Also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, a funicular railway normally solves the problem of transporting people up extremely steep slopes. They've been used for hundreds of years and are an extraordinary feat of ingenuity.
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Some call it a hillside elevator, hillside lift, hillside tram, hill lift, hill tram, tramway, cable car, incline railway, cable railway, hill people mover, chair lift, gondola or even a European funicular.
The funiculars range from short urban lines to significant multi-section mountain railways. A funicular railway is distinguished from the similar incline elevator in that it has two vehicles that counterbalance one another rather than independently operated cars.
Pilatus Railway, SwitzerlandThe Pilatus Railway runs from Alpnachstad on Lake Alpnach to the Esel station near the summit of the 6,800-foot-high Mount Pilatus in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It takes the crown as the world's steepest rack railway with a maximum gradient of 48 percent.
“Funitel” is a portmanteau of the French words “funiculaire” and “téléphérique”. A defining feature of a Funitel is that each cabin has two arms extending from its roof and these arms attach to two cables. A Gondola or Aerial Tram cabin only has one arm, attached to one cable.
Conventional electric trams are operated in street running and on reserved track for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for the downhill run.
Also known as the Fourth Street Elevator and the world's shortest, steepest, scenic railway - 296 feet in length. Magnificent views of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Open April through November.
Also known as the Fourth Street Elevator and the world's shortest, steepest, scenic railway - 296 feet in length. Magnificent views of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Open April through November.
The Monongahela Incline is a funicular located near the Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Designed and built by Prussian-born engineer John Endres in 1870, it is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the United States.
Duquesne and Monongahela Inclines—Pittsburgh, PAThe supersteep, 635-foot Monongahela (Mon) Incline (1870) is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the U.S., and the 794-foot Duquesne Incline (1877) was rescued by preservation-minded local residents shortly after it was shuttered in the early 1960s.