History
The first Dunedin cable car line opened in 1881, the engineer responsible being George Smith Duncan. For this system he introduced the pull curve and the slot brake; the former was a way to pull cars through a curve, since Dunedin's curves were too steep to allow coasting, while the latter forced a wedge down into the cable slot to stop the tram, which was deemed necessary after the line had a runaway tram some two months after it opened.
The last line closed on 2 March 1957.
Read more about this topic: Dunedin Cable Tramway System
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