Trivia - Trams, Gondolas, Funiculars
Mark Wallace
co-worker of mine who's hobby is ski area trivia. The main
motivation for these postings is feedback, so if there is
anything you can add please do. I'll pass along any
feedback you may have, but don't question this
information without consideration, I've seen some of his
resources.
Mark Wallace, Castle Rock, CO
mwal...@nyx.cs.du.edu
***************************************************************
TRAMS, GONDOLAS, AND FUNICULARS 13 April 1993
Subject: THE COLORADO SKIER - TRIVIA 9A
Greetings from THE COLORADO SKIER
This is part of a series on Skiing and Ski Area TRIVIA. This is a
special edition devotedly exclusively to Aerial Trams, Gondolas, and
Funicular railways.
THE COLORADO SKIER TRIVIA - EDITION #9A
TRAMS, GONDOLAS, AND FUNICULARS
EDITOR'S REMARKS:
A. We have so much more info on trams and gondolas to share, that a
special edition is called for. And, we have had a few questions
and comments about funicular railroads. Hence, this edition.
B. Some of the data in this post was obtained from "THE WHITE BOOK
OF SKI AREAS", which is copyrighted by Inter-Ski Services, Inc.
1. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRAM AND A GONDOLA?
Seems like a fair question. First a few definitions:
LOAD CABLE - A heavy, fixed cable running from tower to tower which
supports the weight ("load") of the tram car or gondola car. The
cars travel on the cable with wheels, the cable functioning as a
track. The load cable does not move.
HAUL CABLE - This cable moves and its job is to haul or pull the
cars up the mountain. It is smaller and lighter than a load cable.
[Note: We will use a consistent set of definitions (for all terms)
which can be applied generically to any cableway system. However,
individual systems may use different versions of the terminology as
suits their own purposes and for advertising reasons.]
a. An AERIAL TRAMWAY (also called "cable car" or "cableway" in
Europe) has two large tram cars. Each car carries between 50 and
150 passengers, who all stand. Skis are carried inside. The weight
of the cars is carried on one, or sometimes two, Load cables. The
cars are permanently attached to the Haul cable. Thus, during
loading and unloading, the haul cable is stopped, with one car at
the bottom terminal and one car at the top terminal.
b. A GONDOLA system has many small gondola cars which carry between
2 and 12 passengers per car. With cars carrying 2 to 8 passengers,
all passengers sit. For the 10 and 12 passengers models, there is a
bench around the perimeter and several folks stand in the center.
On gondolas, the skis are carried in "quivers" on the outside.
There can be as many as 150 gondola cars on a gondola system. Since
many cars are traversing the circuit at any instant, the haul cable
does not stop. Therefore, for loading and unloading, the cars must
be removed from the haul cable while they are in the top or bottom
terminal. The cars automatically disconnect (or reconnect) from the
main haul cable as they enter (or depart) the terminal. [Detachable
Quad chairlifts work in the same manner.]
While the gondola cars are in the terminal they hang from a second
cable which moves much more slowly than the main haul cable. The
slower speed facilitates loading and unloading. In some terminals
(such as at VAIL) the terminal cable is actually a track (rail) with
a chain drive much like a bicycle chain laid on its side. In very
old systems like at CRESTED BUTTE, and WILDCAT, there was a track in
the terminal but no chain drive. Power was provided by lift
attendants as they pushed the car manually around the track, pausing
for loading/unloading, and then pushing the car back onto the load
cable.
c. ONESY, TWOSY - There are "two-cable" and "one-cable" gondola
systems. The two-cable systems have a load cable and a haul cable.
A clamp, activated and deactivated in the terminals, attaches to the
haul cable when the car is traversing between terminals. In the
one-cable system, the load cable and the haul cable are combined
into one cable. The single cable moves, of course, and the clamp
attaches to it. In this case the clamp must also hold the weight of
the gondola car as there are no wheels or "track" cable.
The advantage of a single cable system is one less cable to buy and
service. The disadvantage is that the cable must be both very
strong, to hold the car weight, and very flexible to curve around
the "bull wheels" at the top and bottom. As the gondola cars get
larger and heavier, one would think that the single cable systems
would be phased out. Not so. It started that way. The really old
two passenger system at WILDCAT, and the three passenger systems
formerly at CRESTED BUTTE and SUGARBUSH, use(d) the single cable
system. Meanwhile, the systems at VAIL, MAMMOTH, and the old system
at STEAMBOAT all used two cables. However, every system we have
checked that is new in the last ten years uses a single cable.
d. RUN A LOT - Note that some sightseeing gondola systems such as at
amusement parks, use a single cable and no releasing clamp. The
gondola cars are permanently attached to the haul cable. Passengers
must load and unload while the cable and cars are moving - much like
a chairlift used to service an alpine slide. This works because the
cable is travelling much more slowly, for sightseeing purposes, than
at a ski area where speed is of the essence.
e. WHY DETACH? - Note also the basic reason for using detachable
gondola cars and quad chairlifts. The terminal cable/track moves
very slowly for ease (and safety) of loading/unloading. The main
haul cable moves very fast, to speed the skiers up the mountain.
This is a remarkably good concept - the future will see few fixed
grip systems, except in the beginner areas where speed is not so
important.
2. U.S. AERIAL TRAM SYSTEMS
a. AT SKI AREAS - There are 8 aerial trams in use at U.S. ski areas
as shown in the table:
SKI AREA CAPACITY YEAR BUILT (approx)
Heavenly Valley, CA 50 1963 ?
Jay Peak, VT 60 1966 ?
Jackson Hole, WY 63 1964
Cannon Mtn, NH 80 1980
Squaw Valley, CA 120/150 1968
Snowbird, UT 125 1971
Sandia Peak, NM 60 1966 Access only
Ober Gatlinburg, TN 120 1976 ? Access only
The OBER GATLINBURG tram takes skiers to the base of the ski area
and does not serve any ski runs. The SANDIA PEAK tram takes
skiers up the west side of Sandia Peak to the TOP of the ski area
which is on the east side of the peak. The other six trams
service ski runs.
b. There are several sightseeing only trams in the U.S. as shown:
Palm Springs, CA (vertical rise of 5873 feet)
Estes Park, CO (12-person cars, 1100 feet rise)
Bridal Veil Falls, UT (small cars)
Stone Mountain, GA
New York, NY (horizontal, to Roosevelt Island)
Royal Gorge, CO (horizontal, one car only)
Hawk's Nest Canyon, WV ?
Pipestem Resort, WV ?
c. HELP! We are unfamiliar with the two trams in West Virginia. We
need someone to check them out this summer. We have several
readers in Pittsburgh and the D.C. area so you guys need to plan a
sightseeing trip. Both trams are near the "New River Gorge
Bridge", which is the SECOND highest bridge in the U.S. (the
Royal Gorge, CO bridge is FIRST and the Rio Grande Gorge bridge
near Taos, NM is THIRD.)
What we would like to find out is: 1) Are they really AERIAL
trams (the term "tram" doesn't always mean aerial). 2) Vertical
Rise. 3) Number and size of cars. Here is what the guide books
say: HAWK'S NEST CANYON TRAMWAY (Ansted, WV) - "runs from the
lodge to the bank of the New River, 446 feet below." PIPESTEM
RESORT (Pipestem, WV) - "An aerial tram, ascends 3600 feet."
3. TRAM TRIVIA
a. FIRST TRAM - The first tram in the U.S. was built at CANNON
MOUNTAIN, NH in 1938. The tram carried 24 passengers and had a
vertical rise of 2000 feet. That tram was replaced in 1980 with a
new 80 passenger tram. It appears from the table that the oldest
remaining operating tram in the U.S. is Heavenly Valley or Jackson
Hole - each about 30 years old.
b. LARGEST VERTICAL - When discussing the "longest cableway in the
Alps", the MULTI-STAGE system at SCHILTHORN, we said that we
didn't know the World's longest SINGLE-STAGE system. We spoke too
fast. A mere turn to "The Guinness Book of World's Records"
reveals that the longest single-stage tram is the one at PALM
SPRINGS, CA. It rises from 2,643 feet to 8,516 feet for a
vertical rise of 5,873 ft. Unfortunately, hurting their
credibility, Guinness lists the top altitude as 10,821 feet which
is actually the top of nearby Mt. San Jacinto. The top can be
reached from the tram station by hiking or cross-country skiing.
Oh yes, in 1991, Guinness listed the top elevation as 310,821
feet! Fortunately, the tram comes with oxygen and pressure suits.
c. WORLD'S LARGEST TRAM CARS - This was a question from reader KELLY.
Our research indicates some ambiguity. Guinness says the largest
car is at SQUAW VALLEY, with 121 passengers. According to their
respective pictures, the tram cars at OBER GATLINBURG are
identical to those at SQUAW. Gatlinburg advertises "the largest
tram cars in the world", perhaps because they know they are (or
were) tied for first place with Squaw.
Elsewhere, the data for SNOWBIRD, which opened in 1971, shows a
figure of 125 passengers. And the SQUAW VALLEY figure jumped up
to 150 (?) around 1988. In "The Blue Book of European Ski
Resorts", 1993 edition, a listing for VERBIER shows "Le Jumbo",
150-skier capacity, "largest in Switzerland". VAL THORENS, in
France, lists a 150 passenger cable car.
Meanwhile, Guinness stopped publishing this particular statistic.
Perhaps because some ski areas were just jamming more skiers in
and the number was not verifiable. Right now, tho, 150 seems to
be the biggest.
d. TRAM JUNKIES - Who has ridden all eight? TCS has scored five.
4. GONDOLAS
There are currently 25 GONDOLAS at U.S. ski areas, as follows:
WEST Capacity
Mammoth Mtn, CA [2] 6
Northstar, CA 6
Squaw Valley, CA 6
Sugar Bowl, CA 4 Access only - horizontal
June Mountain, CA 20 ? (ski reports call it a tram)
Aspen, CO 6
Keystone, CO [2] 6
Steamboat, CO 8
Vail, CO 6
Silver Mountain, ID 8 Access only - from town
Big Mountain, MT ? (evening only)
Big Sky, MT [2] 4
Ski Apache, NM 4
Park City, UT 4
MIDWEST and NORTHEAST
Lutsen, MN 4 (moved from Loon Mtn in 1987)
Sugarloaf, ME 4 (status varies)
Loon Mtn, NH 4
Wildcat, NH 2 <!
Gore Mountain, NY 4
Killington, VT 4
Stowe, VT 8
Stratton, VT 12
Note: BIG MOUNTAIN, MT has a relatively new (1989) "Glacier
Chaser" detachable quad chair. It uses chairs in the daytime, but
at night gondola cars are substituted, for trips to the on-
mountain restaurant. Clever!
Note2: TCS has ridden 10 of the 25. And you?
5. GONDOLA TRIVIA
a. LARGEST passenger capacity per car: STRATTON - 12, WHISTLER - 10,
JUNE MTN rumored to be somewhere around 20 (Note: JUNE calls
their system a TRAM). VAL THORENS, France, lists a 30-passenger
gondola.
b. LONGEST - KILLINGTON calls their system the country's LONGEST (and
you readers call it the slowest!). We cannot disprove that. Here
are the available data:
AREA VERTICAL LENGTH TIME TYPE
Silver Mtn 3400 ft 3.1 miles 16 mins Single stage
Aspen 3267 13 mins Single stage
Mammoth 3100 Two stage
Killington 3000 3.3 miles 25 mins Multi-stage
Note: The SILVER MOUNTAIN gondola which travels from Kellogg, ID
to near the top of the ski area bills itself as the "LONGEST
single-stage gondola in the World".
c. EASTER EGGS - While researching gondolas, we discovered amazing
similarities between the CRESTED BUTTE, WILDCAT, AND SUGARBUSH
gondola cars. All three have brightly-colored egg-shaped cars.
(one of you said they looked like the spaceship that "Mork from
Ork" rode in.) The C.B. and Sugarbush versions (both deceased)
held 3 skiers and Wildcat holds two. The C.B. gondola was built
by an Italian company named "Telecar". The Wildcat system was
"imported from Italy". Sugarbush? The C.B. and Wildcat cars have
identically shaped aluminum patches on the front. The patches are
shaped like one large brick ________
centered over two large bricks. ______| Silver |______
Patch >>> |______________________|
Does anyone remember the brand name or the patches at SUGARBUSH?
BTW the C.B. gondola closed in 1973 and Sugarbush about 1985.
d. SMALLEST - Back in February, reader FRANK related his story of a
fixed grip, windowless, ONE passenger, stand-up gondola he rode in
Italy. Since he POSTED the story we assume you all saw it.
e. WHATEVER - The system on the top of Monarch Pass, CO bills itself
as an AERIAL TRAM, but admits to having six "gondola cars".
6. FUNICULARS
First of all, what is a "funicular"? Well, there are four basic
types of railroads in terms of how they apply motive power to moving
the train forward. [steepness numbers are percent, not degrees.]
TRACTION or ADHESIVE - This is your basic train. Power is applied to
the steel drive wheels turning on a steel rail. Efficient on the
flat but the drive wheels start slipping at about 4 percent grade.
Some famous mountain traction routes in the U.S. are the Moffat
Tunnel, CO; Soldier Summit, UT; and the Donner Pass and Tehachapi
Loop routes in CA.
COG - Here the power is applied from a toothed wheel in the train to
a toothed track on the roadbed. This reduces the slipping but only
up to about 15 percent grade. The two most famous examples in the
U.S. are the MT. WASHINGTON COG and THE PIKES PEAK COG. They may be
the only ones. Any other candidates?
From 1938 to 1974, the "Broadmoor and Cheyenne Mountain Cog Railroad"
ran from The Broadmoor Hotel to The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado
Springs. It was billed as the only narrow gauge cog railway in the
World. The track has been removed, but you can still see the roadbed
and tunnels, near the golf course. The railway was removed to make
way for the "Broadmoor West" hotel expansion. Originally it was sold
to the city of Telluride, CO where it was to be used to haul skiers.
That never happened and it was sold again. Now supposedly it is to
be installed in Central City, CO where it will haul gamblers between
parking lots and casinos (and will be called a "tram").
CABLE CARS - In this system there is a moving cable under the track
(e.g., under the street). There is a "gripper" hanging down from
under the rail car which selectively grips the moving cable to move
and lets go to stop. The only current system of this type in the
U.S. is the San Francisco cable car. The major advantage of this
system is it's ability to climb steep grades, say 20 to 25 percent.
The major disadvantage of this type is the network of cables which
must be always moving, despite the number or movement of cars.
Reliability is low.
FUNICULAR - The term comes from the Latin word for cable or cord. In
this system two cars, riding on rails, are attached to opposite ends
of a cable. There is one motor/engine and drivewheel at the top.
When one car is descending, the other is ascending. The cable and
both cars stop for loading and unloading. There is generally only
one set of tracks, except at the mid-point, where the cars pass each
other on two sets of tracks. The major advantage of this system is
it's ability to climb very, very steep grades, sometimes over 70
percent. The disadvantage is that the track must extend in a
straight line - unlike the cog system which can round curves.
FANFARE - And now, we are forced to announce - much to the
disappointment of Jim Carr - that there is NO funicular railroad at
any U.S. ski area. Sorry Jim. There was one being planned, back in
1990. BRECKENRIDGE planned to install a funicular which would run
from town, up to the very top of Peak 8 (13,000 feet). Alltho it
would serve skiers, it's main purpose was as a summer tourist
attraction. There was to be a restaurant at the top (which would
have a nice view of among other things, COPPER MOUNTAIN). VICTORIA
Co. LTD, owners of Breck (and also STRATTON MTN), touted it's all-
weather capabilities - snow and wind would not affect it's operations
(alltho skiing 1500 feet of vertical above timberline in a whiteout
would have been a challenge). So, why did Victoria cancel the plan?
Victoria is a Japanese retail sporting goods giant (ala Gart Bros,
Herman's, Oshman's) and the Japanese economy has gone south. They
couldn't afford to build the system. Will they build the funicular
when the economy gets better? OBE. Victoria is selling Breckenridge
to Ralston Purina, owners of KEYSTONE.
OTHER U.S. FUNICULARS - There are several well-known current and
deceased funicular railways in the U.S., not at ski areas. Many were
built originally for transportation, not as tourist attractions. In
the U.S., these systems are called "INCLINED RAILWAYS", or, more
usually, just "INCLINES". The brochure for the one in Johnstown, PA
says there are only five in the U.S., and that it is the World's
steepest, at 71 percent. Wrong on both counts.
NAME/PLACE GRADE COMMENT
(%)
Royal Gorge, CO (at the bridge) - 1053 feet vertical
Fenelon Place Elevator, -
Dubuque, IA (a grain elevator?)
Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, 72.7 Steepest in the U.S.
Chattanooga, TN
Ghost Town in The Sky, - Length 3364 ft
Maggie Valley, NC
Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh -
Monongahela Incline, Pittsburgh -
Johnstown Inclined Plane, PA 71.9 996 ft long - 2 tracks
DECEASED
Manitou Incline, Manitou Springs, CO 2500 vert. - max 68%
Angel's Flite, L.A. 1901 - late 60's 150 ft?
Note1: The "Mt. Manitou Incline" travelled from the Pikes Peak Cog
parking lot in Manitou Springs to near the top of Mt. Manitou, for a
vertical rise of about 2500 feet. It was shut down because the
owner, the Pikes Peak Cog, wanted more parking space for their more
profitable cog operations. It last operated for the 1989 season.
Before it could be rescued by a local citizens group, it was
partially destroyed by a landslide. When we start road race training
on Peaks Peak, we will determine it's current status.
For you trivia buffs, the Pikes Peak & Manitou (cog rail route) is
owned by The Broadmoor Hotel, which in turn is owned by Gaylord
Enterprises. Gaylord, also owns the Opryland Hotel, OPRYLAND, and
the TNN and CMT country music TV networks.
Note2: Angel's Flite, "World's Shortest Railway", travelled up a one
block steep hill in downtown Los Angeles. The railway was
"temporarily" removed during an urban renewal effort wherein old
houses and hotels were removed, and a new infrastructure was created
to support office buildings. For some reason, the railway was never
returned to the original or a new location and is still in storage.
Too bad. (Our ticket may be a collector's item)
Note3: Besides the inclines mentioned, there are many more small,
service systems, in use. They seem to be popular at summer cottages,
perhaps to reach a lake. There is one at a restaurant in Santa Cruz,
CA and one at the delightful Inn at Otter Crest (OR) which provides
service from the hillside lodging units down to the ocean-side
restaurant and pool. You readers may know of others.
7. EUROPE versus the U.S. - NO CONTEST We have now discussed the
Trams, Gondolas, and Funiculars at ski areas in the U.S. Not many,
eh? As a comparison, we picked just one country in Europe for a
comparison:
COUNTRY SKI AREAS TRAMS GONDOLAS FUNICULARS
U.S. 456 8 25 0
France 21 37 84 9
Cheers from THE COLORADO SKIER
From Calvin & Hobbes:
Hobbes: "What kind of nut would care about all this?
Calvin: "Everyone! This is hard data! It let's you quantify your
enjoyment!
Hobbes: "I thought fun was supposed to be fun."
Calvin: "Well, I prefer to trust the experts."
(It's amazing how often Calvin discusses our newsletters!)
Roger Mitchell
The maximum grade on the Manitou and Pikes Peak Railroad is 25 %.
The maximum grade on the Mt. Washington Cog Railroad exceeds 35 %
The steepest common carrier railroad in the US was the narrow gauge
Uinta Railway which ran from Dragon, Utah, to Mack, Colorado. It's
grade up Baxter Pass exceeded 7.5 %.
The standard gauge branch of the D&RGW up Mornach Pass exceeded 5.5 %
Many logging railroads that ran in the Rocky Mountains exceeded 12 % for
an adhesion railroad (steel wheels on steel rail).
The switch back on the Roaring Camp and Big Trees is over 10 %.
Roger Mitchell
rog...@fc.hp.com
President and Master Mechanic
Fort Collins Municipal Railway
Ron Newman
|> b. There are several sightseeing only trams in the U.S. as shown:
|> New York, NY (horizontal, to Roosevelt Island)
It's not really accurate to call this a "sightseeing only tram".
Until the 63rd Street subway opened a few years ago, this was the
ONLY transportation link from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. I believe
the Roosevelt Islanders still prefer to use the tramway, and would
vigorously protest any attempt to remove this essential commuter
facility.
|> DECEASED
|> Angel's Flite, L.A. 1901 - late 60's 150 ft?
Was it "Angel's Flite" or "Angel's Flight" ?
Last I heard, there are actually plans to restore it to its
original location. Unfortunately, the site is now a dreary, soulless
collection of ugly office buildings, nothing like the residential area that
used to be there. Anyone listening who can give more details?
--
Ron Newman rne...@bbn.com
Ed Suranyi
>In article <1993Apr13.2...@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>, mwal...@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mark Wallace) writes:
>|> Angel's Flite, L.A. 1901 - late 60's 150 ft?
>
>Was it "Angel's Flite" or "Angel's Flight" ?
Angel's Flight.
>Last I heard, there are actually plans to restore it to its
>original location. Unfortunately, the site is now a dreary, soulless
>collection of ugly office buildings, nothing like the residential area that
>used to be there. Anyone listening who can give more details?
Yes, it will be restored as part of the California Plaza, a complex of
high-rise office buildings, museums, and theaters. They have brought
the old car out of storage and set it up near the future site of the
lower station, near one of the entrances to the Pershing Square
subway station (I think at the corner of 4th and Hill). It looks like
it's in pretty bad shape, and will need lots of restoration work if they
really want to use the original car.
Garth G. Groff
ANGEL'S FLIGHT
Actually there were two cars on this "system". The line was
a balanced funicular, with one car descending as the second
ascended, both on opposite ends of the same cable. The two
cars shared the center rail, except at the middle of the
hill where the tracks widened out for passing. I had the
pleasure of riding this line during the last year of
operation. Most of its location, Bunker Hill, had already
been cleared by then, and the operator was probably pretty
glad to get a fare to break the monotony. From pictures I
have seen, there indeed was a thriving community of older
apartments on top the hill at one time.
I believe that both cars were saved, but the system was much
more than just rolling stock. One wonders if the hoisting
machinery was also stored.
~S
--
Garth (Haridas) Groff
"Not yet famous author"
gg...@poe.acc.virginia.EDU Chant "Govinda Bohlo Hare"
Mark Brader
> the steel drive wheels turning on a steel rail. Efficient on the
> flat but the drive wheels start slipping at about 4 percent grade.
There are a number of lines in Switzerland carrying passengers on grades
of 7 percent or slightly higher. Of course, the number of cars that a
locomotive can haul is reduced with such grades.
> COG - Here the power is applied from a toothed wheel in the train to
> a toothed track on the roadbed. This reduces the slipping but only
> up to about 15 percent grade.
No, they get considerably steeper than that. The steepest is the Pilatus
Bahn in Switzerland with a maximum grade of 48 percent, and most of its
route at about 44 percent. It uses a special design with two horizontal
toothed wheels gripping the rack from the sides.
> From 1938 to 1974, the "Broadmoor and Cheyenne Mountain Cog Railroad"
> ran from The Broadmoor Hotel to The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado
> Springs. It was billed as the only narrow gauge cog railway in the
> World. ...
A ridiculous claim; a majority of the rack (cog) lines that I've seen in
Europe have gauges narrower than 4 feet 8.5 inches.
> FUNICULAR - The term comes from the Latin word for cable or cord. In
> this system two cars, riding on rails, are attached to opposite ends
> of a cable. There is one motor/engine and drivewheel at the top.
The Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway -- I think that's the correct name --
in England has no motor. Each car has a water tank which is filled at the
top of the run and emptied at the bottom!
> ... The disadvantage is that the track must extend in a
> straight line - unlike the cog system which can round curves.
Most funiculars that I've seen are straight, but not all -- two exceptions
are in Lisbon, Portugal, and Meiringen, Switzerland. (The latter is the
one you take if you want to see the place where Sherlock Holmes and James
Moriarty had their fatal battle.) The cable can be carried around the
curve on a series of pulleys with their axes diagonal.
The Lisbon funicular, incidentally, runs for part of its length along a
street (I don't remember if it's open to cars; probably not), and the cable
is situated below street level -- the track looks like San Francisco style
cable car track.
All this information is from memory, but should be substantially correct.
--
Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, m...@sq.com
"Have you ever heard [my honesty] questioned?"
"I never even heard it mentioned." -- Every Day's a Holiday
This article is in the public domain.
Clemens Emmanuel Tillier
>
>> ... The disadvantage is that the track must extend in a
>> straight line - unlike the cog system which can round curves.
>
>Most funiculars that I've seen are straight, but not all -- two exceptions
>are in Lisbon, Portugal, and Meiringen, Switzerland. (The latter is the
>one you take if you want to see the place where Sherlock Holmes and James
>Moriarty had their fatal battle.) The cable can be carried around the
>curve on a series of pulleys with their axes diagonal.
Ditto on the lower section of the funicular in Heidelberg, Germany, if I
recall correctly.
Clem <ctil...@phoenix.princeton.edu>
James B. VanBokkelen
Mark Brader writes:
>Most funiculars that I've seen are straight, but not all -- 2 exceptions
>are in Lisbon, Portugal, and Meiringen, Switzerland. (The latter is the
>one you take if you want to see the place where Sherlock Holmes and James
>Moriarty had their fatal battle.) The cable can be carried around the
>curve on a series of pulleys with their axes diagonal.
Ditto on the lower section of the funicular in Heidelberg, Germany, if I
recall correctly.
The Peak Tram in Hong Kong has a sharp curve about half way up.
James B. VanBokkelen 2 High St., North Andover, MA 01845
FTP Software Inc. voice: (508) 685-4000 fax: (508) 794-4488
M00...@mbvm.mitre.org
m...@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) writes:
>
>> FUNICULAR - The term comes from the Latin word for cable or cord. In
>> this system two cars, riding on rails, are attached to opposite ends
>> of a cable. There is one motor/engine and drivewheel at the top.
>
>> straight line - unlike the cog system which can round curves.
>
>Most funiculars that I've seen are straight, but not all -- two exceptions
>are in Lisbon, Portugal, and Meiringen, Switzerland. (The latter is the
>one you take if you want to see the place where Sherlock Holmes and James
>Moriarty had their fatal battle.) The cable can be carried around the
>curve on a series of pulleys with their axes diagonal.
>
I just missed seeing it, so don't know any details of its construction.
Len Bachelder Archives Committee, Boston and Maine RR Historical Society
MITRE Corp. Secretary, Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts
Bedford MA 01730 Member, 470 Railroad Club
<M00...@mitre.org> <- NOTE Address change!
"Amazing love, how can it be that Thou, my God, should'st die for me!"
- Charles Wesley
Dewi Williams
In article <1993Apr16....@sq.sq.com>, m...@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) writes:
>
> Most funiculars that I've seen are straight, but not all -- two exceptions
> are in Lisbon, Portugal, and Meiringen, Switzerland. (The latter is the
> one you take if you want to see the place where Sherlock Holmes and James
> Moriarty had their fatal battle.) The cable can be carried around the
> curve on a series of pulleys with their axes diagonal.
>
> The Lisbon funicular, incidentally, runs for part of its length along a
> street (I don't remember if it's open to cars; probably not), and the cable
> is situated below street level -- the track looks like San Francisco style
> cable car track.
The funicular in Llandudno, Wales (a.k.a. the Great Orme Railway) has several
curves in it. It has two sections: passengers change cars at the half-way
point. The lower half is in a paved street, with cables running in a
centre concuit. The upper half is on railway-type track.
--
... Dewi
be...@bnr.ca Dewi Williams ESN 393-3416
mccar...@ab.wvnet.edu
In the east I know of the Cass Senic RR which reaches 13% grades in some places
and I have also read in one of the books about the Western Maryland having some
small branch lines that may have been more but I am not sure. I think they had
to keep shay engines around nearby just to work the branch, most of which were
mines and but a few may have been logging camps.
Greg McCartney
McCar...@ab.wvnet.edu
Bruce Nordman
writes:
|> The funicular in Llandudno, Wales (a.k.a. the Great Orme Railway) has
|> several
|> curves in it. It has two sections: passengers change cars at the half-way
|> point. The lower half is in a paved street, with cables running in a
|> centre concuit. The upper half is on railway-type track.
/--\
o . I'm speculating here, but am guessing that it is
| . something like the schematic at left, where the
| . two cars don't actually ever use the same section
o o of track (or needn't). Seems as though such a
| system wouldn't even require the track to be the
| same guage or type (maybe it isn't on this one).
o
Bruce Nordman
B_No...@lbl.gov
Janusz Lukasiak
>
>In article <1993Apr16....@sq.sq.com>, m...@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) writes:
>>
>> Most funiculars that I've seen are straight, but not all -- two exceptions
>> are in Lisbon, Portugal, and Meiringen, Switzerland.
Most funiculars I've seen run two cars on a single track, with a passing
loop in the middle - so by definition they are not quite straight. The
technology (rope guide wheels at an angle) is the same.
--
Janusz Lukasiak
Jan...@mcc.ac.uk University of Manchester Computer Centre
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, England
Phone : +44 61 275 6007 Fax : +44 61 275 6040
Dewi Williams
| | | Now this is from memory and some old photos.
| | | There are two separate railways (funiculars).
| | | The lower one is as shown on the left, on paved
/ /\ \ streets. I haven't shown the conduit for the
/ / \ \ cable, but the arrangement of two rails at the
| | | | bottom, a passing loop, and three rails at the
| | | | top means that there will never be two cables
| | | | in one conduit.
\ \ / /
\ \/ / I haven't shown the curves either: the lowest
\ / just starts in a street so narrow it's almost
| | an alley, and then curves fairly sharply as
| | it rises, where it joins another street.
| |
The other railway/funicular, further up the hill, is single track at top
and bottom, with a passing loop. Cars have normal wheel flanges, and as
a car leaves the passing loop, as it goes through the trailing points, the
flanges force the switch over, thus leaving it set to the correct position
for the car on its return journey. The hand control levers for the switches,
which are enclosed in wire-mesh cages, presumably to prevent vandals from
operating them, flip over as the flanges force their way through.
Passengers walk from the lower funicular to the upper at the mid-point.
The power house is at that point also, driving both the lower and upper
cables. It had reciprocating steam engines when I visited it; I believe
it is now electric.
... Dewi
de...@bnr.ca Dewi Williams
Joseph Brennan
yesterday, a few of us were driving south on State 9D through Beacon
NY and at least one of us was scanning the mountainside for any trace
of the once-famous Mount Beacon Incline. Well, there's more than a
trace. As the road takes a hard right to leave town, dead ahead is
the entire right-of-way, still cleared of trees and used possibly for
a powerline. You can see the track and the passing loop halfway up is
as plain as day. And, yes, it takes a bend right about that point,
maybe 20 degrees or so.
My father-in-law in the other vehicle is a Hudson River buff, and he
asked later whether I noticed the incline. He rode on it "a long time
ago" and recalls there was a casino at the top. The carbodies were
something like that of open bench trolleys, and he recalled the seats
were mounted like swings because the grade was not constant and that
way the seats would stay about level, although they were loose enough
to move like swings do. I've never heard of that design.
His postcard collection included a view of the whole incline much like
what we saw from the car, and another view from the top with some
descriptive text, "up 1000 feet in only 2000 feet horizontally" and
"maximum grade 62 degrees". If that sounds too steep, take a look at
that mountainside today. I believe it.
Arthur G Adams's _The Hudson through the Years_ (1979) mentions the
Incline as a popular destination for riverboat rides, with the Beacon
trolley providing a direct run the few miles from the boat landing to
the base station, but he does not date it. A thorough 1907 guidebook
to Hudson River travel, _The Hudson_ by Wallace Bruce, does not
mention the incline at all, while Felix Reifschneider's _Toonervilles
of the Empire State_ (1947) has the local trolley being extended to
the base station in 1912, so we might suppose 1912 or just earlier as
the opening date for what he terms the Mount Beacon Incline Railway.
Reifschneider also refers to cottages at the top of the mountain as
well as "a pavilion for the accommodation of visitors who came from
the big cities, as Mt. Beacon was a well known attraction for
tourists". He also confirms one's suspicion that the incline was
operated in summer only. The local trolley was closed in 1930, but
the incline did not.
The USGS topo I have is dated 1957 and shows the alinement as a dashed
line with the notation "INCLINE R R", as if still operating. Other
than that I don't know when it closed down. The elevation of the
stations is 280 and 1200 feet above sea level, close enough to the
postcard's claim of 1000 feet. It shows what must be the pavilion
just south of the summit station and numerous small buildings eastward
on the mountaintop, presumably the cottages. There is also an "airway
beacon" 1000 feet east at elevation 1420. Today there are several
towers at the summit, which look like radio towers of some type.
Does anyone know more of this now obscure funicular?
Joe Brennan Columbia University in the City of New York
bre...@columbia.edu ("affiliation shown for identification only")
Clemens Emmanuel Tillier
(good stuff deleted)
>His postcard collection included a view of the whole incline much like
>what we saw from the car, and another view from the top with some
>descriptive text, "up 1000 feet in only 2000 feet horizontally" and
>"maximum grade 62 degrees". If that sounds too steep, take a look at
>that mountainside today. I believe it.
That does sound too steep. Granted, it's the *maximum* grade, but 62 degrees
will get you up 1000 vertical feet in a mere 531 horizontal feet. This grade
would imply that the line is seriously hump shaped.
I tend to believe that 62 *percent* is more like it (that gets you up 1000
vertical feet in a more reasonable 1613 feet.)
- Just a back-of-the-napkin calculation,
Clem Tillier <ctil...@phoenix.princeton.edu>
Jobst Brandt
zones, curves and heavy loads the book "Railroads of the Yosemite
Valley" has spectacular photos with detailed descriptions of these
events. YVRR ran up the Merced River as a common standard gauge
adhesion railroad. At the various inclines they set out empty flats,
equipped with a reinforced bulkhead at one end and a cable anchor at
the other, to be dragged up the hill to the logging RR's that were
more than 1000 feet above the canyon floor. Loads were picked up on
the return run. Even Shay locomotives were hauled up these inclines
that had greater than 50% grades. Today the keen observer, who has an
eye for old ROW's, can make out the traces of these lines. I think it
was one of the largest operations where flatland rail cars were used
on a funicular.
Garth G. Groff
In addition to the several logging inclines, there was
also one which served a large limestone quarry. The
quarry used small Plymouth locomotives in the quarry at
the top of the incline. It was to serve this quarry that
the YV bought all those ex-GN ore cars (available from
Westerfield as HO models) which later turned up on
shortlines throughout the west (Sierra, Amador Central
and Apache come to mind). The limestone quarry is covered
in Hank Johnston's classic book RAILROADS OF THE YOSEMITE
VALLEY (Trans-Anglo, 1980, and other editions). The
logging railroads are also covered in detail.
Joseph Brennan
Incline Railway. I've reworded this material so errors are probably mine.
I regret to say it was operated as recently as Summer 1972. I wish I'd
known enough to go see it in time.
The incline, designed by the Otis Elevator Co., opened in 1901. The total
length was 2,384 feet, with an average grade of 64% [proving that postcard
quoting 62 degrees is an error, as if logic did not]. There was a curve in
the line. Pulleys guided the cable around the curve. There was a single
cable connecting the two cars; many other inclines had two or three. The
line never had an accident caused by cable breakage though.
April 1968 ERA _Headlights_ reports that the base station and one of the two
four-wheel cars of the Mt. Beacon Incline Railway were damaged by a fire on
November 10, 1967. Firefighters were surprised when, after a time, the
burning car started moving up the hill from the base station. What had
happened was that it had been consumed to a point where its weight no longer
balanced the upper car, which started downhill, pulling the burning car up,
until an emergency device stopped the cable. There had been at least three
previous fires, in 1928, 1934, and 1954.
The line was single tracked, with two rails, not the three-rail arrangement
sometimes used, except of course at the usual passing loop at the midpoint
of the line. The wheels on one side were flangeless, with a double flange
on the other side, so that the cars would be guided to the proper side of
the passing siding without moving parts in the switch.
\_/ _ _ \_/
| | | | | | | |
|_| |_| |_| |_|
/ \ / \
This car would be This car would be
pulled to the left pulled to the right
at the switch at the switch
The two cars were not the same by 1967, one having a wooden roof and the
other having no roof, but pipes that could support a cover if necessary.
Probably one of the earlier fires or some other mishap destroyed one of
the original cars, or both at different times; details are lacking. The
seats did swing as I described earlier.
The October-December 1974 _Headlights_ reported that the line was partly
rebuilt after the 1967 fire, and that service continued until the summer of
1972. The line was in a precarious state by then, with among other things a
deep groove in the ties near the top where the cable had eaten into them,
some pulleys having disappeared earlier. However, the short 1974 article
was to report reconstruction in progress, with reopening expected in the
summer of 1975. This apparently never took place.
btif...@pbs.org
Indeed!
I enjoyed reading your comments. They brought back pleasant memories.
My family (parents, 3 siblings and I) and my grandmother rode that Beacon
Incline in 1963. There were two cars, one at each end of the cable, which
counterbalanced each other and passed each other at the half-way point by
means of spring switches. It was a thrilling ride, and as you said, *very*
steep. The view from the mountain of the Hudson Highlands and the river is
beautiful.
It's been 30 years, but I vaguely recall some sort of restaurant at the top,
and I well recall the summit station (not actually the top of the mountain,
but a shoulder) and watching the huge gears as the cable cars arrived and
departed. The operator was located in the summit station. Of course we
trekked on up a fire trail to the manned fire tower at the top. It seems
like we were always climbing up to fire towers in that area, the Catskills,
and the Adirondacks.
In 1984 my brother and my father and I were back in the area to clean out
my grandmother's apartment in Tarrytown, as she had passed away the previous
fall. We decided to pay a visit to the Incline again. Unfortunately, when
we got there we found it abandoned. (It must have ceased operation shortly
after our 1963 visit, because one of the locals said it hadn't been in
operation for about 20 years.) The trackwork had been heavily vandalized and
burned, but rusty rails and cable guidewheels remained. In fact, the cable
may still have been there. We climbed to the summit station, partly on the
old right-of-way but mainly on a decent trail we found nearby which was
easier going. At the top of the incline only the foundation remained where
the restaurant had been, although the area was still clear (it would make
a good picnic spot), and there was still a small observation tower nearby
which you could ascend on stairs. Only the walls remained on the summit
station; all wood (interior platforms, flooring, and roof) was gone. The
machinery was still there, but rusted and broken.
We hiked up the same fire trail to the fire tower, and we were suprised at
how well we remembered that trail from 21 years earlier. The fire tower was
still standing, but abandoned, and the foundation was crumbling under one of
the four footers. Nevertheless, my brother and I clambered up the stairs to
the top for a marvelous view of the Hudson River valley (even shot an Amtrak
train pulled by a Conrail B23-7 (!) from up there, using a strong telephoto),
the highlands, and the Beacon reservoir, which is nestled between two peaks
*above* the summit of the incline railway. Ironically, several acres of
forest around the reservoir appeared to have been damaged by fire. En route
down we went to the reservoir and dam, encountered a large rattlesnake, and
a communications crew working on some microwave towers or some such thing
(I don't remember exactly).
Even though the incline railway is essentially gone, I'd recommend a visit
and climb to anybody interested in such railways or to any family looking for
a good day outing.
-- Bruce Tiffany
P.S. Watch out for poison ivy.