The Peak Tram

This guide to the Peak Tram in Hong Kong opens with the two front seats kept empty for forty-one years, reserved by bronze plaque for the Governor whether or not he came. From there it traces the funicular back to its 1888 opening, dreamed up by Scotsman Alexander Findlay Smith, and the three-tier ticketing that separated British officials from soldiers, and everyone else from Peak residency itself. Listen for how the same steep grade you're riding once sorted a city by rank.