Admission is free. This is where the cables are pulled with an independent system for each of the three lines. The one currently in use was built in 1984. Cables can stretch about 30 meters over its serviceable life and tensioner keep it taught so there’s no slack. Damage is still detected mechanically with a strand arm and splicing technique hasn’t changed since the trams first ran.
There used to be eight cable tram lines criss crossing San Francisco, but the east-west routes were paved over in the post-war GM-sponsored bus-buying conspiracy. So now there are three left overhauled in the 1980s as the city came around to realizing its importance.
You can buy a bit of old cable for $20, but I don’t pay to buy other people’s trash.
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