Aside from being great transport systems for cities and ski hills, did you know that cable cars are fantastic tools for construction and goods delivery? Unfortunately, this is one side of ropeway technology that many city folk rarely get to see.
Temporary ropeway for pipeline construction in British Columbia, Canada. Image by Damien.
Not only are they quick, and easy to set up, their footprints are small and cause little impact to the environment. And because they are easily dismantled and less expensive/intrusive than roads, they are a preferred transport solution in many topographically challenged and ecologically sensitive locales.
This particular system (pictured) in British Columbia, Canada was erected temporarily to help haul goods up and down a mountainside for the construction of a pipeline.
Cabin lowered to ground level. Image by Damien.
And in case you haven’t noticed by now, this gondola system is built with a really cool feature. Do you see it?
How about now?
Well, if not, I’ll fill you in — it has a winch which allows operators to lift and drop the cabin at any spot along the line! This is just another neat feature that’s basically unknown to the public but imagine if this technique was refined and adapted for urban transport use. Could it solve a lot of problems? Or would it simply complicate matters even further?
A big thanks goes out to Damien for sharing these pictures with us.
1 Comment
Here in Austria there are a lot of temporarily ropeways used for construction in the mountains. In fact just about every major gonola construction project brings up a temporary ropeway for all the material and equipment transport first!