Aerial lift
Encyclopedia
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables
Wire rope
thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....
.
Types of aerial lifts include:
- Aerial tramwayAerial tramwayAn aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
, with fixed cable(s) (track ropes) that support two cabins and another cable (haul rope) that propels the cabins. - Gondola liftGondola liftA gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
, a loop of cable moving in one direction with several gondolas attached to the cable. - Bicable and tricable Gondola lifts, where the gondolas are suspended on one or two track ropes and moved by the haul rope forming a loop.
- Pulsed movement gondola lifts (monocable or bicable gondola fixed grip pulsed), with a group of gondolas fixed to the haul rope. The gondolas are not detachable.
- FunitelFunitelA funitel is a type of aerial lift, generally used to transport skiers. The name funitel is a portmanteau between the French words funiculaire and telepherique. Funitels have not only been used as a means to transport skiers; there is one used to transport finished cars between different areas of...
, with two moving loops of cable which support gondolas (gondolas attach to two cables each). - FuniforFuniforA funifor is a type of aerial lift or aerial tramway patented by Doppelmayr Garaventa Group which consists of two guide ropes and a haul rope loop per cabin....
, two guide cables for suspending the gondola, with a haul cable to pull the cabin along the cables. Unlike an aerial tramwayAerial tramwayAn aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
each cabin possesses its own bull wheels, engines and cables which allows each cabin to operate independently.
Other types include:
- ChairliftChairliftAn elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
, with a moving loop of cable with chairs permanently attached to the cable. - Detachable chairliftDetachable chairliftA detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope that is strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. They are now commonplace at all but the...
, a loop of cable moving at high speed, with chairs that can be clipped onto the cable at either station.
Aerial lift is also a proper term used in industry for mechanical devices used to elevate workers. Also referred to as manlifts. MEWPs (Mobile elevated work platforms), cherry pickers, and bucket trucks.
Aerial lift systems are frequently employed in mountainous territory where roads are relatively difficult to build and use, and have seen extensive use in mining. Aerial lift systems are relatively easy to move, and are and have been used to cross rivers and ravines. In more recent times, the cost-effectiveness and flexibility of aerial lifts has seen an increase of gondola lift
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
being integrated into urban public transport systems.
Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are frequently used in the trade and in the industry:| en | English | |fr | French | |de | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATW | Aerial Tramway | TPH | Téléphérique | PB | Pendelbahn |
| MGD | Monocable gondola detachable | TCD | Télécabine (débrayable) | EUB | Gondelbahn, Einseilumlaufbahn |
| BGD | Bicable gondola detachable | 2S | Téléphérique débrayable | ZUB | Gondelbahn, Zweiseilumlaufbahn |
| TGD | Tricable gondola detachable | 3S | Téléphérique 3S | 3S | 3S-Bahn |
| MGFP | Monocable gondola fixed grip pulsed | TCP | Télécabine pulsée | GUB | Einseil-Gruppenumlaufbahn |
| MGFJ | Monocable gondola fixed grip jigback | ? | ? | GPB | Einseil-Gruppenpendelbahn |
| BGFP | Bicable gondola fixed grip pulsed | TPH pulsé | ? | Zweiseil-Gruppenumlaufbahn | |
| CLF | Chairlift fixed grip | TSF | Télésiège à pince fixe | SB | Sesselbahn fix geklemmt |
| CLD | Chairlift detachable | TSD | Télésiège débrayable | KSB | kuppelbare Sesselbahn |
| CGD | Chairlift gondola detachable | TMX | Télé(cabine) mixte | Kombibahn (Sessel + Gondel) | |
| FT | Funitel | Funitel | Funitel | ||
| FUF | Funifor | Funifor | Funifor | ||
| RPC | Rope conveyor | Materialseilbahn |
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway (U.S. EnglishU.S. English
U.S. English is the umbrella name for two American political advocacy groups founded in 1983 by Senator S. I. Hayakawa and Dr. John Tanton to advocate the adoption of the English language as the official language of the United States of America....
) or cable car (British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
) or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion . The grip of an aerial tramway is fixed onto the propulsion rope and cannot be decoupled from it during operations.
Gondola lift
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
cable
Wire rope
thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....
that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel
Bullwheel
A bullwheel is a large wheel on which a rope turns, such as in a chairlift. In that application, the bullwheel that is attached to the prime mover is called the drive bullwheel, with the other known as the return bullwheel....
in a terminal, which is connected to an engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
or electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
. They are often considered continuous systems since they feature a haul rope which continuously moves and circulates around two terminal stations. Depending on the combination of cables used for support and/or haulage and the type of grip (detachable grip vs. fixed grip), the capacity, cost and functionality of a gondola lift will differ dramatically. Because of the proliferation of such systems in the Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
regions of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
name of Télécabine is also used in an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
context.
Gondola lifts should not be confused with aerial tramway
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
s as the latter solely operates with fixed grips and simply shuttles back and forth between two end terminals.
Ropeway conveyor
A ropeway conveyor or material ropeway is essentially a subtype of gondola liftGondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.
Ropeway conveyors are typically found around large mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
concerns, and can be of considerable length. The COMILOG Cableway
COMILOG Cableway
The COMILOG Cableway was one of the longest cableways in the world, until its closure in 1986. The ropeway conveyor ran for 76 km from Moanda in the Haut-Ogooué Province of south eastern Gabon to Mbinda in the Republic of Congo....
, which ran from Moanda
Moanda
Moanda is one of the largest towns in Gabon, lying on the N3 road in Haut Ogooué. It is also one of the most important manganese mining towns in the world, under the auspices of the Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué , which began mining in 1957...
in Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
to Mbinda
Mbinda
Mbinda is a town in the Republic of Congo, lying on the border with Gabon. It is a transport hub and lies at the end of a railway line to Brazzaville....
in the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, was over 75 km in length. The Norsjö aerial tramway
Norsjö aerial tramway
Norsjö aerial tramway is a 13.2 kilometre long aerial tramway between Örträsk and Mensträsk in the Norsjö Municipality in Sweden.Norsjö aerial tramway went in service for passenger traffic in 1989 as a tourist attraction...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
had a length of 96 kilometers.
Funitel
A funitel is a type of aerial lift, generally used to transport skiers. The name funitel is a portmanteau between the French words funiculaireFunicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
and telepherique
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
. Funitels have not only been used as a means to transport skiers; there is one used to transport finished cars between different areas of a factory. Recently, more and more funitels have been added to ski areas.
When used to transport skiers, funitels are a fast way to get to a higher altitude. However, because skis or snowboard
Snowboard
Snowboards are boards, usually with a width the length of one's foot, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user...
have to be taken off and held during the trip, and because of the (usual) absence of seats, funitels can sometimes be uncomfortable for long trips, in the same way other large gondolas can be. Funitels combine a short time between successive cabins with a high capacity (20-30 people) per cabin. Funitels are able to tolerate higher wind speeds than classic gondola lifts because they are fastened to two steel cables instead of one.
Funifor
A Funifor is a type of aerial lift or aerial tramwayAerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
with two guide ropes and a haul rope loop per cabin.
The Funifor design is patented by Doppelmayr Garaventa Group
Doppelmayr
The Doppelmayr Garaventa Group is an Austrian-Swiss company that manufactures chairlifts, cable cars, gondolas, surface tows for ski and amusement parks as well as urban people movers and material handling systems. To date, Doppelmayr and Garaventa have produced over 13,700 installations in 78...
.
Two reversible cabins run on parallel tracks. The drives of the two cabins are not interconnected.
At the top of each track, the haul rope for
that track loops back to the bottom instead of looping over to serve the other track as occurs with a normal
aerial tramway
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
. This feature allows for single cabin operation when traffic warrants. The independent drive also
allows for evacuations to occur by means of a bridge connected between the two adjacent cabins.
The main advantage of the Funifor system is its stability in high wind conditions owing
to the horizontal distance between the two guide ropes comprising each track.
Japanese ropeway
In JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, all the systems above are regarded as a same kind of rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
and called
Fixed grip chairlift
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
cable
Wire rope
thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....
loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
s. They are the primary onhill transport at most ski areas (in such cases referred to as 'skilifts'), but are also found at amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
s, various tourist attractions, and increasingly, in urban transport.
Depending on carrier size and loading efficiency, a passenger ropeway can move up 4000 people per hour, and the fastest lifts achieve operating speeds of up to 12 m/s (26.8 mph; 43.2 km/h). The two-person double chair, which for many years was the workhorse of the ski industry, can move roughly 1200 people per hour at rope speeds of up to 2.5 m/s (8.2 ft/s). The four person detachable chairlift
Detachable chairlift
A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope that is strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. They are now commonplace at all but the...
("high-speed quad") can transport 2400 people per hour with an average rope speed of 5 m/s (16.4 ft/s). Some bi and tri cable elevated-ropeways and reversible tramways achieve much greater operating speeds. Fixed-grip lifts are usually shorter than detachable-grip lifts due to rope load; the maximum vertical rise for a fixed grip chairlift is 300–400 m (984.3–1,312.3 ft) and a length of about 1200 m (3,937 ft), while detachable quads and "six-packs" can service a vertical rise of over 600 m (1,968.5 ft) and a line length of 2000 m (6,561.7 ft).
Detachable chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope
Wire rope
thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....
(called a haul rope) that is strung between two (or more) terminals over intermediate towers. They are now commonplace at all but the smallest of ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
s. Some are installed at tourist attractions as well as for urban transportation.
The significance of detachable chairlift technology is primarily the speed and capacity. Detachable chairlifts move far faster than their fixed-grip brethren, averaging 1200 feet per minute (13.6 mph, 6 m/s) versus a typical fix-grip speed of 500 ft/min (5.5 mph, 2.5 m/s). Because the cable moves faster than most passengers could safely disembark and load, each chair is connected to the cable by a powerful spring-loaded cable grip
Cable grip
A cable grip is a device for propelling a vehicle by attaching to a wire cable running at a constant speed. The vehicle may be suspended from the cable, as in the case of aerial lifts such as a gondola lift , may be guided by rails, as in a cable traction railway, or may be self-guiding, as in a...
which detaches at terminals, allowing the chair to slow considerably for convenient loading and unloading at a typical speed of 200 ft/min (2.2 mph, 1 m/s), a speed slower even than fixed-grip bunny chairlifts.
See also
- Blondin (quarry equipment)Blondin (quarry equipment)Blondins were a type of aerial ropeway employed in open pits in the slate quarries in Wales to transport wagons loads of rock between locations. They were named after the famous tightrope walker Charles Blondin.- History :...
- List of aerial lift manufacturers
- Surface lifts, another transportation technology
- Cable car (disambiguation)
- Space elevatorSpace elevatorA space elevator, also known as a geostationary orbital tether or a beanstalk, is a proposed non-rocket spacelaunch structure...