Cable cars were a staple of urban transportation in the late 1800s and served as a precursor in many cases to the electric streetcar. Rather than being individually powered like their successors, cable cars, as their name suggests, were hauled by strong cables embedded under the track. These cables would move constantly, and it would be up to the operator or "Grip Man" on each car to control the movement of the vehicle by choosing when the car would "grip" the cable. If the car was not gripped to the cable, it would lose momentum and stop. While cities around the world once boasted cable car operations, systems that featured hills too steep for conventional streetcars continued to use theirs for many years, and examples can still be found operating today in San Francisco, Lisbon, and Wales. The Bachmann Cable Car recreates a classic North American design, which also bears similarities to many early electric streetcars. It features a painted Grip Man, an interior with bench seating, an improved drivetrain, and attractive paint schemes.
