Eibsee Aerial Tramway
Encyclopedia
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...
which connects the lower statioin (973 metres or 3,192 ft above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
) near lake Eibsee
Eibsee
Eibsee is a lake in Bavaria, Germany, 9km southwest of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and roughly 100km southwest of Munich. At an elevation of 973.28 m, its surface area is 177.4 ha...
with the top station at 2950 metres (9,678 ft) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
next to the summit of Zugspitze
Zugspitze
The Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the border between Germany and Austria runs over its western summit. South of the mountain is...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's highest mountain on the border to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The cable car was built to provide a faster access to the Zugspitze from its German side, as the cog railway
Rack railway
A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...
from Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...
does not go directly to the summit and takes much longer. The Eibsee Cable Car belongs to Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG, the company operating the cog railway and most cable cars, gondola lifts and chairlifts in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area. It is thus possible to make round trips using both the cog railway and the cable car. On the Austrian side, there is the Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car which starts at Ehrwald
Ehrwald
Ehrwald is a municipality in the Austrian district of Reutte, Tyrol.Ehrwald lies at the southern base of the Zugspitze , Germany's highest mountain, but which is shared with Austria. The town is connected to the Zugspitze with the Tyrolean Aerial Tramway .-References:...
and meets the Eibsee Cable Car on the top.
Eibsee Cable Car has a length of 4450 metres (14,600 ft) and an elevation gain of 1950 metres (6,398 ft). The Eibsee Cable Car runs over two pylons, which are 65 metres (213 ft) and 85 metres (279 ft) high, respectively. The latter is the highest cable support pylon in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The two cabins taking 44 persons each are suspended from two track ropes and are moved by two haulage ropes. The track ropes have a diameter of 46 mm (1.81 in) each, and the hauling cables have a diameter of 29 mm (1.14 in) each. It runs on 750 kW of power, generated in the valley station. The route is normally traveled in 10 minutes at a speed of 36 km/h (22.4 mph). The tramway can accommodate 300 persons per direction each hour. The elevation gain of 1950 metres (6,398 ft) continues to be the highest of all aerial cableways achieved in a single section.
External links
- Description and pictures on Seilbahngeschichte.de (German)
- Pylon I on skyscraperpage
- Pylon II on skyscraperpage