After 16 years in repair shop purgatory, 129-year old San Francisco Cable Car 8 hit the rails again this week, following a full top to bottom restoration that some worried might never come.

The car rolled out of the cable car barn on Monday, carrying a crew that included many of the workers who restored the car board by board - along with some of the transportation enthusiasts who got the car back on the city's radar after it was seemingly forgotten.

"This car has been out of service for 16 years," said Rick Laubscher, president of the Market Street Railway historical group, who was among the voices calling on SFMTA to revive the long-stalled restoration. "It’s a masterful rebuilding by the cable car carpentry shop and the cable car barn staff."