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Funicular
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Funicular
A funicular (/fjuːˈnɪkjʊlər, f(j)ʊ-, f(j)ə-/ few-NIK-yoo-lər, f(y)uu-, f(j)ə-), or funicular railway, 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, 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 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 difference in the weight of passengers), the engine only has to provide energy to pull the excess passengers in the uphill car and the cable itself, plus 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 rather than parallel to the sloped track.
In some installations, the cars may also be attached to 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 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 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, 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; propulsion is provided by an electric motor in the engine room (typically at the upper end of the track), linked via a speed-reducing gearbox to a large pulley – 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 motors. 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 amount of contact area between the cable and the groove, and returning the downward-moving cable in the same plane as the upward-moving one. Modern installations use high-friction liners to increase the friction between the bullwheel grooves and the cable.
There are two sets of brakes in the engine room: an emergency brake which directly grips the bullwheel, and a service brake mounted at the high speed shaft of the gear. The cars are also equipped with spring-applied, hydraulically opened rail brakes for emergency use.
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, opened in 1893. The Abt rack and pinion system was also used on some funiculars for speed control or emergency braking.
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Funicular
A funicular (/fjuːˈnɪkjʊlər, f(j)ʊ-, f(j)ə-/ few-NIK-yoo-lər, f(y)uu-, f(j)ə-), or funicular railway, 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, 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 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 difference in the weight of passengers), the engine only has to provide energy to pull the excess passengers in the uphill car and the cable itself, plus 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 rather than parallel to the sloped track.
In some installations, the cars may also be attached to 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 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 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, 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; propulsion is provided by an electric motor in the engine room (typically at the upper end of the track), linked via a speed-reducing gearbox to a large pulley – 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 motors. 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 amount of contact area between the cable and the groove, and returning the downward-moving cable in the same plane as the upward-moving one. Modern installations use high-friction liners to increase the friction between the bullwheel grooves and the cable.
There are two sets of brakes in the engine room: an emergency brake which directly grips the bullwheel, and a service brake mounted at the high speed shaft of the gear. The cars are also equipped with spring-applied, hydraulically opened rail brakes for emergency use.
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, opened in 1893. The Abt rack and pinion system was also used on some funiculars for speed control or emergency braking.
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