Cable Car 12 Debuts in Time for July's Bell Ringing Contest

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Last week the hard working men and women of Muni's Cable Car Division debuted the newest restored member of the fleet: Cable Car 12. Its striking white ends and deep green sides made for gorgeous pics from our staff photographer as the car made its inaugural run from the Barn at Washington and Mason to the Powell Street turnaround last Thursday.

We are prepping for the biggest Cable Car event of the year — the Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest. It's set for Thursday, July 7 at noon in Union Square. The preliminaries for this year's contest will be held this Thursday. Both competitions will open with words of remembrance for our colleague who was killed by a drunk driver while on duty last year, Cable Car Conductor Reynaldo Morante, who was also honored by the SFMTA's contigent in the Chinese New Year Parade.

If you're looking for deeper historical perspective, visit the website of our non-profit partners, the Market Street Railway. They're tireless champions of these San Francisco icons.

Cable Car 12 leaves the Barn for its inaugural run. Photo taken June 15, 2016.

Photograph of the undercarriage of Cable Car 12 as it sits over a maintenance bay.
Chassis and truck of rebuilt Cable Car 12. Photo taken June 15, 2016.

Cable Car operators turn Cable Car 12 around on the Powell/Market turn table.
Cable Car personnel take Car No. 12 for a spin on the Powell St. turntable. Photo taken June 15, 2016.

The gold letters of Cable Car 12 on its green background.
The hand craftsmanship shows with the carpentry, painting and machine work all done in-house. Photo taken June 15, 2016.

The white Cable Car 12 sits next to the gold Cable Car 15 on the tree-lined tracks of Powell Street, just south of Ellis.
Cable Car 12 passes Car No. 15 just south of Ellis Street on Powell. Photo taken June 15, 2016.