This cable car was built in 1893 in the East Bay town of Newark by Carter Brothers. It was numbered 510 until Muni dropped the first number on Powell cable cars in the 1970s. Car 510 served the Sacramento-Clay line until the 1906 earthquake and fire, and then was moved over to Powell Street, where it has run ever since, almost exclusively on the Powell-Mason line until 1956; on both the Mason and Hyde lines since 1957. Car 10 was rebuilt by Muni’s shops in 1960.

It has been painted in several different liveries over its lifetime, including, briefly at the end of World War II, the blue and yellow paint scheme Muni was then using on its streetcars and buses. Only three Powell cars received this blue and gold paint job then; Powell Car 16 wears it today. Car 10 now wears the standard Powell Street livery of maroon with sky blue trim, which is a simplified version of the original 1888 Powell cable car livery (seen on Powell Car 1). This livery was adopted when the cable car system reopened in 1984 after being restored.

Though Carter Brothers built sturdy cable cars, all wooden vehicles have a limited life. The strains of operation eventually loosen the joints between wooden pieces; water gets in, and rot follows. In 1960, Muni workers extensively rebuilt this car after 67 years of life.Its original arched side windows were replaced by square windows, which were easier to make.

There are frequent touchups and spot repairs performed on the cable car fleet by Muni’s very capable team of carpenters, metal workers, painters and other craft workers, but eventually Car 10’s time will come for another rails to roof overhaul.