Customer Reviews

The Cable Car in America

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

George Hilton's book is the most thorough study of the technology and the history of cable cars ever written. I am happy that it is available again; this book taught me that cable cars existed in many places besides San Francisco.

Just picked up the paperback edition at the cable car museum in San Francisco, and loving it. Everything you've never dreamed of asking about cable cars is present in these 484 pages. Despite billing itself as a 'treatise', Hilton's prose is lively and readable. (Of a flimsy trestle bridge built for the Spokane Cable Railway, he writes: "The structure, which was widely expected to collapse, surprised the local population by burning instead.") Hundreds of photos and diagrams, really a delightful book to take a dip into. Any transport buff or engineer would love it...

During a visit to San Francisco, I rode the California Cable Car and went to the Cable Car Museum. I am from Chicago and already knew that Chicago had the largest and busiest cable system. While at the museum I was intrigued with the workings and wanted to learn more. The museum hasn't finished publishing a written collection using the excellent displays they have. They did have copies of this book and I made a note to myself to explore purchasing it through Amazon.com. The book is a great resource and details the history of cable cars while identifying peculiar aspects of different systems.