenger-carrying cable car system in San Francisco in 1873, and by the 1880's, cable cars were also running in many other American cities. The cable cars rode on metal tracks, and a metal- rimmed slot between the tracks held the cable. A station- ary steam engine drew an endless cable beneath the street, and a mechanism under the car could seize or release this cable. A“gripman' stood in the middle of the car and worked the long levers, engaging and disengag- ing the cable. Although most cable car systems in the United States have disappeared, San Francisco's Califor- nia Street Line is still running to this day. No. 88-73 ©1988 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by Basil Smith