Cable car is a cable-drawn passenger vehicle used especially for transportation across hilly or mountainous terrain. Motive power is provided by a moving cable driven from a remote station. Two kinds of cable cars -cable railroads and funiculars- are surface vehicles. A third kind -the aerial tramway- moves on a suspended cable.
The cable railroad was invented and patented in 1867 by Andrew S. Hallidie (1836–1900), a San Francisco cable manufacturer and mechanic, who had made his start by designing and building ore cableways for gold mines. The first cable railroad, built by Hallidie's "Clay St. Hill RR Co." in San Francisco, began operation on Aug. 1, 1873. The line was 2,800 feet (853 meters) long with a climb of 307 feet (33.6 meters).
The cable railroad was invented and patented in 1867 by Andrew S. Hallidie (1836–1900), a San Francisco cable manufacturer and mechanic, who had made his start by designing and building ore cableways for gold mines. The first cable railroad, built by Hallidie's "Clay St. Hill RR Co." in San Francisco, began operation on Aug. 1, 1873. The line was 2,800 feet (853 meters) long with a climb of 307 feet (33.6 meters).
The equipment used in San Francisco's cable cars is basically the same as the equipment of the first cable railroad. Each car is equipped with a grip device that extends through a slot to a moving continuous subsurface cable between the rails.
To move the car forward, the operator clamps the "Hallidie grip" on the
cable; to stop, he or she releases the grip and applies brakes.
Other features include a turntable at each end of the line to reverse
direction and emergency stop devices on each end of the car.
By 1877, cable railroads using Hallidie's patented devices were
operating in 20 American cities as well as in several foreign countries. Toward the end of the 19th century, the development of practical electric power led to the decline of cable railroads.
A funicular is used for rail transportation on very steep inclines. The car chassis and wheels match the angle of ascent, but the seats are parallel to the horizon for safety and comfort.
Two cars connected by cables are normally used so that the weight of
the ascending car counterbalances the weight of the descending car.
A double track may be used, but more often a single track is
supplemented by double track at mid-grade so cars can pass each other.
In Los Angeles, a notable funicular, called Angels Flight, ascended a
33% grade on a 315-foot-long (96-meter) trestle until it was demolished
in 1969.
The aerial tramway has cars supported by cables suspended between two or more towers. The most common design utilizes two cables. The car is suspended below a truck fitted with grooved wheels that ride on the supporting cables. A separate moving continuous cable propels the car. Tramways are commonly used for long mountain ascents or to cross canyons or rivers.
The world's highest tramway, in Venezuela, ascends from the village of
Mérida to the summit of Pico Espejo, which is 15,633 feet (4,765 meters)
high. The world's longest passenger tramway, near Palm Springs, Calif., rises 5,873 feet (1,830 meters) over a 13,200-foot-long (4,023-meter) cableway on Mt. San Jacinto.
The best-known tramways are ski lifts. In a ski lift, the car usually is fastened to the moving cable. The 21 cable lifts near Aspen, Colo., provide one of the world's most extensive ski-lift facilities.
Other major U.S. ski lifts include those at Winter Park, Colorado;
Squaw Valley, California; Alta, Brighton, Snow Basin, and Park City,
Utah; Big Mountain, Montana; Gore Mountain, New York; Franconia Notch,
New Hampshire; Mt. Snow and Killington, Vermont; Sun Valley, Idaho; Mt. Baker, Washington; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
