When I visited San Francisco, I found myself standing outside a cable car museum and the very spot where a large wheel pulled the cable up the hill. I suppose I never thought about a central gearbox pulling the cable up the road. The technology intrigued me. An entrepreneur installed the first cable car in the city. He immigrated from England where his father had invented the cable he eventually used. According to the museum, the cable car originator decided something had to be done to keep carriage drivers from whipping their horses.
Over time, the cable cars became expensive to maintain and San Francisco once thought about getting rid of them. Citizens saved the cable car as a symbol of the city by the bay and the government was ordered to maintain the Powell Street cable car system.
If you have time visit the Cable Car Museum on Mason Street.