#Funiculars

Jul 07, 2010
Blogs & Other Sites, Funiculars

Valparaiso Ascencors

In February The Gondola Project held a mini-competition. The winner was to receive their $50 prize by email money transfer. Matt Thredgold of Wellington Cycleways won. But as Matt lives in New Zealand and email money transfers are apparently a uniquely Canadian phenomenon (they’re awesome, by the way), Matt asked that his prize come in...

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Jun 05, 2010
Installations, Moses Mabhida Stadium

Moses Mabhida Sky Car

In honour of the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, I thought it appropriate to point out a nifty little installation called the Sky Car. The Sky Car is a Funicular running along the central archway of the brand new Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa. The vehicle transports people from ground level...

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May 24, 2010
Funiculars, High Park Funicular

Lost Toronto Funicular

I’ll admit it: One of the things I love about cable transit is the “treasure hunt” quality of the entire thing. It’s a “lost” technology with clues and remnants scattered around the world. Picking those clues up and piecing them together is – for me – one of the most exciting parts of this work....

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Feb 26, 2010
Funiculars, Just For Fun, Thoughts, Urban Planning & Design

Winner

Well that didn’t take long at all. Matthew Thredgold of New Zealand was the first to figure out that at one time or another, The Grateful Dead, Rodney Dangerfield, Alvin & The Chipmunks and Andrea Bocelli all sang the famous Italian song Funiculi Funicula. Congrats, Matthew! 50 bucks is yours! Why does this matter? Well, apparently...

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Feb 10, 2010
Funiculars, Zurich Polybahn

Sometimes . . .

. . . we miss the little things because we’re too focused on criticizing the big things. A restaurant critic slams a new local bistro but fails to notice the washrooms. Too bad, because the sinks would’ve fit perfectly in his tiny downtown condo. A professional football scout skips the Ivy League schools because they’re...

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Dec 28, 2009
Funiculars, Innsbruck Hungerburgbahn, Urban Planning & Design

The Innsbruck Hungerburgbahn

I’m in transit today to visit the Innsbruck Hungerburgbahn. This should be a fascinating system to explore given that it is one of only a few so-called Hybrid Funiculars in the world. As I understand it, the beauty of a Hybrid Funicular is that the chassis and the cabins align themselves separately from one another....

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Dec 07, 2009
Analysis, Cincinnati, Funiculars, History, Oddities, Uncategorized, Urban Planning & Design

Cincinnati Funiculars

Way back in the day (we’re talking 1872 here) Cincinnati, Ohio was clustered at the base of several small mountains. As the city grew and expanded up the sides of the mountain city officials had a problem: How were people and goods to be moved up and down the mountains? This was, of course, before...

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Nov 13, 2009
Aerial Trams, Basic Lessons, Funiculars

Basic Lesson 3: Aerial Trams & Funiculars

There are two minor sub-groups of CPT technology:  Aerial Trams and Funiculars. Aerial Trams are like larger Gondolas.  I’ll discuss this technology in greater detail later. Generally speaking, however, Aerial Trams are (relative to Gondolas) an out-dated mode of Cable-Propelled Transit.  Compared with Gondola technology, Aerial Trams exhibit longer wait times between vehicles; lower line...

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