All the best to everyone on this, the last holiday season of the first decade of our new millennium. I’m terrible with Christmas cards (as any of my friends or family members will tell you) so let me just say this: The last ten years have been rare, yes. Much ink and bandwidth will be...
Just for fun . . . I threw together this game using Shuffle Brain’s Photograb widget. It’s a pleasing little puzzle game for those of you with a couple of minutes to kill. Enjoy!
Some might say so, but I’m not one of them. A niche implies specificity. People assume Cable Propelled Transit to be a niche technology because, I think, they are most familiar with it in situations where a large change of elevation occurs. That change in elevation, these people would argue, is its niche. I look...
Albert Einstein was once quoted as saying if at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. Absurd indeed. When I first started my work on Cable-Propelled Transit (CPT), I hid it from everyone. I knew it was an absurd idea and the last thing I wanted to get tagged...
Unlike traditional vehicles, CPT vehicles do not have an onboard engine or motor. Propulsion is provided by an off-board engine that moves a cable. Vehicles are equipped with a grip used to attach and detach the vehicle to the cable. The vehicle is therefore propelled by the cable which itself is propelled by engines and...
To be successful, an Insurgent Technology, Idea or Technique must be markedly different from those accepted Incumbent Technologies, Ideas or Techniques of the given day. But different is not enough. Not only must the Insurgent be different, she must also be demonstrably superior to the Incumbent and have strength and support on loan from a...
There are two minor sub-groups of CPT technology: Aerial Trams and Funiculars. Aerial Trams are like larger Gondolas. I’ll discuss this technology in greater detail later. Generally speaking, however, Aerial Trams are (relative to Gondolas) an out-dated mode of Cable-Propelled Transit. Compared with Gondola technology, Aerial Trams exhibit longer wait times between vehicles; lower line...
There are two major sub-groups of Cable-Propelled Transit (CPT) technology: Gondolas and Cable Cars. Gondolas are supported and propelled from above by cables. Most people are familiar with this technology as used in alpine ski-resorts, however it is finding increased usage in non-alpine urban regions. Cable Cars on the other hand, are supported and propelled...
Simply speaking, Cable-Propelled Transit (CPT) is a transit technology that moves people in motor-less, engine-less vehicles that are propelled by a steel cable. Proceed to Basic Lesson 2 to learn about Gondolas & Cable Cars
In the interest of honesty, let me state plainly that I have, in the past, provided planning services for the Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of Cable-Propelled Transit (CPT) in the world. I maintain a relationship with them to this day. Should this fact cloud your opinion of The Gondola Project or Cable-Propelled Transit?...