One of the coolest things to do in San Francisco (SF) is to ride their famous cable car system [1]. The last time I was in SF, I had to queue up 2 hours just to get on board. This time around I decided to ride the cable car at the start of the day (when there are less tourists) rather than at the end of the day.  

The turn-around area for the Powell / Hyde and Powell / Mason cable car lines is just outside the Powell St Station. The cable car system is probably one of the most inefficient forms of modern public transportation. They were retained more for nostalgic value. At the end of line, the conductor and the driver of the cable have to hop off, and they push the cable car into this big wooden turn-table [2] which re-orientates the cable car for the return journey [3].

  • [1] San Francisco Cable Car
  • [2] Turn-around area
  • [3] Getting the car back on the track
  • [4] Powell St

SF is a city of hills. The view up Powell St provides a good perspective of the hilly nature of this city [4]. Photo 5 is a view down Powell St from on board the cable car. The view looks past Union Square all the way down to the cable car turn-around area.  

Riding a cable car is certainly a scary experience the first time you try it. As I have tried this before, I knew what to expect. I think going towards Fisherman's Wharf (FW) is a less scary experience than coming from FW. Photo 6 is a shot of a passing cable car going the opposite direction.  

  • [5] View down Powell St
  • [6] Passing cable car
  • [7] Lombard St
  • [8] View from top of Lombard St

Our cable car passed Lombard Street which is famous for being one of the crookedest street in the world. "Crooked" in the sense of its layout as opposed to a description of the residents of the street ! Lombard street has something like 13 turns within a single block [7]. I was unable to capture the famous turns of this street, as I was taking these photos on board the cable car as it passed Lombard Street. Photo 8 is a view across the city as the cable car passed Lombard Street.