Back in May I saw these fine gentlemen walking along the Powell-Hyde Street line, lifting each removable metal cover over the cable car cable. These covers allow access to the rollers that the cable runs in and these workers were responsible for checking that each roller was in good repair. This picture was taken at the corner of Hyde and Northpoint.

They were happy to stop and pose for me, and stopped long enough to let me snap a picture of the cable and the roller.  If you’ve ever walked over the cable car line you’ve heard the metallic whirring noise that the cable makes when it slides through these rollers.

Cable Car Cable and Roller