Ah, rain...you can’t help but smile at the children laughing and happily splashing in puddles...the wonderful, clean scent after the storm passes...a glorious rainbow extending across the horizon...

I hate rain!

Allow me to explain why... One of the more difficult aspects of operating a cable car is learning to brake properly. Simply hurling back on the brake handle with all your might will stop the car, but will also result in a bone-jarring halt reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote going face first into a canyon wall. (This is considered to be very bad form.)

There are three components to a cable car’s brakes: wheel brakes, track brakes, and the slot blade. The cable itself can also serve as a brake, after a fashion.

Wheel brakes are standard railroad brake shoes that press down directly on the wheels. The front set is activated by a large pedal on the floor directly behind the grip area. The rear set is activated by a second pedal at the other end of a California car, or by a crank handle on the rear platform of a Powell car.

Track brakes are simply soft fir two-by-fours, activated by a large iron handle to the right of the grip, bearing down on the rails to slow the car, producing a sweet, pungent odor reminiscent of mesquite barbeque.

The slot blade—or emergency brake—is a brutally effective device consisting of several thick layers of steel shaped like a wedge. When the gripman pulls an ominous red iron handle, the wedge drives down into the slot between the rails, expanding as it goes. If the speed of the car is high enough when the slot blade is ‘dropped’, the friction can actually weld the blade to the slot itself.

The cable can also be used as a downhill brake. It won’t actually stop the car, but it will hold the speed to a constant 9.5mph.

Proper braking form requires the use of both wheel and track brake, simultaneously, in gradual amounts until the speed of the car reaches zero. There are two methods of descending steep grades. One is to go full grip, and the other is called walking.

Full grip is holding the cable tight, but with the brakes fully applied. The cable basically drags the car down against the brakes. If a stop is required, the grip is released, and the brakes take hold. This makes for a very secure method of decline.

Walking is more difficult. The grip holds the cable lightly—not enough to drop it yet not fully engaged—and the brakes are adjusted accordingly, to either increase or decrease speed. Instead of using the cable to propel the car, gravity takes over. This technique requires more skill (and work) but it gives a gripman more control over the car. With full grip, the car is moving at slightly under full cable speed. When walking the car, a much lower speed is possible, making it easier to come to a full stop if necessary.

The track brake does the lion’s share of the work. The friction between wood and steel is what primarily stops the car. Make that dry wood and dry steel. Wet equals slick…this is not good.

This is where sand comes to the rescue. A small pedal on the floor is pressed to drop sand on the rails. The wheels crush the sand into powder, the powder soaks up the moisture and provides—the magic word—friction!

How well does it work? Depends...what condition is the wooden track brake shoe in—new or broken in? How heavy is the rainfall—light or raging? How steep is the grade? Are there autos sharing the street with you? How many people are on the car? How well is the car itself responding? Are you on a Powell or Cal car? Let’s take things one at a time.

Brake shoes: new wood is nice, but slippery as an eel in a grease bucket. Old, broken-in shoes have a rougher, uneven surface and actually grip better.

Rainfall: a heavy rain is better, since it washes greasy residue from autos off the tracks, and also saturates the wood of the brake shoes. Wet wood expands—giving you a slightly larger braking surface—and tends to bind up in contact with the rails, providing more braking traction.

Severity of grades: no surprises here...the steeper the grade, the harder it will be to stop, got it?

Passenger load: again, no surprise. A heavy car takes longer to stop. In rainy weather, it’s a good idea not to pack too many people in, no matter how miserable they may look standing in the rain waiting for you.

Car response (or lack thereof): cable cars are temperamental. They all seem to have distinct personalities. Some will stop on a dime, no matter the weather; others will stop in dry weather but slide in rain; a few are actually better in rain than in dry weather; and some are hopeless in any weather. If a car becomes intolerable, the best bet is to just take it back to the barn and get another one. Muni policy is Safety First. If you don’t like the way the car is behaving, don’t take any chances. Take it home!

Powell and Cal cars: all cable cars have four wooden track brake blocks. On a Powell car, the gripman works all four. On a Cal car, the responsibility is split evenly between gripman and conductor, two each. Timing and coordination is crucial. Cal cars are heavier and longer than Powell cars, so extra care must be used, especially in the rain.

One other difference is in the sand pedal itself. On a Powell car, you just press down on the pedal with one motion to drop sand. With a Cal car, you’ve got to pump the pedal up and down to drop sand. Trying to do this while keeping one foot firmly planted on the brake pedal, and manipulating the grip and track brake handles, results in a maneuver that requires the moves of a Baryshnikov!

So now that you know it all, time for a test. You’re at the top of the steep grade on Powell at California, headed toward Union Square. It’s been raining all day. Your car has new wood track brake blocks, but since it’s been out for several hours, the wood has soaked up a good deal of moisture. This part of the road is off limits to autos, but they’ve been weaving back and forth, so the tracks are coated with a thin film of oil from the tires. It’s stopped raining. You don’t have too many passengers on board. Ready? Take a deep breath. Here we go!

Pull back on the grip, not too hard, just enough to get the car moving over the crown of the hill (we’ll use the walking method). Set your right foot on the brake pedal, left foot on the sand pedal. As you start over the hill, step on the sand pedal with your left foot before you set the track brake—you want the sand between the rails and the wooden brake blocks. Now keep those feet working! Right foot on the wheel brake (not too much—excessive pressure on the wheel brake pedal will cause the wheels to lock up and the car will turn into a sleigh). Now carefully pull back on the track brake handle (again, not too much! It’s possible to lift the wheels off the rails completely), set your grip to neutral, and you’re off! Just glide on down to the bottom of the hill.

Uh oh...look at the next intersection. See that auto on the tracks? The tires have left a sheen of grease on the rails. You’re starting to pick up a little speed. Drop some sand. That should take of it. Good. We’re slowing down again. Wait! That car’s still there, on the tracks! He’s trying to make an illegal left turn and he has no idea that you’re behind him.

Now what? Don’t even bother ringing the bell. San Franciscans have long since gotten used to the sound of a cable car bell. If those are tourists, it’s even worse. They think it’s cute! They may even stop on the tracks in order to take pictures! Besides, as the Training Department is fond of saying, “The bell doesn’t stop the car—that’s what brakes are for!”

So here’s what you do. First, pull back on the grip, hard, all the way. You want a secure hold on the cable. This won’t do anything to help stop, but it will keep the car from gaining any more speed. This move will buy you some time. Now, release the track brake. Completely. Yes, you heard right, release the track brake. At the same time, drop sand, then re-apply the track brake and carefully return the grip to neutral position.

This gets some sand under the track shoes, between the wood and the rails. This will provide the braking traction. Returning the grip to neutral will loosen the hold on the cable, allowing the car to slow down (you hope). This particular technique can also be used to go downhill at full grip.

Now, after the brakes have taken hold, you can let him have it with the bell. At least you can say you tried to warn him. The auto, hearing the loud clamor behind him, peels out, skidding slightly. More grease on the rails. As you approach the bottom, drop more sand, and keep dropping it until you come to a slightly grinding, shuddering halt (that’s the sand being ground up under the brake shoes.) Whoa! Made it!

That was close, wasn’t it? Not bad, rookie, not bad at all, but you’re not done yet! That was just one block! You’ve got another hill in front of you! It’s time to do it all over again...and again...and again and again...until your shift ends, or it stops raining, or you drop a slot blade or, heaven forbid, you hit something.

In the end, you make it back to the barn at the end of the day, soaked to the skin, muscles aching, temples throbbing. You go home, take a hot shower, crack open a cold one, and get some sleep.

You get up the next day rested and refreshed. Open up the curtains...clouds.

Ah, rain...romantic, refreshing, a vital life-nurturing force.

I hate rain.