Funicular

Funicular in Valparaso Chile

A funicular, also known as a funicular railway, incline, inclined railway, 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. The word is from the Latin funiculus, a diminutive of funis, "rope".

Technology
Operation
The basic principle of funicular operation is that two cars are permanently attached to each other by a cable, which runs through a pulley at the top of the incline. Counterbalancing of the two cars, with one ascending and one descending the slope minimizes the new energy input needed to lift the ascending car. Winching is normally done by an electric drive working on the pulley. Sheave wheels guide the cable to and from the drive mechanism and the incline cars.

Bottom towrope
The cars are 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 tensioning wheel to avoid slack in the ropes. In this case the winching can be done also 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.[1]

Track Layout

Illustration of 4-rail, 3-rail and 2-rail layouts (note the gaps in the rails, and the unconventional wheels in the 2-rail layout) The passing track configuration of the three rail layout used by theMount Lowe Railway.

Passing track with Abt switch on theFlying Dutchman Funicular at Cape Point,South Africa

Early funiculars use two parallel straight tracks, with separate station platforms for each vehicle. Between the tracks is sufficient space for the two cars to pass at the mid-point. The wheels of the cars are usually single-flanged, as on standard railway vehicles. Examples of these types of track layout are theDuquesne Incline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and most cliff railways in the UK.

Later new layouts using less space have been developed. These layouts usually have only two or three rails for the most part of the slope,with four rails only at the dead center or passing section of the funicular. Cars used with a two-rail configuration have flanges on both sides of the outboard wheels, which keeps them aligned with the outer rail, thus holding each car in position. The inboard wheels are unflanged and ride on top of the opposite rail, thereby easily crossing over the rails at the passing track, and avoiding the need for switches and crossings, since the cars have the flanged wheels on opposite sides and will therefore automatically select different tracks. 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. Furthermore in a three rail

layout the rack used for braking the cars can be mounted higher making it less sensitive for choking in snow fall conditions.[1] 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. theWellington Cable Car in New Zealand was rebuilt as two rail.

Inclined Lift
The inclined lift or inclined elevator is a special version of the funicular, since it has only one car carrying payload riding up and down 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 building material transport. Examples are the Gelmerbahn leading to the Gelmersee and the Funicolare PioraRitom 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 public transport applications, such as at Cityplace Station in Dallas, Texas.

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 likeWellington, New Zealand. They are often called cable cars or lifts (elevators), but have a small car for two to four people permanently attached to a cable from a winch. The car runs on an inclined pair of rails (beams) or a single rail at a low speed (0.3 to 1.0 metres/second). Larger and faster models may give access to commercial buildings. Examples are USA, NZ, Legal requirements (NZ).

Smallest funicular

Track and bottom station

The smallest funicular worldwide is located in Lucerne, Switzerland. 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.[16] The travel time for both directions is 60 seconds.