The Gondola Project
2011
The Spokane Riverfront Skyride on January 31, 2011. Image by Dan Pelle of The Spokesman-Review
I’m not going to say anything.
Sometimes nature deserves the respect only silence affords.
See the rest of the images in the series here, and read the story behind the images here.
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2010
Sometimes models can explain things in ways words can’t. With that in mind, take a look at this fantastic Lego model of a 3S Gondola system. Is it perfect? Hardly. But pay careful attention to the acceleration and deceleration wheels. Those replicate pretty accurately the way in which detachable gondola systems are accelerated and decelerated upon exiting and entering a station.
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2010
In yesterday’s post, I alluded to the bizarre nature of term “3S.” Let me explain – and I warn you, this will make your head hurt:
The cable industry differentiates technologies like Monocable Detachable Gondolas (MDG) and Bi-Cable Detachable Gondolas (BDG) based upon the ropes/cables used. Great, you say. That makes sense. Monocables use one cable and Bicables use two. I get that. Problem is, the terms Monocable and Bicables are not used in that way.
For example, this is a Monocable Detachable Gondola:
Image by ** Parapluie **
And this is a Bicable Detachable Gondola:
Image by night86mare.
Still, this seems straightforward enough. In the pictures, Monocables use one cable and Bicables use two. No big deal. Here’s where things get odd though. In the cable industry, Monocable is used to describe a vehicle whereby one cable is used for both support and propulsion. This is why Funitels are often referred to as Double Loop Monocables. Despite appearing to use two different cables, a Funitel only uses one rope and uses it for both support and propulsion.
Despite appearances, Funitels are still classed as Monocable systems. Image by 123_456.
Bicables, on the other hand, are classed according to the principal that systems must have one rope (or set of ropes) for support and a second rope for propulsion. That means the 3S, which is named for having three ropes (two support ropes, one propulsion rope) is actually classed as a BDG system. This is why on websites like Lift-World you won’t actually find 3S systems in their database. You actually have to dig through the BDG database to find them.
Despite clearly using three ropes (and being named for those three ropes) the 3S is still classed as a Bicable system. Image by Derek K. Miller.
In other words, the terms Monocable and Bicable are both a reference to a specific technology and a reference to a group of technologies. Problem is, the references are highly misleading; do not conform to the common logic of counting the number of cables we see; and cause obvious confusion.
As I’ve mentioned before (here and here), cable nomenclature is complex and difficult when first encountering the technology. But the way in which sub-technologies and systems are grouped and classified are positively arcane and borderline ridiculous. This is a problem for the industry because it needlessly complicates already expensive and time-consuming planning research. If I want a Bus or Streetcar or Light Rail or Subway, I don’t have to worry about families, sub-groups and the like. I just ask for a Bus or a Streetcar or a Subway. It’s simple.
Worse still is the common occurrence of researchers and writers using the qualities (or lack thereof) of one cable technology to mistakenly discredit cable as a whole without actually understanding that there are huge differences between cable techs and the bizarre manner in which their organized.
Told you it’d make your head hurt.
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2010
The Sulphur Mountain Gondola in Banff, Alberta. Image by Steven Dale.
Banff, Alberta, Canada has probably one of the most unique gondola systems in the world.
Well, actually they’re all unique. I’ve rarely found two systems that are alike and that’s the both the technology’s blessing and its curse. Yes, each system is different and unique to its own situation. Systems can be configured in any manner you like and that’s a good thing because it means each system is custom. Conversely, however, it means that explaining the technology is difficult because there are no off-the-shelf systems that would be appropriate in an urban setting.
Light Rail, Subways and Buses – on the other hand – are easy to explain because there’s really only one or two ways to configure/install a system.
Nevertheless . . .
The Sulphur Mountain Gondola is a fairly innocuous tourist installation. The system is two or three decades old and has almost comically small vehicles that fit only 4 people. The cars are so small in fact that it’s near impossible to stand up inside them unless your a child. This is fairly typical of old systems and not really worthy of comment.
What is worthy of comment however is this: Like all BDG systems, the Sulphur Mountain Gondola detaches from its haul rope in the station terminals. But this is where things get odd. Whereas virtually every other detachable gondola is moved through the station via a system of wheels, gears and/or conveyors the Sulphur Mountain Gondola is moved through the terminal by hand.
The Sulphur Mountain Gondolas are moved through the station terminals by station attendants. Image by Steven Dale.
Vehicles are literally pushed by station attendants through the terminals. Station attendants stop the vehicles, allow people to get on and off, and are then moved through the station. Vehicles are then reaccelerated and positioned online by computer control.
So why is this important?
It’s current practice for vehicles to move through the stations at what is known as “crawl” or “creep” speed. Boarding and alighting is done while the vehicles are in motion, ever so slowly “crawling” through stations. Some people will complain that this represents a barrier to accessibility. The truth is that “crawl speed” is so slow that boarding and alighting is simple for virtually everyone. For everyone else, meanwhile, vehicles can be stopped by computer so that people may board and alight with a stationary vehicle.
But for some people that won’t be enough. For those people, vehicles crawling through a station represents a barrier to accessibility, full-stop. If they’ve made up their minds already and have the narrative fixed firmly in place the above solutions are probably not enough to change their worldview. What the Sulphur Mountain Gondola demonstrates is that there is no technological reason that vehicles cannot come to a complete stop in stations as a matter of practice, every time.
Doing so would eliminate any accessibility arguments and make the technology feel more familiar as transit. Maybe the cable industry should consider doing away with “crawl speed” for urban systems altogether. After all, no one boards an LRT vehicle while it’s still in motion.
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2010
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.
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2010
The Caracas Metro System. Image by User:Okty. Not affiliated with, released by or approved by Metro de Caracas.
The above map is the Caracas Metro System. Metro de Caracas, of course, is one of the few transit systems in the world to utilize a Cable Propelled Transit (they call it the Metrocable) system.
Look closely at the map and you’ll see all the other CPT lines Metro de Caracas has planned. All eight of them. (Nine, if you include the extension of the currently-operational San Augustin line).
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2010
The Mount Titlis Gondola. Image by Casual Chin.
The above is one of several cable lines connecting Mount Titlis to the resort town of Engelberg, Switzerland. Built in 1984 by the Von Roll Company, it’s an incredibly common and dated MDG system:
In other words the Titlis Gondola is completely and utterly common. Except for one thing: As you can see from the picture above, there is a section that passes through a field which is perfectly flat. This field section of the Titlis Gondola comprises almost a third of the total length of the system.
So why am I telling you this?
An argument that’s often used against CPT is that it is appropriate for alpine installations only. The technology can’t work in flat areas, the argument goes. The Titlis Gondola is demonstrable proof against that argument. The height of the towers through this field are also low enough to qualify this system for low profile status.
Yes, CPT is spreading quickly, but the reality of the situation is this: Most examples of what the technology can do still exist only in ski resorts. People interested in this topic need to reconcile that within their own heads.
More importantly, I think: The cable industry, advocates and promoters of the technology have to learn to extrapolate and translate ski resort installations into urban systems.
Given how many skiers there are in the world, this shouldn’t be too difficult.
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