May day story for San Fran cable car.
http://railfan44.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-grip-wont-grip-cable-bert-and-ernie.html
As far as I know the Dundee proposal has not progressed beyond the talking stage, not to funding for preliminary engineering necessary for cost estimating, their equivalent of environmental analysis, etc. What is true is that the circumstances are ripe for it. This street is not a heavy traffic street, has lots of commercial establishments that would benefit from fronting on a moving tourist attraction, the line is scenic even though street-based, etc. I am not certain it will go ahead, but as far as I know it is the ONLY serioius proposal for a new cable-car line, using the SF-type technology, grip and continuous cable technology, anywhere in the world.
The Alstom contact system is a proven system, no longer by any means experimental. I believe Siemens and possibly Bombardier have similar systems, not quite as well advanced. This, plus supercapacitor and battery operation are the future for wirefree LRV and streetcar developments and definitely not grip-technology cable-cars, which are less efficient and cost more to maintain than any of the other three wire-free technologies. Old-fashioned conduit is similarly obsolete.
But I do hope the Dundee effort secceeds. As a technological archeology, simply recreating what was and what was enjoyed. Like replica streetcars instead of modern ones. Like building a brand new British 4-6-2. Like setting up a wonderful steam museum operation on the old Swiss Furka line bypassed by a new tunnel. And yes, I do hope that some day San Francisco will extend the California Street cable line beyond VAn Ness to its old terminal. And I would love to see the Cumbres and Toltec and Durango and Silverton reconnected. But nobody thinks of these ideas in terms of really meeting modern transportation needs, but instead in terms of technological archeology.
daveklepper Old-fashioned conduit is similarly obsolete.
Old-fashioned conduit is similarly obsolete.
That reminds me that a signifigant indication that it's very unlikely anyone will make a cable streetcar is that Washington DC converted its downtown cable cars to the now obsolete old-fashioned conduit. That's a major operator who over 100 years ago decided that a now obsolet technology was better for them than San Francisco style cable.
Patrick Boylan
Free yacht rides, 27' sailboat, zip code 19114 Delaware River, get great Delair bridge photos from the river. Send me a private message
And under the elevated on 3rd Avenue and down the Bowery and Park Row from 129th St. to City Hall. Cable-conduit around 1899, to bus in May 1947.
This is a CABLE CAR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDyMWDHX-oo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b4qDkUKunA
Also by definition the current Roosevelt Island tram from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island is a cable car.
There are several funicular lines built in the last 20 years.
As for street running cable cars most planners would shy away from. Easier to get money to dig a tunnel. Or route around steep grades. Or just use buses.
Rgds IGN
narig01 This is a CABLE CAR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDyMWDHX-oo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b4qDkUKunA Also by definition the current Roosevelt Island tram from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island is a cable car. There are several funicular lines built in the last 20 years. As for street running cable cars most planners would shy away from. Easier to get money to dig a tunnel. Or route around steep grades. Or just use buses. Rgds IGN
It's apparent from the second link video, that at the end of the run, the cable positions are changed so the car can grip the correct cable for the return trip.
Wire ropes are not rails, and the Roosevelt Island Tram was an arial tramway not a cable railway or cablecar. If the car has grips in may be a cablecar, but only if the grips is released and brakes applied for a stop. If the cable stops, then it is a funicular or inclined railway or incline.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.