Aerial tramway
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The rotating construction of the Titlis gondol provides passengers better view |
An
aerial tramway is a type of
aerial lift, often called a
cable car or
ropeway, and sometimes incorrectly referred to as a
gondola. Because of the proliferation of such systems in the
Alpine regions of
Europe, the
French and
German language names of
Téléphérique and
Seilbahn are often also used in an
English language context.
An aerial tramway is one or two fixed
cables (called track cables), one endless loop of
cable (called a haulage rope), and two
passenger cabins. The fixed cables provide support for the cabins. The haulage rope, by means of a grip, is solidly connected to the truck (the wheel set that rolls on the cables). The haulage rope is usually driven by an
electric motor and being connected to the cabins, moves them up or down the
mountain.
Two-car tramways use a
jig-back system: A large
electric motor is located at the bottom of the tramway so that it effectively pulls one cabin down, using that cabin's weight to help pull the other cabin up. A similar system of cables is used in a
funicular railway. The two passenger cabins, which carry from 4 to over 100 people, are situated at opposite ends of the loops of cable. Thus, while one is coming up, the other is going down the mountain, and they pass each other midway on the cable span.
Some aerial trams have only one cabin, which lends itself better for systems with small elevation changes along the cable run.
The original version was called
telpherage, and was invented by
Scottish engineer
Fleeming Jenkin. Smaller telpherage systems are sometimes used to transport objects such as tools or mail within a building or
factory.
Many aerial tramways were built by Von Roll Ltd. of Switzerland, which has since been acquired by Austrian lift manufacturer
Doppelmayr[
1]. The German firm of Bleichert built hundreds of freight and military tramways .
Aerial tramways differ from
gondola lifts in that the latter use several smaller
cabins
circulating on a looped
cable, and can be stopped at intermediate or end stations for
passenger loading and unloading when uncoupled from their haulage cable by releasing
cable grips.
An
escape aerial tramway is a special form of the aerial tramway that allows a fast
escape from a dangerous location. They are used on
rocket launching sites in order to offer the launch staff or astronauts a fast retreat. The tramway consists of a rope which runs from the launch tower downward to a protection shelter. On the launch supply
tower several small cabs can be occupied by the launch staff or the
astronauts. After loosening a barrier these roll downward to the protection
shelter. An escape aerial tramway exists on the
launch pads 39A and 39B on
Cape Canaveral.
Some aerial tramways have their own
propulsion, such as the
Lasso Mule or the
Josef Mountain Aerial Tramway near Meran.
*Tallest support tower: 113.6 metres (373 feet) (
Gletscherbahn Kaprun, Austria)
*Deepest:
Masada cableway, Israel
*Highest:
Mérida cable car, Venezuela
*Longest:
Norsjö aerial tramway, Sweden
*As mass transit: The
Roosevelt Island Tramway in
New York City is the only aerial tramway in
North America used by commuters as a mode of
mass transit (See
Transportation in New York City). Passengers pay with the same farecard used for the
New York City Subway.
* The
Sandia Peak Tramway in
Albuquerque, New Mexico is the world's longest single span tramway.
*August 15, 1960:: between
Castellammare di Stabia and the Monte Faito, near
Naples,
Italy.
*August 29, 1961: A military plane splits the hauling cable of a cabin railway on the
Aiguille du Midi in the
Mont Blanc massif: 6 people killed.
*1963: Cabin of the renovated PKB crashes at the valley station, 1 person killed, several injured.
*December 25, 1965: Power failure on the aerial ropeway at
Puy de Sancy in central France causes abrupt cabin halt, cabin wall breaks. 17 people fall, 7 killed.
*July 9, 1966: A cable breaks on a cabin railway at Aiguille du Midi in the Mont Blanc massif: 3 cabins fall, 4 people killed.
*December 6, 1970: 5 people killed at
Meran,
South Tyrol.
*July 13, 1972: 13 killed at the crash of a cab in
Bettmeralp,
Switzerland.
*October 26, 1972: During a test at an aerial tramway at
Les Deux Alpes in France, two cabs collide. 9 killed.
*March 10, 1976: In the Italian Dolomites at
Cavalese, a cab falls after a rope break, killing 42.
(See Cavalese cable-car disaster)*March 26, 1976: Damage to the carrying rope leads to crash of multiple cabs of the aerial tramway at
Vail, Colorado, USA. 4 people killed, 5 injured.
*April 15, 1978: In a storm, two carrying ropes of the
Squaw Valley Aerial Tramway in California fall from the aerial tramway support tower. One of the ropes partly destroys the cabin. 4 killed, 32 injured.
*January 29, 1983: A cabin of the
Singapore Cable Car falls into the sea between Singapore and the
Sentosa island after the cableway was hit by an oil rig. 8 people killed.
*February 13, 1983: 2 cabs collide in
Aosta (Italy), 11 dead.
*January 13, 1989: 8 people killed during a test of the French aerial tramway
Vaujany at
Val d'Isere.
*June 1, 1990: 15 people killed after a rope break in
Tbilisi, Georgia.
*1995: Operator error causes cabin of
Muttereralmbahn near
Innsbruck, Austria, to crash. No casualties or injuries.
*February 3, 1998: U.S. military aircraft severs the cable of an aerial ropeway in Cavalese, Italy, killing 20 people.
(See Cavalese cable-car disaster)*July 1, 1999: 20 people killed at the crash of an aerial tramway at the Bure observatory in the French alps.
*July 6, 2000: Entering the middle station of
Nebelhornbahn, a cabin fails to brake. 23 people injured.
*October 9, 2004: Crash of a cabin of the
Grünberg aerial tramway in
Gmunden, Austria. Many hurt.
*November 14, 2004: Empty cabin of tramway in
Sölden, Austria, falls after becoming entangled with rope. No casualties, 113 people rescued from other cabins
*September 5, 2005: Nine people die, several are injured when a 750 kg concrete hopper accidentially lost by a helicopter hits a cabin in
Sölden, Austria.
*
Aerial tramway support pillar*
Roosevelt Island Tramway*
Riblet Tramway Company*
List of aerial tramways*
Transport*
List of aerial lift manufacturers*
Gondola lift*
Chairlift*
Detachable chairlift*
Funitel*
Cable ferry*
Cable car*
Moanda cableway
*
Hallidie ropeway*
Skiing and Skiing Topics* Lift-Database:
Aerial Tramways (worldwide) *The
Telpherage system in the repair sheds of the New York City subway
