50-650: Babbacombe Cliff Railway , also known as the Babbacombe Cliff Lift , is a funicular railway in the town of Torquay in the English county of Devon . It links Babbacombe Downs with Oddicombe Beach . The line formerly ran every day between 09:30 and 17:30, with a closure period in winter for maintenance. A bell is rung 30 and 15 minutes before closing. In February 1923, the Torquay Tramway Company commissioned Waygood-Otis Ltd with
100-418: A drive bullwheel – which then controls the movement of the haul rope using friction. Some early funiculars were powered in the same way, but using steam engines or other types of motor. The bullwheel has two grooves: after the first half turn around it the cable returns via an auxiliary pulley. This arrangement has the advantage of having twice the contact area between the cable and the groove, and returning
150-402: A local Welsh Christian saint and are still in service. The freight cars were for the carriage of goods and parcels, as stipulated in the tramway's original act of Parliament, but were withdrawn from service by 1911. The freight vans were also used to carry coffins for burial at the church on Great Orme. There were two methods of using the freight tramcars: they could be placed on the track ahead of
200-454: A passenger tram, and propelled up the incline, or the cable could be detached from a passenger tram and attached instead to a freight tram, which then operated alone up the incline. All seven trams were fitted with couplings that would have allowed the passenger trams to tow the freight trams, but there is no evidence that this type of operation ever actually occurred. The line suffered a serious accident and consequent financial difficulties in
250-406: A second cable – bottom towrope – which runs through a pulley at the bottom of the incline. In these designs, one of the pulleys must be designed as a tensioning wheel to avoid slack in the ropes. One advantage of such an installation is the fact that the weight of the rope is balanced between the carriages; therefore, the engine no longer needs to use any power to lift the cable itself. This practice
300-575: A sewage plant at the upper part of the city. Some funiculars of this type were later converted to electrical power. For example, the Giessbachbahn in the Swiss canton of Bern , opened in 1879, was originally powered by water ballast. In 1912 its energy provision was replaced by a hydraulic engine powered by a Pelton turbine . In 1948 this in turn was replaced by an electric motor. There are three main rail layouts used on funiculars; depending on
350-425: A short distance down from the passing loop as well, for the sole purpose of allowing the other car to call at Nebozízek. A number of cable railway systems which pull their cars on inclined slopes were built since the 1820s. In the second half of the 19th century the design of a funicular as a transit system emerged. It was especially attractive in comparison with the other systems of the time as counterbalancing of
400-440: A system of pulleys at the upper end of the line. If the railway track is not perfectly straight, the cable is guided along the track using sheaves – unpowered pulleys that simply allow the cable to change direction. While one car is pulled upwards by one end of the haul rope, the other car descends the slope at the other end. Since the weight of the two cars is counterbalanced (except for the weight of passengers), no lifting force
450-527: A three-year programme of renovation commenced in November 2005. In July 2009, the ownership of the line was transferred from Torbay Council , who had inherited ownership from Torquay Borough Council as a result of local government reorganisation, to a specially created community interest company . In 2019, the CIC converted to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation . On 4 September 2022, an engineer from
500-538: A tunnel 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long, is claimed by the Guinness World Records as the "least extensive metro " in the world. Technically, it is an underground funicular. The Dresden Suspension Railway ( Dresden Schwebebahn ), which hangs from an elevated rail, is the only suspended funicular in the world. The Fribourg funicular is the only funicular in the world powered by wastewater. Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern , capable of moving 215 t,
550-564: A two-rail layout (with a single conduit shared by both cars). Another example is the Peak Tram in Hong Kong , which is mostly of a two-rail layout except for a short three-rail section immediately uphill of the passing loop. Some four-rail funiculars have their tracks interlaced above and below the passing loop; this allows the system to be nearly as narrow as a two-rail system, with a single platform at each station, while also eliminating
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#1732780377516600-413: Is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope . The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable, which is looped over a pulley at the upper end of the track. The result of such a configuration is that the two carriages move synchronously: as one ascends,
650-403: Is ascending, the other is descending, and they pass at passing loops in the middle of each section. The lower section is built in or alongside the public road and has gradients as steep as 1 in 3.8 (26.15%). The track throughout this section is laid as grooved rail within the road surface, and the cable lies below the road surface in a conduit between the rails. The bottom half of the section
700-426: Is required to move them; the engine only has to lift the cable itself and the excess passengers, and supply the energy lost to friction by the cars' wheels and the pulleys. For passenger comfort, funicular carriages are often (although not always) constructed so that the floor of the passenger deck is horizontal, and not necessarily parallel to the sloped track. In some installations, the cars are also attached to
750-455: Is said to have the highest capacity. Some inclined elevators are incorrectly called funiculars. On an inclined elevator the cars operate independently rather than in interconnected pairs, and are lifted uphill. A notable example is Paris ' Montmartre Funicular . Its formal title is a relic of its original configuration, when its two cars operated as a counterbalanced, interconnected pair, always moving in opposite directions, thus meeting
800-455: Is single-track, but above the passing loop it has interlaced double track . By contrast, the upper section is less steep, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 10 (10%). The track is laid on sleepers and ballast , and the cable runs between the rails as is normal for most funiculars. The track is single apart from a short double-track passing loop equipped with points actuated by the flanges of the passing cars. The rails are interrupted to accommodate
850-975: Is the Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway in Bournemouth , England, which is 39 metres (128 ft) long. Stoosbahn in Switzerland, with a maximum slope of 110% (47.7°), is the steepest funicular in the world. The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway , built in 1888, is the steepest and longest water-powered funicular in the world. It climbs 152 metres (499 ft) vertically on a 58% gradient. The city of Valparaíso in Chile used to have up to 30 funicular elevators ( Spanish : ascensores ). The oldest of them dates from 1883. 15 remain with almost half in operation, and others in various stages of restoration. The Carmelit in Haifa , Israel, with six stations and
900-482: Is used on funiculars with slopes below 6%, funiculars using sledges instead of carriages, or any other case where it is not ensured that the descending car is always able to pull out the cable from the pulley in the station on the top of the incline. It is also used in systems where the engine room is located at the lower end of the track (such as the upper half of the Great Orme Tramway ) – in such systems,
950-515: The Tünel has been in continuous operation since 1875 and is both the first underground funicular and the second-oldest underground railway. It remained powered by a steam engine up until it was taken for renovation in 1968. Until the end of the 1870s, the four-rail parallel-track funicular was the normal configuration. Carl Roman Abt developed the Abt Switch allowing the two-rail layout, which
1000-560: The passing loop ) and the Carmelit in Haifa , Israel (six stations, three on each side of the passing loop). A few funiculars with asymmetrically placed stations also exist. For example, the Petřín funicular in Prague has three stations: one at each end, and a third (Nebozízek) a short way up from the passing loop. Because of this arrangement, carriages are forced to make a technical stop
1050-522: The 1930s, resulting in its sale in 1935 to the Great Orme Railway company. In 1949, Llandudno Urban District Council exercised its power, granted by the original act of parliament, to buy the line. Ownership of the line has since passed to Aberconwy Borough Council and then Conwy County Borough Council as a result of local government reorganisations. The original steam power was replaced in 1958 by electrically powered apparatus. In 1977,
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#17327803775161100-506: The Halfway station. Whilst the upper section runs on its own right of way and is similar to many other funicular lines, the lower section is an unusual street-running funicular. Whilst the street running section resembles the better-known San Francisco cable cars , its operation is quite different in that it adheres to the funicular principle where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable and are stopped and started by stopping and starting
1150-421: The Halfway stop is also the control centre for the line. The electric motors driving the cables that propel the cars are in the central building of the stop, as are the winchmen who control them. This in turn leads to a further difference between the two sections. With the drive at the top of the lower section, there are only two haulage cables, from the Halfway stop to each car. As the upper section has its drive at
1200-460: The bottom of the section, a third cable is needed that connects the two cars via a sheave at the Summit stop. Halfway stop is also the location of the engineering depot, with access for trams from both upper and lower sections. Engineers have depot facilities for inspection and maintenance of the trams, including inspection pits. Although there is no public access to the depot, some parts of both
1250-414: The cable that runs through the top of the incline is still necessary to prevent the carriages from coasting down the incline. In most modern funiculars, neither of the two carriages is equipped with an engine of its own. Instead, the propulsion is provided by an electric motor in the engine room (typically at the upper end of the track); the motor is linked via a speed-reducing gearbox to a large pulley –
1300-472: The cable, unlike San Francisco where cars attach to, and detach from, a continuously running cable. As such, this section's closest relatives are Lisbon's Glória , Bica , and Lavra street funiculars. Authority to build the tramway was granted by the Great Orme Tramways Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. xxvii), and construction started in 1901. The tramway was opened in its two stages:
1350-407: The cable. The Great Orme Tramway refers to all its fixed boarding and alighting locations as stations (not tram stops). Three are currently in regular use, named Victoria Station, Halfway Station, and Summit Station. Three others, all request stops, are currently disused, namely Black Gate, Ty'n-y-Coed, and Killen's Hill stations. As well as being the point at which passengers change cars,
1400-467: The carriage's wheels during trailing movements (i.e. away from the passing loop); this procedure also sets the route for the next trip in the opposite direction. The Great Orme Tramway is an example of a funicular that utilizes this system. Another turnout system, known as the Abt switch, involves no moving parts on the track at all. Instead, the carriages are built with an unconventional wheelset design:
1450-559: The cars are also equipped with spring-applied, hydraulically opened rail brakes. The first funicular caliper brakes which clamp each side of the crown of the rail were invented by the Swiss entrepreneurs Franz Josef Bucher and Josef Durrer and implemented at the Stanserhorn funicular [ de ] , opened in 1893. The Abt rack and pinion system was also used on some funiculars for speed control or emergency braking. Many early funiculars were built using water tanks under
1500-489: The cars exchanging roles. The movement is controlled by a brakeman using the brake handle of the rack and pinion system engaged with the rack mounted between the rails. The Bom Jesus funicular built in 1882 near Braga , Portugal is one of the extant systems of this type. Another example, the Fribourg funicular in Fribourg , Switzerland built in 1899, is of particular interest as it utilizes waste water, coming from
1550-596: The cars was deemed to be a cost-cutting solution. The first line of the Funiculars of Lyon ( Funiculaires de Lyon ) opened in 1862, followed by other lines in 1878, 1891 and 1900. The Budapest Castle Hill Funicular was built in 1868–69, with the first test run on 23 October 1869. The oldest funicular railway operating in Britain dates from 1875 and is in Scarborough , North Yorkshire. In Istanbul , Turkey,
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1600-690: The definition of a funicular. However, the system has since been redesigned, and now uses two independently-operating cars that can each ascend or descend on demand, qualifying as a double inclined elevator; the term "funicular" in its title is retained as a historical reference. Great Orme Tramway The Great Orme Tramway ( Welsh : Tramffordd y Gogarth ) is a cable-hauled 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge tramway in Llandudno in north Wales . Open seasonally from late March to late October, it takes over 200,000 passengers each year from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below
1650-446: The depot and the control room can be viewed by passengers through internal glazing in the viewing area, whilst interchanging between upper and lower sections. The line is controlled by a pair of winchmen, one per section and stationed in the Halfway power house, who control the speed and direction of rotation of the cable, and hence the cars attached to the cable. They are assisted by attendants on each car, who are in communication with
1700-598: The distinction of being the first funicular in the United States for strictly passenger use and not freight. In 1880 the funicular of Mount Vesuvius inspired the Italian popular song Funiculì, Funiculà . This funicular was destroyed repeatedly by volcanic eruptions and abandoned after the eruption of 1944. According to the Guinness World Records , the smallest public funicular in the world
1750-422: The downward-moving cable in the same plane as the upward-moving one. Modern installations also use high friction liners to enhance the friction between the bullwheel grooves and the cable. For emergency and service purposes two sets of brakes are used at the engine room: the emergency brake directly grips the bullwheel, and the service brake is mounted at the high speed shaft of the gear. In case of an emergency
1800-497: The engineering and construction of the railway. Construction started in 1924, and the line was first opened on 1 April 1926. The line cost £ 15,648 to construct. The tramway company continued to work the line until 13 March 1935, when it was taken over by Torquay Borough Council . The line was closed in 1941, due to World War II security restrictions, and reopened in 1951 after modernisation by Messrs J & E Hall of Dartford . The railway underwent further refurbishment in 1993 and
1850-405: The floor of each car, which were filled or emptied until just sufficient imbalance was achieved to allow movement, and a few such funiculars still exist and operate in the same way. The car at the top of the hill is loaded with water until it is heavier than the car at the bottom, causing it to descend the hill and pull up the other car. The water is drained at the bottom, and the process repeats with
1900-621: The line reverted to the Great Orme Tramway name that it had carried before its sale in 1935. Between 1999 and 2001, the line received £1 million of funding from the European Union , together with a further £1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and matching funds from its owner. As a result, in 2001, the entire Halfway station, its control room and its power plant were completely rebuilt and re-equipped. At
1950-554: The lower section on 31 July 1902 and the upper on 8 July 1903. The original power house, at the Halfway station between the lower and upper sections, was equipped with winding gear powered by steam from coke -fired boilers. Communication between the power house and the tram cars was provided by a telegraph system, operating over an overhead wire and trolley poles on the cars. The line was initially provided with seven cars, three freight cars numbered 1 to 3 and four passenger cars numbered 4 to 7. The passenger cars were each named after
2000-507: The need for the costly junctions either side of the passing loop. The Hill Train at the Legoland Windsor Resort is an example of this configuration. In the case of two-rail funiculars, various solutions exist for ensuring that a carriage always enters the same track at the passing loop. One such solution involves installing switches at each end of the passing loop. These switches are moved into their desired position by
2050-595: The other car has them on the right-hand side, meaning it follows the rightmost rail and runs on the right branch of the loop. This system was invented by Carl Roman Abt and first implemented on the Lugano Città–Stazione funicular in Switzerland in 1886; since then, the Abt turnout has gained popularity, becoming a standard for modern funiculars. The lack of moving parts on the track makes this system cost-effective and reliable compared to other systems. The majority of funiculars have two stations, one at each end of
Babbacombe Cliff Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-467: The other descends at an equal speed. This feature distinguishes funiculars from inclined elevators , which have a single car that is hauled uphill. The term funicular derives from the Latin word funiculus , the diminutive of funis , meaning 'rope'. In a funicular, both cars are permanently connected to the opposite ends of the same cable, known as a haul rope ; this haul rope runs through
2150-406: The outboard wheels have flanges on both sides, whereas the inboard wheels are unflanged (and usually wider to allow them to roll over the turnouts more easily). The double-flanged wheels keep the carriages bound to one specific rail at all times. One car has the flanged wheels on the left-hand side, so it follows the leftmost rail, forcing it to run via the left branch of the passing loop; similarly,
2200-524: The railway was killed in what was described as an industrial incident. It re-opened in July 2023. It had to close again in August 2023 while repairs were made. 50°28′54″N 3°31′00″W / 50.4816°N 3.5166°W / 50.4816; -3.5166 Funicular A funicular ( / f juː ˈ n ɪ k j ʊ l ər , f ( j ) ʊ -, f ( j ) ə -/ few- NIK -yoo-lər, f(y)uu-, f(j)ə- )
2250-576: The same time the overhead wire telegraph communication system was replaced with an induction-loop system. The tramway has three main stops, a lower station called Llandudno Victoria after the hotel that formerly occupied the station site, the aptly named Halfway stop , and the Great Orme Summit stop . Passengers must change trams at the Halfway stop as the upper and lower funicular sections are physically separate. The two sections operate independently, with two cars on each section. As one car
2300-595: The space required for building a funicular, reducing grading costs on mountain slopes and property costs for urban funiculars. These layouts enabled a funicular boom in the latter half of the 19th century. Currently, the United States' oldest and steepest funicular in continuous use is the Monongahela Incline located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . Construction began in 1869 and officially opened 28 May 1870 for passenger use. The Monongahela incline also has
2350-549: The summit of the Great Orme headland. From 1932 onwards it was known as the Great Orme Railway , reverting to its original name in 1977. It is Great Britain 's only remaining cable-operated street tramway, and one of only a few surviving in the world, and it is owned by Conwy County Borough Council . The line comprises two sections, where each section is an independent funicular and passengers change cars at
2400-412: The system, the track bed can consist of four, three, or two rails. Some funicular systems use a mix of different track layouts. An example of this arrangement is the lower half of the Great Orme Tramway , where the section "above" the passing loop has a three-rail layout (with each pair of adjacent rails having its own conduit which the cable runs through), while the section "below" the passing loop has
2450-534: The track. However, some systems have been built with additional intermediate stations . Because of the nature of a funicular system, intermediate stations are usually built symmetrically about the mid-point; this allows both cars to call simultaneously at a station. Examples of funiculars with more than two stations include the Wellington Cable Car in New Zealand (five stations, including one at
2500-765: Was used for the first time in 1879 when the Giessbach Funicular opened in Switzerland . In the United States, the first funicular to use a two-rail layout was the Telegraph Hill Railroad in San Francisco, which was in operation from 1884 until 1886. The Mount Lowe Railway in Altadena, California, was the first mountain railway in the United States to use the three-rail layout. Three- and two-rail layouts considerably reduced
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