Posts Tagged: Cable Cars

23
Mar

2011

Cable Cars, Lesson 2: Single Loop Cable Shuttles

Mexico City Airport's Aerotén. Image via Sobre Mexico.

For our new readers: Despite the fact that systems like the planned London Thames Cable Car are often officially called “Cable Cars,” they are more often than not Gondolas. This can be confusing to cable transit novices. To make it easier: Cable Cars are supported from below (like cars) and Gondolas are supported from the top (like ski lift gondolas). This is an error of nomenclature, nothing more.

As I described a long time ago here, Cable Cars operate in a similar way to Gondolas. That is, they come in either continuously-circulating or shuttle-based configurations. For all intents and purposes, you can imagine shuttle configurations as being the ground-based equivalent to an Aerial Tram – the only difference being that Cable Cars can navigate turns easily whereas Aerial Trams cannot.

As such, shuttle based systems are – generally speaking – the simplest and cheapest Cable Cars to install. They suffer, however, from having relatively low system capacities (as measured in pphpd).

Like an Aerial Tram, a basic Cable Shuttle has only one rope loop. That means there can only be a maximum of two vehicles plying the line in question. Those two vehicles are also bound by each other. They operate in tandem; one vehicle cannot move without the other.

So while there may be a variety of different ways to apply a Single Loop Cable Shuttle (see image below), the system will always be characterized by low capacities; an inability to offer 24 hour service; longer wait times and; severe restrictions on intermediary stations.

In the event of a single track, single vehicle configuration, intermediary stations can be placed at whatever interval is desired.

Like all transit systems, the exact capacity of a Single Loop Cable Shuttle is a product of many factors. System speed, dwell times, number of stations, vehicle size and system length all factor into the equation and it is therefore impossible to provide any reliable benchmark for what such a system can carry. Each system would be unique unto itself.

Nevertheless remember: A single loop system is at the low-end of the Cable Car spectrum and it’s capabilities are limited in comparison to other Cable Car technologies. For example, Mexico City’s Aerotrén is a single loop, single track system with only one vehicle. Though it travels at a maximum speed of 45 km/hr, it currently only provides a system capacity of 540 pphpd.

Like an Aerial Tram, a Single Loop Cable Shuttle is therefore only appropriate in low-capacity situations where complexity is at a minimum.

Image by CUP Projects.



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Cable Cars / Installations / Mexico City Aerotrén
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19
Oct

2010

Market Street Film Mystery Unravelled

Back in January I posted an historical archive film of the San Francisco Cable Cars.

The film is historically important for numerous reasons, not the least of which being its date. Filmed mere days before the Great Earthquake of 1906, this video stands as one of the most vivid documentations of San Francisco before the quake that would utterly transform the city.

Interestingly, most historians had assumed the video to be from 1905. Film historian David Keihn, however, thought otherwise. He theorized the film to be from a later date and went about to prove it.

This past weekend, 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer went behind the scenes of this film to meet David Keihn and uncover the history, mystery, stories and personalities behind it. The story has an almost whodunnit quality to it that will keep you interested to the end.

The Market Street Film is hauntingly surreal. It stands as a silent eulogy to a place all but destroyed which  – quite literally – no longer exists. As Mr. Safer so eloquently puts it, the film documents “San Francisco closing in on its rendezvous with catastrophe. The odds are, some of the people you see had just days to live.”

It’s wonderful, charming and beautiful. It will make you stop and contemplate. I don’t know why and I don’t know how, but it will. Take the 12-and-a-half minutes required to watch it. You’ll be glad you did.

As an added bonus, a whole new, never-before-seen HD remastering of the film is presented.




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Media & Blogs / San Francisco Cable Cars
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09
Jul

2010

Cable Cars, Lesson 1: Introduction

The Las Vegas City Center Cable Car. Image by joanna8555.

The first and most important thing necessary to understand about Cable Cars as opposed to aerial cable technologies is this: The two technologies are not fundamentally different. Knowing your way around Gondolas and Aerial Trams will help your knowledge about Cable Cars immensely.

Both are characterized by passive vehicles being propelled along guideways for support. Both can provide detachability and both are characterized by a large variety of sub-technologies. Furthermore, like all aerial technologies, you can easily sub-divide Cable Cars into those that operate in a shuttle-based configuration and those that operate in a continuously-circulating configuration:

(Top) Continuously Circulating Configuration. (Bottom) Shuttle-Based Configuration.

Those familiar with aerial technologies will instantly notice the parallels: Shuttle-Based Cable Cars are equivalent to Aerial Trams and Funifors, whereas Continuously Circulating Cable Cars are equivalent to Monocable Detachable Gondolas (MDGs), Bi-Cable Detachable Gondolas (BDGs), Funitels and 3S systems.

The main difference between aerial and terrestrial technologies is this:

Whereas aerial technologies hang from steel cable guideways, Cable Cars are always supported from below by various supporting media, typically steel rails, I-beams, concrete and modular steel trusses.

This gives Cable Cars one distinct advantage over aerial technologies: The ability to maneuver around corners without need of angle stations.



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

Cable Cars
3
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05
Jul

2010

A London Cable Car (Gondola)?

The internet is all a-buzz right now with the recent announcement of a proposed Urban Gondola system spanning the Thames River in East London for the 2012 Olympics.

Nevermind the fact that everyone seems to be calling it the London Cable Car – it’s a gondola – it’s an exciting idea that’s raising a lot of eyebrows:

  • The Daily Mail – “Capable of carrying up to 2,500 passengers an hour in each direction, the (gondola) would travel at a height of more than 50 metres.”
  • The Londonist – “Building a (gondola) with panoramic views of the capital would be a huge hit, instantly providing east London witha  conspicuous tourist attraction.”
  • Bloomberg Businessweek – “The consultation process for the project, to be financed by private investment, opens tomorrow and closes Aug. 2, according to Transport for London.”
  • Luvthecity.com – “Transport for London have released a basic map showing the proposed route, but today we show you the exact location of the two proposed cable car stations.”
  • Skyscrapercity.com (forum) – “Well yes but that’s it isn’t it. They’re for steep areas with difficult terrain. aka not London.”
  • The Guardian – “Transport for London is in talks with a number of potential operators. It will carry cyclists as well as pedestrians.”
  • London Reconnections – “Whether it proceeds or not, however, it at least shows that some thought is taking place into what can be completed relatively fast and relatively cheaply to alleviate the current issues that abound when trying to cross the Thames to the east.”

There’s much to say about this proposal. Stay tuned.



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

Gondola / London Cable Car
5
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03
Jul

2010

Cable Cars

Now that we’ve wrapped our discussion of the eight major Aerial Technologies that exist in the cable transit world, we’re going to shift our focus next week to Cable Cars.

The technologies – most familiar as San Francisco’s rickety old vehicles – have made dramatic advances in the last 15 years. But like aerial systems, Cable Cars have a wide range of shapes, styles and models; each with specific strengths and weaknesses in any given application or environment.

And if you thought aerials were complicated, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Below are the six major technologies:

  • Historical Cable Cars
  • MiniMetros
  • Cable Shuttle Liners
  • Dual Cable Shuttle Liners
  • By-Pass Shuttle Liners
  • Pinched Loop Cable Liners (with Turntables, Loops or Switches)


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Cable Cars
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25
May

2010

Rotating Aerial Trams

The Table Mountain Cableway, one of only 3 rotating Aerial Trams in the world. Image by geoftheref.

The Table Mountain Cableway in Cape Town, South Africa is an Aerial Tram with a twist (sorry): It slowly rotates 360° during its ascent and descent. It’s one of only 3 systems in the world that does this; the other two being the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway in California and the Titlis Rotair in central Switzerland.

So what does a rotating Aerial Tram accomplish on a larger scale? Not much. It does exactly the same thing as other Aerial Trams plus it rotates. The feature is Pure Novelty, nothing more. Pure Novelty is great for tourist installations. I’d probably argue that the more Pure Novelty that exists in a tourist installation, the better.

Yet in an urban installation Pure Novelty is a waste of time and resources. People want to get from Point A to Point B as efficiently as possible and probably don’t care about things like spinning trams. Practical Novelties, however, present a whole other opportunity to add value to a rider’s experience.

Practical Novelties are those things that genuinely improve a product’s usability but are not directly related to its function:

  • On board Wi-Fi.
  • Mail and courier drop boxes.
  • Cup holders.
  • Cell Phone charge stations.
  • Coffee kiosks.
  • Bike racks.

Standard transit technologies have almost completely ignored how Practical Novelties can improve riders’ experience. The cost-effectiveness and ease of customization that cable presents, however, means Practical Novelties can and should become a standard feature of the industry’s offerings.



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Table Mountain Cableway
8
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17
May

2010

The Baden Gondelbahn

Image by PD via Tages Anzeiger.

This is the Baden Gondelbahn in Baden, Switzerland. It is a concept by Stephan Kalt, director of Regional Transport for Baden-Wettingen. Kalt’s concept connects the spa town of Baden with a local train station via Urban Gondola.

Read more



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Baden Gondelbahn / Design Considerations / Gondola / Proposals & Concepts / Urban Planning & Design
2
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