Turning an eight-ton cable car is not easy

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- The cable cars that add to San Francisco's charm may be a hit with visitors, but they're a pain -- literally -- for some of the city's cable car operators.

After reaching the end of their route, the eight-ton passenger vehicles -- similar to a bus on tracks -- must be rotated 180 degrees on a circular wooden platform called a turnaround.

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The physical strength required to do that has taken a toll on some cable car operators, so the city is experimenting by hiring lower paid -- but stronger -- young people to do the pushing.

And, as CNN's Don Knapp reports, any tourist who'd like to help out -- is out of luck.