The Gripman
Rings the bell on every hill · Keeper of the cable cars
A gripman works the lever that grabs the moving cable under San Francisco's streets. Since 1949 the city has held a bell-ringing contest for the crews.
The legend
A gripman works the lever that grabs the moving cable under San Francisco's streets and pulls the car up the hills. Crews are famous for ringing their bells in rhythm, and the city has held a bell-ringing contest for them more than fifty times since 1949.
“I'd ask for a turn on the bell.”
Where it comes from
Andrew Hallidie came up with the cable car in 1869, and his Clay Street Hill Railroad made its first run on 2 August 1873. A cable runs in a slot under the street at a steady 9.5 miles per hour, about 15 kilometres per hour, and the grip clamps onto it through the slot. To stop, the gripman lets go of the cable and brakes: metal shoes press on the wheels, wooden blocks press on the track, and in an emergency a red lever drives a steel wedge into the slot.
Grips handle cars that weigh 15,500 pounds, about 7 tonnes, and around 80 per cent of trainees fail the month-long course at their first attempt. Fannie Mae Barnes became the first woman to pass in 1998, and Willa Johnson became the second in 2010.
Where to see it
Of 23 cable car lines built between 1873 and 1890, only three still run. The free Cable Car Museum at 1201 Mason Street sits in the power house on Nob Hill. Galleries look down on the winding wheels, and below the corner of Washington and Mason streets a cavern shows the cables running over pulleys out to the street. The museum also keeps Clay Street Hill Railroad car No. 8, the only surviving car from the first cable car company.
In the game
The crab tips its cap, grips the lever and rings the bell twice. The crab lurches, then tightens its grip on the lever. The crab sets the lever down and rings the bell once.
