Mayor Gavin Newsom recently joined the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees the Municipal Railway (Muni), for the launch of Muni’s newest cable car, Car 15. The newly-constructed car completed its certification run earlier this month and was declared ready for residents and visitors alike to enjoy the beauty of San Francisco from its oak and steel frame.

“San Francisco’s iconic cable cars are cherished throughout the world and bring many people back year after year to visit our city,” said Mayor Newsom. “Those San Franciscans lucky enough to live or work near the cable car lines have arguably the best commute in the world.”

“The care and stewardship of this National Historic Landmark requires a strong team of dedicated crafts workers who cultivate the artisanal skills needed to keep it on the move,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA executive director/CEO. “Their talent will ensure that Car 15 graces the hills of our city for the next 100 years.”

The city held a parade and festivities 25 years ago yesterday to celebrate the return of the entire cable car system after an extensive two-year restoration project under the leadership of then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein. The project required work on over 69 city blocks and included the near-total reconstruction of the Washington-Mason Cable Car Barn and Powerhouse.

Cable Car 15, which will serve the Powell-Mason Line, was built from the ground up using original blueprints by SFMTA artisans from the Woods Carpenter Shop, the Cable Machinery Support Shop, the Special Machine Shop and the Running Repair Shop.

Cable Car 15 features a bright yellow Powell-Mason color scheme that originated in the 1890s. This paint scheme was worn by cable cars on the Powell-Mason line from 1894 to 1902. The Powell-Mason cable car line, which opened in 1888, is the oldest transit line in America still operating on its original route with its original type of motive power and its original type of vehicles.

This cable car replaces a car that was built in the East Bay by Carter Brothers and entered service in 1894. It served on the old Sacramento-Clay line before the earthquake and fire of 1906 and on the Powell lines afterward. It was partially rebuilt in 1954 and retired earlier this decade. This is the 15th cable car built from scratch since 1962 and the first since 2001.

The historic company named on the new cable car, Market Street Railway Company, was one of several that operated various transit services in the City between the 1880s and 1944. That name is preserved today by the SFMTA's non-profit preservation partner for both the cable cars and the F Market historic streetcars.

The new cable car took four years to complete and cost $823,000 for materials and labor. The SFMTA Cable Car Rehabilitation program refurbishes and rebuilds San Francisco’s cable cars and is funded from local, regional and federal capital sources that cannot be used for Muni operations.