Postcard: San Francisco tourist line E-Embarcadero Steetcar with railcar 42 near 2nd & King (1984) Stop: 2nd Street & King Street .Henrik Boye .J. Barnard Photographer .1984 .
The picture shows Open regularly Operational San Francisco railcar 42 (ex St. Louis railcar 42), type St. Louis.
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Photos from San Francisco Railway Museum 5:45
Blackpool boat tram. Car 228 (603) in San Francisco (2007) Blackpool Boat car 228 September 2007. Built for Blackpool Corporation by English Electric of Preston in 1934. Renumbered 603 in 1968 and replaced car 226 on loan from the California Railway Museum at Rio Vista, leaving the UK in 1985. This was 228's second trip to the USA, as it was used in Philadelphia (as 603) during the Bicentennial, leaving Blackpool in 1976 and returning in 1978. By fred collins -
October 8, 2007 .
Sign: San Francisco in Railway Museum (2025) Streetcars & Cable Cars: What's the Difference?
Visitors often confuse the two remaining vintage rail transit vehicle types in San Francisco. Many refer to both as 'trolleys.' Here is an explanation...
Cable Cars
Cable cars run on steel rails with a slot between them. Underneath the street, there's an endless cable powered by complex winding machinery housed in a central powerhouse. The car grabs the moving cable with a gripper that functions like a giant pair of pliers, reaching through the slot beneath the street.
This type of street-running cable car first appeared in 1873, invented in San Francisco by Andrew Hallidie, a British mining engineer, with design work by William Eppelsheimer. Although cable cars were the most advanced form of American urban rail transportation in the 1880s, San Francisco was the last city in the world to operate them in revenue service, doing so until 1957.
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom introduced cable car No. 42 into Muni's historic fleet during UN World Environment Day 2005. Market Street Railway's volunteers played a key role in restoring this very special cable car.
Streetcars
Streetcars also run on steel rails but have a trolley pole on the roof that connects to a single overhead electric wire for power. Made practical by Frank Sprague in Richmond, Virginia, in 1887, electric streetcars dominated urban mass transit in the US until World War II.
In some cities, especially in the Eastern US, streetcars were called trolleys after the wheel at the end of the pole that collects current (today represented by a carbon slider in San Francisco). In most parts of the country, however, they were known as streetcars or simply cars—back when what we now call cars were called automobiles, horseless carriages, or machines.
Trolley Buses
Trolley buses add more confusion. San Francisco is one of the few North American cities still operating these rubber-tired electric buses with two poles and double overhead wires. These vehicles don't run on rails, but their powerful electric motors let them climb hills that a cable car could handle—and streetcars couldn’t. Their pollution-free operation makes them very popular among San Franciscans. By Silas Boye Nissen -
September 6, 2025 .
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Last updated: May 14, 2026 . 
