A funicular, also known as an inclined plane
or cliff railway, is a cable
railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails
moves them up and down a steep slope;
the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.
Operation
The basic idea of funicular operation is that two cars are
always attached to each other by a cable, which runs through a pulley at the top
of the slope. Counterbalancing of the two cars, with one going up and one going
down, minimizes the energy needed to lift the car going up. Winching is
normally done by an electric drive that turns the pulley. Sheave
wheels guide the cable to and from the drive mechanism and the slope cars.
Track layout
Illustration of four-rail, three-rail and two-rail layouts.
Rails coloured green are shared by both cars. Note the unconventional wheels
and the gaps in the rails in the two-rail layout.
Early funiculars used two parallel straight tracks, four
rails, with separate station platforms for each vehicle. The tracks are laid
with sufficient space between them for the two cars to pass at the midpoint.
The wheels of the cars are usually single-flanged, as on
standard railway vehicles. Examples of this type of track layout are the Duquesne
Incline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and most cliff
railways in the UK.
Layouts that require less width have been developed, with
only two or three rails for the most part of the slope and four rails only at
the passing section.
The Swiss engineer Carl
Roman Abt invented the method that allows cars to be used with a two-rail
configuration: the outboard wheels have flanges on both sides, which keeps them
aligned with the outer rail, thus holding each car in position, whereas the
inboard wheels are unflanged and ride on top of the opposite rail, thereby
easily crossing over the rails (and cable) at the passing track.
Two-rail configurations of this type avoid the need for
switches and crossings, since the cars have the flanged wheels on opposite
sides and will automatically follow different tracks, and in general,
significantly reduce costs (especially when the funicular runs in a tunnel,
such as the Funicular de Bulnes, in Asturias).
In layouts using three rails, the middle rail is shared by
both cars. The three-rail layout is wider than the two-rail layout, but the
passing section is simpler to build. If a rack for braking is used, that rack
can be mounted higher in a three-rail layout, making it less sensitive to
choking in snowy conditions.
Some four-rail funiculars have the upper and lower sections
interlaced and a single platform at each station. The Hill Train at Legoland,
Windsor, is an example of this configuration.
The track layout can also be changed during the renovation
of a funicular, and often four-rail layouts have been rebuilt as two- or
three-rail layouts; e.g., the Wellington Cable Car in New Zealand was
rebuilt with two rails.
History of different track layouts
Until the end of the 1870s, the four-rail parallel-track
funicular was the normal configuration. Carl
Roman Abt developed the Abt Switch allowing the two-rail layout, which was
used for the first time in 1879 when the Giessbachbahn funicular opened in Switzerland.
In the United States, the first funicular to use a two-rail layout was the Telegraph Hill Railroad
in San Francisco, which was in operation from 1884 until 1886. The Mount Lowe Railway in Altadena, California, was
the first mountain railway in the United States to use the three-rail layout.
Three- and two-rail layouts considerably reduced the space required for
building a funicular, reducing grading costs on mountain slopes and property
costs for urban funiculars. These layouts enabled a funicular boom in the
latter 19th century.
Bottom towrope
The cars can be attached to a second cable running through a
pulley at the bottom of the incline in case the gravity force acting on the
vehicles is too low to operate them on the slope. One of the pulleys must be
designed as a tensioning wheel to avoid slack in the ropes. In this case, the
winching can also be done at the lower end of the incline. This practice is
used for funiculars with gradients below 6%, funiculars using sledges instead
of cars, or any other case where it is not ensured that the descending car is
always able to pull out the cable from the pulley in the station on the top of
the incline.
Gravity plane
Funiculars used in mines were sometimes unpowered gravity
planes, also known as self-acting inclines or brake inclines. The weight of
descending loaded wagons was used to pull the empty mine wagons.
Water counterbalancing
A few funiculars have been built using water tanks under the
floor of each car that are filled or emptied until just sufficient imbalance is
achieved to allow movement. The car at the top of the hill is loaded with water
until it is heavier than the car at the bottom, causing it to descend the hill
and pulling up the other car. The water is drained at the bottom, and the
process repeats with the cars exchanging roles. The movement is controlled by a
brakeman.
The oldest funicular in the world moving by water
counterbalancing is the Bom Jesus funicular built in 1882. The
funicular track in Bom Jesus do Monte near Braga, Portugal is 274 metres
(899 ft) long and descends 116 metres (381 ft). The funicular of Fribourg is
special since it utilizes waste water, coming from the upper part of the city,
for counterbalancing.
For a list of water-powered funiculars, see Category:Water-powered
funicular railways.
Inclined lift
The inclined lift, or inclined elevator, occasionally inclinator
is a special version of the funicular, since it has only one car carrying
payload on the slope. The car is either winched up to the station on the top of
the incline where the cable is collected on a winch drum, or the single car is
balanced by a counterweight and operated the same way as a funicular with two
cars. Many inclined lifts were constructed along the pressure lines of storage
power plants for transporting building materials. Examples are the Gelmerbahn
leading to the Gelmersee and the Funicolare Piora–Ritom leading to Lago Ritom,
both in Switzerland.
The steepest funicular in the world is the incline lift Katoomba Scenic Railway in Australia.
Modern versions resembling an elevator are
used in some installations, such as at the Cityplace Station in Dallas,
Texas, the Huntington Metro Station in Huntington, Virginia, the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, the Luxor Hotel
in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Eiffel
Tower in Paris. The London Millennium Funicular provides an
alternative to staircase access to London's Millennium Bridge.
A mixture between an inclined lift and a funicular with two
cars was the second Angels Flight in Los Angeles. The funicular closed in
1969 and was reinstalled in 1996 using separate cables for each car, which were
winched on separate winch drums in the station at the top. The winch drums were
connected to the drive motor and the service brake by a gear train. The system
failed because of gear train breakage, causing a fatal accident in 2001. The
funicular was then closed until 2010, and since 5 September 2013.
History
The oldest funicular is the Reisszug, a
private line providing goods access to Hohensalzburg Castle at Salzburg in
Austria. It was first documented in 1515 by Cardinal
Matthäus Lang, who became Archbishop of Salzburg. The line originally
used wooden rails and a hemp
haulage rope and was operated by human or animal power. Today, steel rails,
steel cables and an electric motor have taken over, but the line still follows
the same route through the castle's fortifications.
The first railway in England with wooden rails was probably
made for James Clifford, lord of the manor of Broseley. He
was working coal mines there by 1575 and had a wagonway delivering coal to
barges on the River Severn by 1606. This is after the first record
of a railway in England, the Wollaton
Wagonway, but seems to be earlier.
In the 18th century, funiculars were used to allow barge
traffic on canals
to ascend and descend steep hills. An early example were the three inclined planes on the Tyrone Canal in County
Tyrone that were in use as early as 1777. They were used primarily in the
early 19th century, especially during the height of the canal-building era in
the 1830s in the United States. Such railways operated by allowing water in
feeder canals at the top of the plane to drive a turbine, raising
or lowering a canal barge along a steep slope.
Examples of hydropower inclined-plane railroads in the United States
included the Morris Canal in New Jersey,
which connected the Delaware River to the Passaic
River using 23 planes, as well as a series of locks
along the gentler gradients. The Allegheny Portage Railroad, part of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal,
built in 1834 with ten planes as the first railroad across the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania,
was steam
powered.
Modern funicular railways operating in urban areas date from
the 1860s. The first line of the Funiculars of Lyon (Funiculaires de Lyon) opened
in 1862, followed by other lines in 1878, 1891 and 1900. The Budapest Castle Hill Funicular was
built in 1868-69, with the first test run on 23 October 1869. In Istanbul,
Turkey, the Tünel
has been in continuous operation since 1875 and is both the first underground
funicular and the second-oldest underground railway. The oldest funicular
railway operating in Britain dates from 1875 and is in Scarborough, North
Yorkshire.
In Quebec City, Canada, the Old Quebec Funicular has been operating since
1879, connecting the Haute-Ville (Upper Town) to the Basse-Ville (Lower Town).
The Dresden Funicular Railway was opened in 1895.
One of the most famous funiculars was the Great Incline of the Mount Lowe Railway in Altadena, California, designed by Andrew Smith Hallidie of San Francisco cable car fame. The
Mount Lowe Railway combined its funicular, raising passengers 2,800 feet (850
metres) up the steep side of Mount Echo (elevation 3,500 ft
(1,100 m), with electric narrow-gauge trolley systems at each end (the
Rubio Canyon line was standard-gauged after being acquired by Henry
Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway). The Incline had
three grade changes, the lower end at 62% easing to a 48% at the top, and the
cars were designed to adjust to the grade changes for the comfort of their
passengers. It had three rails to reduce the width of the formation and the
materials required, though a complicated cable routing system was needed at the
passing track.
The eastern United States had several incline railways, most
engineered by the Otis Elevator Company of Yonkers, New York (today a
subsidiary of UTC in Connecticut). Perhaps the best example was the Mount Beacon Incline Railway in Beacon,
New York, the steepest funicular Otis built in the northeast. It had an
average gradient of 64% and a maximum gradient of 74% and operated for over 75
years. It was destroyed by fire in 1983, and a not-for-profit society is
currently working toward its restoration.
The funicular on Mount
Vesuvius inspired the song Funiculì, Funiculà, composed in 1880.
That funicular was wrecked repeatedly by volcanic eruptions and abandoned after
the eruption of 1944.
World
Fløibanen is a funicular in Bergen, Norway,
which runs up the mountain of Fløyen. It is one of Bergen's major tourist
attractions and one of Norway's most visited attractions.
Hong Kong's Peak Tram was one of the first funiculars in Asia, opened
in 1888, with a maximum grade of 48%, 1.4 km (0.87 mi) long, and is
now one of Hong Kong's major tourist attraction.
Another funicular in Asia is located on Penang Hill,
Penang,
Malaysia. Located 6 km (3.7 mi) from George Town, Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera) is one
of the most popular destinations in Penang. Penang Hill is actually a complex
of hills and spurs, and the highest point is Western Hill, which is 830 metres
(2,720 feet) above sea level. The most convenient way up to Penang Hill is by
means of a funicular railway, which is in Air Itam.
There is a tunnel that measures 258 feet (79 m) long and 10 feet
(3.05 m) wide starting at steepness of 35 feet (11 m) high, which is
the steepest tunnel in the world. The funicular train leaves every half an hour
and can carry up to 100 passengers. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the
top. Prior to the latest train deployed, journey can take up to 30 minutes and
requires passengers to change trains halfway up.
In Spain, the Bulnes funicular is an unusual two-rail
installation that runs in a tunnel. The passenger cars are augmented by
trailers used for carrying goods and/or animals.
Valparaiso, Chile, has fifteen funiculars, the oldest
dating from 1883. Some of them are inside the historic quarter, which has been
declared a World Heritage area by UNESCO. Many are currently in disrepair and
have been shut down by municipal authorities. There has been recent controversy
regarding five of the elevators in the downtown area, where there have been
protests about safety and operation. The Polanco
Elevator, perhaps the most unusual, had been closed for repairs to the
structure and recently re-entered service.
The Carmelit is an underground funicular railway in Haifa, Israel. It is one
of the smallest metro systems in the world, having only four cars, six stations
and a single tunnel 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long. It operated from its
construction in 1959 until 1986 after showing signs of aging. It subsequently
reopened in September 1992 after extensive renovations.
The Scenic Railway at Katoomba Scenic World, Blue Mountains, Australia
(which supports multiple tourist attractions such as the Skyway and Cableway),
is claimed to be the world's steepest passenger-carrying funicular railway,
with a maximum incline of 52 degrees or 122%, with a total incline length of
310 metres (1,020 feet) and a vertical lift of 206.5 m (677 ft) in a
horizontal distance of 243.4 m (799 ft). The railway is on the old mining
track.
The Great Incline of the Mount Lowe Railway (above right) had multiple
grades with cars that adjusted to the variations. The gentlest grade
was 48%, the steepest 62%.
The Niesenbahn in the Swiss Kandertal is the longest continuous-cable
funicular in Europe. In Lugano, a funicular connects the city centre with Lugano railway station on the hillside
above.
In Ukraine, The Kiev
Funicular serves the city of Kiev, connecting the historic Uppertown, and the lower
neighborhood of Podil
through the steep Volodymyrska Hill overseeing the Dnieper
River. Funicular was constructed during 1902-05.
In Poland, the most popular is the Gubałówka Hill Funicular, operated by
Polish Cable Lines (Polskie Koleje Linowe, PKL).
Water-powered funiculars include the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway
in North Devon,
England; the CAT Funicular at the Centre for Alternative Technology
in Gwynedd,
Wales; the Nerobergbahn in Wiesbaden,
Germany; and the Bom Jesus funicular in Braga, Portugal (the
oldest, still working, in the world).
The Great Orme Tramway is the only cable-hauled
tramway still operating on British public roads. It runs from Church Walks in Llandudno. It
first opened on 31 July 1902 and runs on a daily basis from late March to late
October, taking visitors to the summit of The Great Orme,
climbing one mile (1.6 km) of track to the summit complex at a height of
679 feet (207 m). There are panoramic views of the Welsh mountains and as
far as the Isle of Man, Blackpool and the Lake District. There is an exhibition
of the history of this funicular tramway at the half-way station.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has two
operational funiculars, called "inclines". The Monongahela Incline travels between the top of
the Mount Washington hillside to Station
Square at the base of the mountain along the Monongahela
River. It serves as a tourist attraction and mass transit system. The Duquesne
Incline connects Duquesne Heights with the lower
elevations of Pittsburgh.
Naples,
Italy, has four
funiculars. The Chiaia Funicular was built in 1889, followed
within two years by the Montesanto Funicular, and after some years by
Central Funicular and Mergellina. The most famous funicular in Naples was the
Mount Vesuvius Funicular
(1880–1944), the first railway track in the world built on an active volcano, which
was destroyed various times by Vesuvius eruptions. Partially modified to became a rack
railway in its last section, it was destroyed by the eruption in
1944. It became famous worldwide because the Neapolitan song "Funiculì Funiculà" was dedicated to it.
The Johnstown Inclined Plane (built in 1890)
in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States, is
claimed to be the world's steepest vehicular inclined plane, at 70.9%. In
addition to passengers, it can carry one automobile in each direction. Chattanooga,
Tennessee, is home to the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
(built in 1895), which travels from the base to the top of Lookout
Mountain and is claimed to be the steepest funicular in the world, with a
maximum grade of 72.7%.
In addition to the historic Angels
Flight and Mount Lowe Railway, Southern California has two recently
constructed funicular railways. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, has a funicular that
takes guests up the Mountain from an area near the park entrance to a station
near the Ninja
coaster entrance. It was called "Funicular" for many years,
introducing thousands of people to the word, but is now known as the "Orient
Express" to fit in with the Far Eastern theme at the top of the Mountain.
The Pacific Palms Resort in the City of Industry, California, formerly the Industry
Hills Sheraton Resort, utilizes a funicular to transport golfers and their
carts. The 400-foot (122 m) line runs from the 9th Green of the
"Ike" Course and 18th Green of the "Babe" Course to the St.
Andrews Station, a replica of a Scottish station that houses concessions and
eating areas with spectacular views of the two hillside courses. The railway
was installed in 1979 as part of a 650-acre (260 ha) brownfield
reclamation project that transformed a collection of hills containing a former
refuse dump into a resort and convention and recreation center. The funicular
was devised as a perfect solution for transporting golfers among the steep and
dramatic terrain of the demanding and highly regarded golf courses. The railway
is currently not in operation but remains fully intact awaiting necessary
maintenance until it can once again ferry golfers up the 33% grade overlooking
the San Gabriel Valley and San Bernardino Mountains.
The Falls Incline Railway, originally the
Horseshoe Falls Incline, at Niagara Falls, Canada, gives access to hotels above
the falls.
The funicular in Baku, Azerbaijan connects the hilltop Alley
of Martyrs with Neftchilar Avenue on the Caspian seaside. The Baku
Funicular is 455 metres (1,493 ft) long and has been in operation
since 1960.
Private funiculars
Private funiculars on steep sections provide easier access
from the street to a house than steep paths or steps. They are common in hilly
cities, such as Wellington, New Zealand, which has about
300. These have a small car for two to four people permanently attached to a
cable from a winch, which runs on an inclined pair of rails (beams) or a single
rail at a low speed (0.3 to 1.0 metres/second). They are often called
"cable cars" or "lifts" (elevators), e.g., in the New Zealand
standard for private cable cars. Larger and faster models can improve access to
commercial buildings.
Greenwood Forest Park in North Wales is home to the Dragon
roller coaster. This coaster uses a funicular railway pulley system to lift the
empty roller coaster using the weight of the people about to ride in it.
Smallest funiculars
The smallest funicular in the world is the Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway in Bournemouth,
England, at a length of 128 feet (39 m).
The smallest funicular in Croatia is the Zagreb
Funicular with a length of 66.0 m (216.5 ft).
The smallest funicular in Italy is the Ferata
Gran Risa, located in La Ila in South Tyrol,
with a length of 66.7 m (219 ft).
The smallest funicular in Switzerland
is located in Lucerne.
It serves the guests of the 100-year-old hotel Montana and is of the same age
as the hotel. One single cabin shuffles between the top station and the bottom
station at the lake promenade (length: 85 m or 279 ft). The travel
time for both directions is 60 seconds.
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