December, 2018 Version of the Cable Car Home Page -- December 1, 2018

I just put the December, 2018 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 Emporium, a now gone-but-not-forgotten department store across the street from the turntable at Powell and Market used to sponsor a yearly Christmas parade. Muni would decorate cable car 504 Santa's sleigh. Santa would ride down Powell Street in his sled atop the roof. That must have been a thrilling ride. Here we see "conductress" Mary Ball and "Jimin-E," an Emporium employee on the back platform. (source: Trolley Topics, December, 1950).
2. With Christmas coming, it's a good time to visit the late Joe Lacey's article Christmas on the Cables (20th anniversary this year), and the Decorated Cable Cars page. Added list of cars decorated for Christmas, 2018.
3. On Walter Rice's A Photo Album of 1970s Cable Car Supporters: Added a Hughes Airwest advertisement car card from the cable car centennial.
4. Added News item about a podcast interview with Val Lupiz, Frank Zepeda and Jeremy Whiteman
5. Added News and Chronology items about cable car crews being issued masks because of smoke from a fire in Butte County and then the cars being taken off the street and the Cable Car Museum being closed because of unhealthy air quality
6. Added News and Chronology items about the Cal Band riding a Blue and Gold cable car to promote the Big Game.
7. On the UK page: Updated the status of the East Cliff Railway in Bournemouth in the Cliff Lifts article. Added News story about the current situation.
8. On the Cable Car Lines in Colorado page: An update about the current status of the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway, a cog railroad


Ten years ago this month (December, 2008):
1. Picture of the Month: A Val Lupiz night view of car 60, which he had decorated for the holidays, at California and Drumm on 04-December-2007.
2. On the San Francisco page: Articles about the 1886-1887 strike against the Sutter and Geary Street lines, which include reports about the Sutter Street superintendant's plug uglies shooting at people in the street and at least two grip cars, one from each company, getting blown up with dynamite
3. With Christmas coming, it's a good time to visit Joe Lacey's article Christmas on the Cables (10th anniversary this year), and the Decorated Cable Cars page.
4. Also on the Cable Car Models page, more information about Norm Pythian's cable car simulation
5. On the Cable Cars in the Pacific Northwest page, Peter Ehrlich took a photo of a sign telling the history of the Yesler Way line. Thanks to Peter for the photo


Twenty years ago this month (December, 1998):
1. Picture of the Month: "A Sunday Load"
2. Add excerpts from article "The Parks of San Francisco" and "A Sunday Load" picture to the SF Miscellany section
3. Add California & Powell accident to news & bibliography
4. Fix some typos
5. Added "Christmas on the Cables" by Joe Lacey to the SF page.

125 years ago this month, on 04-December-1893, In New York City, the Third Avenue Railroad's Third Avenue line opened for service

Coming in January, 2019: On the Other California Cities page: A ten and twenty year update on the Second Street Cable Railway, the first cable traction line in Los Angeles

On my San Francisco Bay Ferryboats page: I added an item about a Golden Gate ferry that rammed the wharf at the Ferry Building:
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/

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

Joe Thompson
The Cable Car Home Page (updated 01-December-2018)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
San Francisco Bay Ferryboats (updated 30-November-2018)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/
Park Trains and Tourist Trains (updated 30-September-2018)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ptrain/
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion (updated spasmodically)
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com
The Big V Riot Squad (new blog)
http://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/