My mother owns a loom she uses for making small blankets and an occasional wall hanging. When I was four she pulled me away from my blocks and legos to hold a spindle of yarn while she unrolled the thread and rewound it into a ball. For several minutes I did as I was told, until a better...
As some people know, there’s a huge subset of bottom-supported cable transit in the form of Cable Cars & Funiculars. Yet it’s a topic I’ve not given much attention to so far. Here’s why: It’s hard to get people’s attention with Cable Cars. Urban Gondolas? Much simpler. Back in March I was interviewed for an...
Is transit about form or function? For the last couple of weeks that has very much been the debate over at Human Transit (here, here and here); Form, in the guise of “fun” and “glamour” has been characterized as an unnecessary frill that caters mostly to tourists. Function (“usefulness” and “availability), meanwhile has been cast...
Oregon’s Daily Journal of Commerce has an utterly fascinating and informative article here about the replacement of the Portland Aerial Tram’s haul rope. The team that conducted the rope replacement did so in mid air on an aerial staircase known as a splicing bridge. They’ve even got a picture of it. It’s a great read....
The following four videos come from Music Fog’s Gondola Concert Series while the last video is an older(ish) video of the Avett Brothers performing in a gondola. Fun’s important, people. Gondola Concert Series, 2010 – Part 2: Gondola Concert Series, 2010 – Part 1: Gondola Concert Series, 2009 – Part 2: Gondola Concert Series, 2009...
In honour of the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, I thought it appropriate to point out a nifty little installation called the Sky Car. The Sky Car is a Funicular running along the central archway of the brand new Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa. The vehicle transports people from ground level...
(Today’s is a guest post by planner Michael D. Setty. Big thanks to Michael for taking the time to prepare this column for The Gondola Project’s readers – SD.) EIGHT MILLION ANNUAL VISITORS CLOG MISSOURI TOWN OF 7,000. Branson, Missouri is the “Country Music Capitol” of the U.S. Midwest, catering to more than eight million...
Recently the Chinese motor company Geely showcased their Gleagle IG concept car at the Shanghai Auto Show. This three-seater is made of steel, is equipped with a solar panel hood and will cost only $2,250 USD. It’s said to be the cheapest car on the planet, 10% cheaper even than the Tata Nano (formerly the...
This is one of the most inspiring transit-related videos I’ve come across in a while. Mukhtar is a bus driver in Cophenhagen, Denmark. On May 5th, his riders decided to celebrate his birthday for him: A few observations: The bus has free wi-fi (0:13). The trumpet player and his posse do not seem to pay...
Pulsed Gondolas are a semi-rare subset of the CPT universe and generally not appropriate for mass transit installations. Most were built in the mid to late 20th century, and it’s uncommon to find pulsed systems built nowadays.