Fenicular – by Charlotte

In this pic you can see a chair and a foot rest. This is what people used in the old days to go up the hill. It can take up to 5 hours!

This is us leaving the station.

This is us on the little car.

This is us going up up and away. You can’t see this but both of the wheels are moving.

This is a siding you can see the cable. I wonder if there is 1 cable or 2.

This is the tunnel.

This is the 2 wheels and the cable(s?)

This is a bumper thing.

Here is a car coming through the tunnel.

Here is a car with parcels in the front

This is a huge centipede we found!

Here is Arden in a old car.

This is me holding a scorpein, yes it is real and not poisonous… but it had a stinger.

This is Ruby, Arden, Dad and i with a man we met from Singapore named Sam. We call him Singapore Sam.

This is how the feniculer works. First both cars fill up then the guards give the all clear thumbs up sign and the cars start to move. At the siding, the cars each go on a side but I think that the driver needs to hit a button that changes the tracks then they hit it again and then you go down some more and you are at the station.

My questions

How many cables, 1 or 2?
What are the operation times?
What is the communication system between the top and the bottom?
What is the cable made from?

I guess I have some more research to do!!

2 thoughts on “Fenicular – by Charlotte”

Good observations Charlotte.

I love funiculaires. You don’t see too many in Canada but there are lots in Europe. Do you remember going on one in Quebec City from the Chateau (where the big toboggan is) down to the Old City and the river and then back up again?

Usually there is one very long cable that is in a loop which connects the two cars. The car that is going down helps to pull the other car up. This way the motor has less work to do. Usually the motor is at the top and the cable goes around a big wheel connected to the motor. Pretend you are looking at the cable from the car at the bottom station. The cable goes up the mountain to the wheel and the motor. This part of the cable pulls the car up. Then the cable goes around the wheel and to the other car (which is at the top station when the other car is in the bottom station). The cable continues down the mountain, around another wheel at the bottom, and is then connected to the car at the bottom. It pulls one car up while it controls the speed of the other car down. The cable is made out of many strands of very strong and very flexible steel. It has to be able to bend around the wheel and not break from all the bending. And it has to pull the car up so it has to be very strong. ENGINEERS figure out how strong it has to be, how big a motor is needed, how to design and build it. The two cars pass each other at the siding. This way there is only one set of tracks needed for most of the distance, which saves money and space. Yes, there is some kind of switching needed but it’s probably automatic.

That is a huge centipede! Did you count its legs? And that’s a very scary scorpion! How did you know it wasn’t poisinous? And how did you know it wouldn’t sting you anyway?

Grandma and I are happy that all of you are having fun! Thank you for the pictures and the post

Love you all. Hugs and kisses

(PS: We are still at the Cottage. I checked in on Sage and the other Girls. They are well but they are lonely and they miss The Gingersnaps)

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