A QUESTION REGARDING LIGHTING ON SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CARS

[motorman1066]

Hi All,
This is a question for our American friends.

Apart from headlights and external marker lights, do San Francisco Cable Cars, both California St and Powell St cars, have any internal lighting for the benefit of passengers at night time?

All photos and images I have seen from the internet do not have any internal details of the cars at night. The cars appear very dark and unlit inside from the few external night shots available.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Sel

 

[cfl1604]

http://www.cable-car-guy.com/images/powell_17_interior_vallupiz.jpg

1 Battery powered light bulb

 

[Gandalf0444]

Well hey now the Xmas lights add a bit more light to the interior But I seem to recall seeing at least 1 in a picture where it had several lights on the interior,but I could be mistaken.

 

[motorman1066]

Thanks Guys,

Damn!!!!!!!!........... Now I'm going to have to light the interior of the car, Till now the nightmode mesh has been really simple. You could say.......light on.

Cheers
Sel

 

[Iced8383]

Hi All,
This is a question for our American friends.

Apart from headlights and external marker lights, do San Francisco Cable Cars, both California St and Powell St cars, have any internal lighting for the benefit of passengers at night time?

All photos and images I have seen from the internet do not have any internal details of the cars at night. The cars appear very dark and unlit inside from the few external night shots available.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Sel

i live in the bay area,

and i think they do have internal lighting

 

[motorman1066]

WHAT?
Only one person lives NEAR San Francisco. And the neatest correct entry comes from LUXEMBOURG????

Thanks heaps Guys

 

[cfl1604]

Well, I've been in S.F. a couple of time last year and therefore I can remember that there was "some light" in the interior. ;-)

Here's another shot from Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/textexin/411189777/sizes/l/

Search for "cable car night"... there are more of them.

It seems, that there are two light bulbs in the interior and one on the rear entrance.

 

[Red_Rattler]

DELETE POST instead please

 

[motorman1066]

........................It seems, that there are two light bulbs in the interior and one on the rear entrance.

Thanks CFL you have been a great help.
Cheers
Sel

 

[tdstead]

Hi there

I am guessing powered by a generator running of one of the wheels and maybe charging a battery?

Can any one find out?


Tom

 

[MichaelWhiteley]

I am guessing powered by a generator running of one of the wheels and maybe charging a battery?

Can any one find out?


Tom

It may come from the 3rd rail that they have...Not 100% about anything about these trams...

Cheers,
Mike

 

[doodie66]

cable cars

i don't think these trams/cable cars have a 3rd rail, i believe that they clamp onto a permanently (i think that is the right spelling!) moving cable between the tracks. when they want to stop they release the clamp from the cable and apply brakes on the car's wheels. Hence they are called cable cars not trams. i think this system was used due to the steep hills in san francisco.

 

[bnsf50]

i don't think these trams/cable cars have a 3rd rail, i believe that they clamp onto a permanently (i think that is the right spelling!) moving cable between the tracks. when they want to stop they release the clamp from the cable and apply brakes on the car's wheels. Hence they are called cable cars not trams. i think this system was used due to the steep hills in san francisco.

That is exactly how they are powered, by a cable running under the street. The lights are powered with two 6 volt batteries connected in series. The batteries are charged every night at the station. See link below for more info.
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/cchow.html#lights

 

[motorman1066]

Thanks Gents for your replies,

I am fully aware of how the electrical systems on the Cable Cars are operated, I wanted to know how many lamps were available for the benefit of the passengers.

The correct answer seems to be (because every car seems to vary to some degree)
As well as one headlight and two amber height marker lights and two red end underfloor marker lights at each end,

1 or 2 lamps in the cabin of the Powell Cars and
2 lamps in the cabin of the California Cars.

An automobile type interior lamp (again the type seems to vary from car to car) is fitted above the conductor on the rear platform of the Powell Cars.

It would seem that, to eliminate glare off the windscreen for the gripman, no lamps appear to be fitted in the open section of the Powell Cars and in the open sections at either end of the California Cars.

This is how I have organised nightmode meshes for my models.

Cheers
Sel

 

[jamal17]

motorman1066 I downloaded your arc effect from DLS how do i put on my trains

 

[leeferr]

i don't think these trams/cable cars have a 3rd rail, i believe that they clamp onto a permanently (i think that is the right spelling!) moving cable between the tracks. when they want to stop they release the clamp from the cable and apply brakes on the car's wheels. Hence they are called cable cars not trams. i think this system was used due to the steep hills in san francisco.

You're correct on the cable, but as I recall, the brake is actually a piece of wood that contacts the rails, not the wheels, to brake the cars. There may be a 3rd rail for the brake, but I don't believe so. I'm fairly sure that the turntables don't have a 3rd rail.
Mike

 

[NIARTcar]

sorry for the late post, but to confirm your source....... yes they do have a car sized battery that is rechargable....... :wave:

 

[magickmaker]

I was working on building the cars at one time (before the computer died) and found by my research that the cable cars have no less than THREE braking systems.

The first is a series of small shoes which contact the wheel treads much like regular trains. The rear ones are operated by the conductor at the rear of the train, while the front set are operated by way of a foot pedal that the "gripman" activates.

The second brake is a shoe brake that is made of wood, specifically Monterrey Fir. Prior to this, soft pine was used. This brake (also operated from the rear of the car), contacts the rail head and is used in conjunction with the wheel brakes, to slow the car.

The last brake is the last ditch effort emergency brake. It's essentially a steel wedge which is FORCED down into the gap between the wheels where the cable runs. Driven into the "slot" as it's called, this brake is guaranteed to stop the car should it become a runaway. It's a last ditch effort though, as it's not uncommon for the heat and friction to WELD the wedge into the slot, prompting a ton of work to get it out, as well as the act of dropping it into the slot, also dropping every passenger from their seats.

http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Anat/Anat.html