This cable car was built in 1887 as part of the original Ferries & Cliff House Railway system, for the general contractor Mahoney Brothers. It features the “Bombay” roof style, with two rows of windows in the raised clerestory ceiling and eyebrow shaped windows at the end of the roof, a more complex design than the simpler roof on Powell cars built by the Carter Brothers in 1893.
Its first assignment was the Sacramento-Clay line. After the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed all of the Powell Street cable cars, plus their barn and powerhouse, this car changed lines, working mostly the Washington-Jackson line from Powell and Market to Pacific Heights as far west as Steiner Street and Alta Plaza Park.
In 1956, the Washington-Jackson line shut down. Two years later, Car 527 was rebuilt by Muni. On its return, it began working both the replacement Powell-Hyde line and the Powell-Mason line. In the 1970s, it was renumbered with the rest of the Powell fleet, becoming Car 27.
Today, it is one of just three 1887 cable cars that have only been rebuilt once, with a great deal of original historic fabric intact. (Cars 17 and 24 are the others.)
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
