Cable Car Track Brakes
The cable cars of San Francisco are fitted with mechanical track brakes, controlled by a large braking lever next to the grip lever. Pulling back on this lever forces replaceable pine wood blocks against the rails; as a result, a cable car descending a steep hill emits an odor of smoldering wood. These track brakes are routinely used many times while traversing a cable car route.
The true emergency brake on a cable car is known as a "slot blade," a steel wedge that can be forced into the slot-rail between the running rails by a strong spring. If a runaway car is moving fast enough that the slot blade is necessary, the friction has been known to weld the blade to the slot rail, disabling the transit line until the obstruction can be extracted with a cutting torch. The slot blade is controlled by the large red lever near the grip, and is not used except for emergency stops.
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Famous quotes containing the words cable car, cable, car, track and/or brakes:
“To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.”
—Douglass Cross (b. 1920)
“To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.”
—Douglass Cross (b. 1920)
“The reason American cars don’t sell anymore is that they have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What does it matter if you buy a car today or six months from now, because cars are not beautiful. That’s why the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no desire.”
—Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938)
“The weary sun hath made a golden set,
And by the bright track of his fiery car
Gives token of a goodly day tomorrow.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“What blazed ahead of you? A faked road block?
The red lamp swung, the sudden brakes and stalling
Engine, voices, heads hooded and the cold-nosed gun?”
—Seamus Heaney (b. 1939)