Cable Car Day
Cable Car Day is held on January 17. In early 1871 British-born, US resident Andrew Smith Hallidie received the first patent in relation to the cable car. This event in the second decade of the month January is annual.
A cable car is a type of cable railway used for mass transit in which rail cars are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required. According to the Cable Car Museum, cars running these days keep a cruising speed of 9.5 miles per hour, be it uphill or downhill.
Cable cars were invented by Andrew Smith Hallidie here in San Francisco in 1871. Hallidie's cable car system was based on early mining conveyance systems and dominated the city's transit scene for more than 30 years.
They are often used in mountainous areas where cable haulage can overcome large differences in elevation. China's Tianmen Shan cable car is the longest cable car ride in the world, covering a distance of 7,455 meters. The car runs from Zhangjiajie downtown up to Tianmen Shan, which translates as "Heaven's Gate Mountain."