The Clay Street Hill Railroad was the first successful cable hauled street railway. It was located on Clay Street, a notably steep street in San Francisco in California, and first operated in August of 1873. Cable Car in San Francisco A San Francisco cable car A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are propelled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. ... San Francisco skyline. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The promoter of the line was Andrew Smith Hallidie, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer. Accounts differ as to exactly how involved Hallidie was in the inception of the Clay Street Hill Railway. One version (Thompson, 1998-2004) has him taking over the promotion of the line when the original promoter, Benjamin Brooks, failed to raise the necessary capital. In another version (Kahn, 1940), Hallidie was the instigator, inspired by a desire to reduce the suffering incurred by the horses that hauled streetcars up Jackson Street, from Kearny to Stockton Street. Andrew Smith Hallidie was born in England. ... William E. Eppelsheimer (1842-?) was a tramway engineer known for his work on cable car systems. ...

There is also doubt as to when exactly the first run of the cable car occurred. The franchise required a first run no later than August 1, 1873, however at least one source (Thompson, 1998-2004) reports that the run took place a day late, on August 2, but that the city chose not to void the franchise. Some accounts say that the first gripman hired by Hallidie looked down the steep hill from Jones and refused to operate the car, so Hallidie took the grip himself and ran the car down the hill and up again without any problems. August 1st is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ...

The line involved the use of grip cars, which carried the grip that engaged with the cable, towing trailer cars. The design was the first to use such grips.

The Clay Street line started regular service on September 1, 1873 and was a financial success. In 1888, it was absorbed into the Sacramento-Clay line of the Presidio & Ferries Railway, and it subsequently became a small part of the San Francisco cable car system. September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... A San Francisco cable car The San Francisco cable car system is the worlds last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, and is now an icon of the city of San Francisco in California. ...

References

• Robert Callwell and Walter Rice (2000). Of Cables and Grips: The Cable Cars of San Francisco. Friends of the Cable Car Museum. ISBN unknown.
• Edgar Myron Kahn (1940). California Historical Society Quarterly - Andrew Smith Hallidie (http://www.sfmuseum.net/bio/hallidie.html). Retrieved May 27, 2005.
• Joe Thompson (1998-2004). Who Was Important in the History of the Cable Car? (http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccwho.html). Retrieved May 27, 2005.