July 2025 Version of the Cable Car Home Page -- July 1, 2025

I just put the July 2025 version of my Cable Car Home Page on the server:

http://www.cable-car-guy.com/

It includes some new items:

1. Picture of the Month: The grip car of the Western Cable Railway (source An Inclined Cable Railway for Transferring Freight Cars Between the Upper and Lower Yards of the Western Cable Railway Co., St. Louis, MO. By Edw. Flag, Member, Engineers' Club Of St. Louis.).
2. On the new Cable Car Lines in Saint Louis page: The freight-hauling Western Cable Railway, which was not a Hallidie-type cable car line
3. Added News items about cable car operating issues and information about Muni fare changes

Ten years ago this month (July 2015):

1. Picture of the Month: At the 2013 Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest, Emcee Deb Durst interviews grand champion Carl Payne. The 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989 champion gave an exhibition performance. The 2015 Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest will take place on Thursday, July 9 at Noon in Union Square
2. On the new Cable Car Lines in Saint Louis page: The freight-hauling Western Cable Railway, which was not a Hallidie-type cable car line

Twenty years ago this month (July 2005):

1. Picture of the Month: Jim Walker's 1962 photo of Cal Cable car 42 at a feed lot in Betteravia, California.
2. On the Cable Car Transfers, Tickets, Tokens and Signage page: Thanks to Walter Rice, Rudy Brandt's 1945 Muni employee pass and his 1944 union card, and a menu from the Cable Car Cafe on Bay Street
3. On the San Francisco page: Walter Rice has more stories about Samuel Kahn, Market Street Railway's principal owner
4. On the New York/New Jersey page: More 1887 newspaper articles about the first cable car line in Brooklyn, New York.
5. Added another News items about the return of Cal Cable car 42.
6. Added Bibliography items about a US News & World Report article and an obituary for Brian Jennings

100 years ago - 1925
Jul 01 - Market Street Railway Castro cable car no. 2 was fitted with a cable grip and brakes operated by air. The company felt that air grips could displace the present "unwieldy manually operated grip, give more space and convenience for passengers, and materially lighten the work of gripmen." A second Castro cable car No. 6 received the air grip and braking system on July 16, 1925.

25 years ago - 2000
Jul 16 - Frank Ware won the 37th annual Bell Ringing Contest
Jul 26 - A Powell/Hyde car stopped suddenly when the grip shank hit a coupler pin which fell from another car

In January 2024 I started on a long overdue process of cleaning things up on my site. I started with the development pages. Actually, I guess I started the year before with making most thumbnails 200 pixels instead of 100.

Coming in July 2025: On the Other Cities page: A ten-year update about the Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa, which operated two Hallidie-type cable car lines in Lisbon

The Cable Car Home Page now has a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CableCarHomePage/

The Cable Car Home Page also has an Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/cable_car_guy/

Joe Thompson
The Cable Car Home Page (updated 01-July-2025)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
San Francisco Bay Ferryboats (updated 31-October-2024)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/
Park Trains and Tourist Trains (updated 31-May-2025)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ptrain/
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion (updated spasmodically)
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com
The Big V Riot Squad (updated obsessively)
http://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/