# cable cars



## jb64 (Mar 3, 2011)

A friend forwarded a link to me for a video on Youtube. It came with the information below:

*This film was "lost" for many years. It was the first 35mm film ever. It was taken by camera mounted on the front of a cable car. * *The number of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing! The clock tower at the end of Market Street at the Embarcadero wharf is still there. How many "street cleaning" people were employed to pick up after the horses? Talk about going green! * 

* This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot. From New York trade papers announcing the film showing to the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and conditions on historical record, even when the cars were registered (he even knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!). It was filmed only four days before the Great California Earthquake of April 18th, 1906 and shipped by train to NY for processing. Amazing, but true! * JUST CLICK ON THIS LINK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=NINOxRxze9k


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## WhoozOn1st (Mar 3, 2011)

What's truly amazing is the style and quality of that turn of the 20th Century soundtrack. Who knew?


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## Alice (Mar 4, 2011)

I'm a long-time member of the Niles Museum. They play silent films every Saturday night in the original Edison Theater in "downtown" Niles (now part of Fremont east of Oakland, CA). This film is really spectacular on their large screen, where I first saw a restored copy! At the same performance, they also showed a film taken just after the earthquake. I looked around the web but don't see a copy of it, though there are some newsreels. (Of course, we had live accompaniment.)

I've seen the DVD for sale both at the Niles Museum and at the Market Street Railway museum/store in San Francisco.

As an additional rail point, the historical association that runs the theater also coordinates with the Niles Railway, that runs between Sunol and Niles.


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 4, 2011)

Nice shows what life was like back then.


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## PRR 60 (Mar 4, 2011)

What is chilling is that most of the buildings visible in the film would be destroyed a couple of days later, and a good number of the people seen in the film would not survive the week.


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## Grandpa D (Mar 4, 2011)

Driving "rules" seemed to be more like "suggestions".

And in some areas that's still true today.


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## GG-1 (Mar 4, 2011)

Grandpa D said:


> Driving "rules" seemed to be more like "suggestions".
> 
> And in some areas that's still true today.


You witnesed the Drivers in Los Vegas, if some of them are really drivers. :giggle: :giggle: :giggle: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## amtrakwolverine (Mar 5, 2011)

Grandpa D said:


> Driving "rules" seemed to be more like "suggestions".
> 
> And in some areas that's still true today.


They still pull right out in front of the street cars like they do today on the light rail trolleys etc.


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