Cable Car 22 has had three lives. First built as part of the original Powell Street cable car fleet for the contractors, Mahoney Bros. in 1887, it served the Sacramento-Clay line with its original number, 522, until the 1906 earthquake and fire. That cataclysm destroyed all the Powell cable cars, which were identical to those used on Sacramento-Clay at the time. Car 522 and its mates were moved to the Powell lines, and the owner at the time, rebuilt cable cars that had been used before the quake on Market Street to take over Sacramento-Clay. (One of these big 1883 cable cars survives, and you can ride it on special occasions.)

After joining the Powell fleet, Car 522 was used almost exclusively on the Washington-Jackson line between Powell and Market and Alta Plaza Park in Pacific Heights. Muni rebuilt it in 1956, but it appears to have gotten some final runs in on that route before Muni converted the line into the Powell-Hyde line, which opened in 1957. Renumbered to 22 in the mid-1970s, it has served both Powell lines ever since.

In 2009, it was removed from service due to its deteriorating condition. It reentered service following its second major rebuild in 2017.