This car was built by the Ferries and Cliff House Railway in 1890, one of thee built in-house to augment the company’s original 1887 fleet of cars built for Mahoney Brothers, the system’s general contractor. It ran on the company’s Sacramento-Clay line, stored in a small barn at the outer end of the line. That saved the car on April 18, 1906, when the fire following the 1906 earthquake destroyed the entire fleet of Powell cable cars.
These identical cars were transferred to the Powell lines. Car 523 served almost exclusively on the Washington-Jackson line from Powell and Market to Alta Plaza Park in Pacific Heights until that line was replaced by the Powell-Hyde line in 1957. It was heavily rebuilt by Muni in 1969 and was renumbered to 23 in the mid-1970s.
Car 23 was thoroughly rebuilt again in 2018 by Muni’s Cable Car Carpentry Shop. So far, this is the only Powell cable car originally built in-house by the company that owned it, then rebuilt not once but twice in-house by a subsequent owner.
Powell Street Cable Car Specifications
Number of Cars
28 on roster (Maximum of 19 in service at one time)
Capacity
60 (29 seated + 31 standing)
Weight
15,500 lb (7,030 kg)
Length
27′ 6″ (8.4 m)
Height
10′ 5″ (3.2 m)
Width
8′ 0″ (2.4 m)
Track Gauge
3′ 6″ (1.07 m)
Round Trip Route Length
Powell-Mason line: 3.2 mi (5.15 km)
Powell-Hyde line: 4.3 mi (6.92 km)
Cable Speed
9.5 mph (15.3 km/h)
Cable Lengths
Powell: 9,300 ft (2,835 m)
Mason: 10,300 ft (3,140 m)
Hyde: 16,000 ft (4875 m)
Cable Motive Power
510-horsepower electric motor driving four cable winders at powerhouse
Powerhouse and Carbarn
Washington and Mason Streets
Built 1887 by Ferries & Cliff House Railway
Rebuilt 1906 by United Railroads
Rebuilt 1982-84 by San Francisco Municipal Railway
Steepest Grades on Powell Lines
Powell: 17% between Bush & Pine
Mason: 17% between Union & Green
Hyde: 21% between Bay & Chestnut
