This cable car was built in 1893 in the East Bay town of Newark by Carter Brothers. It was numbered 505 until Muni dropped the first number on Powell cable cars in the 1970s. Car 505 served the Sacramento-Clay line until the 1906 earthquake and fire, and then was moved over to Powell Street, where it has run ever since, almost exclusively on the Powell-Mason line until 1956; on both the Mason and Hyde lines since 1957.

It has been painted in several different liveries over its lifetime and today wears the standard Powell Street livery of maroon with sky blue trim, which is a simplified version of the original 1888 Powell cable car livery (seen on Powell Car 1). This livery was adopted when the cable car system reopened in 1984 after being restored.

Though Carter Brothers built sturdy cable cars, all wooden vehicles have a limited life. The strains of operation eventually loosen the joints between wooden pieces; water gets in, and rot follows. In 1956, Muni workers extensively rebuilt this car after 63 years of life. Today, more years than that have passed since that rebuild. There are frequent touchups and spot repairs performed on the cable car fleet by Muni’s very capable team of carpenters, metal workers, painters and other craft workers, but eventually Car 5’s time will come for another rails to roof overhaul.