@josephmartinengineer: How Do San Francisco Cable Cars Climb Hills Without an Engine? #cablecar #sanfrancisco #engineering #mechanicalengineering #trains The car has no engine. Under the street, a steel cable runs nonstop at nine and a half miles an hour. The gripman pulls a lever and a grip of about 300 pounds squeezes the moving cable: grab, and the car goes; let go, and it coasts. Three brakes stop it: shoes on the wheels, wooden blocks on the rails, and a steel wedge in the slot that crews sometimes cut out with a torch. It doesn't climb the 21 percent hill. It grabs the cable that does. Gripmen, San Francisco locals and rail fans: did I get anything wrong? Your turn: add what I missed 👇 Illustrative 3D; generic cable car and street, no real route signs or markings.

Joseph Martin Engineer

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Friday 30 October 2026 21:02:03 GMT