A funicular is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages permanently attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable, which is looped over a pulley at the upper end of the track. The result of such a configuration is that the two carriages move synchronously: as one ascends, the other descends at an equal speed. This feature distinguishes funiculars from inclined elevators, which have a single car that is hauled uphill.
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region locally known as the Tri-State Area. It serves as the main commercial, industrial, educational, and cultural center for the area. Geographically, it is part of the Driftless Area, a portion of North America that escaped all three phases of the Wisconsin Glaciation.
Angels Flight is a landmark and historic 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, named Olivet and Sinai, that run in opposite directions on a shared cable. The tracks cover a distance of 298 feet (91 m) over a vertical gain of 96 feet (29 m).
The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and offers good views over the harbour and skyscrapers of Hong Kong. Operated since 1888, it was the first funicular railway in Asia.
The Dubuque County Courthouse is located on Central Avenue, between 7th and 8th Streets, in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The current structure was built from 1891 to 1893 to replace an earlier building. These are believed to be the only two structures to house the county courts and administrative offices.
St. Raphael's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral and a parish church in the Archdiocese of Dubuque located in Dubuque, Iowa. The parish is the oldest congregation of any Christian denomination in the state of Iowa. The cathedral church, rectory, former convent, and former parochial school building are contributing properties in the Cathedral Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
Saint Mary's Catholic Church is a former parish of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The church is located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States, at the corner of 15th and White Streets. The church is recognizable by its steeple– one of the tallest in the area. The church property was added to the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district in 2015, and the various buildings were included as contributing properties in the Washington Residential Historic District later in the same year.
The Johnstown Inclined Plane is a 896.5-foot (273.3 m) funicular in Johnstown, Cambria County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh rivers, to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. The Johnstown Inclined Plane is billed as the "world's steepest vehicular inclined plane". It can carry automobiles and passengers, up or down a slope with a grade of 71.9%. The travel time between stations is 90 seconds.
The Duquesne Incline is a funicular scaling Mount Washington near the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed by Hungarian-American engineer Samuel Diescher, the incline was completed in 1877.
The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge inclined plane funicular railway leading to the top of Lookout Mountain from the historic St. Elmo neighborhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Passengers are transported from St. Elmo's Station at the base, to Point Park at the mountain summit, which overlooks the city and the Tennessee River. It is just a short drive to three of Chattanooga's main tourist attractions, Ruby Falls, Cavern Castle, and Rock City. The railway is approximately one mile (1.6 km) in length. It has a maximum grade of 72.7%, making it one of the world's steepest passenger railways. It obtained Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark status in 1991. The cable system for the cars was made by the Otis Elevator Company.
The Stanserhorn is a mountain in Switzerland, located in the canton of Nidwalden near to the border with Obwalden, with the peak at 1,898 metres (6,227 ft) above sea level.
The North Hudson Railway Company built and operated a streetcar system in Hudson County and southeast Bergen County, New Jersey before and after the start of the 20th century. It was founded by Hillric J. Bonn who became the first President in 1865 and served for 26 years until his death, and eventually taken over by the Public Service Railway. In its endeavors to overcome the formidable obstacle of ascending the lower Hudson Palisades, or Bergen Hill, it devised numerous innovative engineering solutions including funicular wagon lifts, an inclined elevated railway, an elevator and viaducts.
Cathedral Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 124 resources, which included 96 contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing structure and 26 non-contributing buildings. The district was the first residential area in Dubuque, and developed into a tightly knit neighborhood. It is located west of the original commercial district and below the bluffs of the Mississippi River that rise steeply to the west. Although its original structures no longer stand, its historic buildings are largely from the mid to late 19th century. St. Raphael's Cathedral complex, from which the district receives its name, was important in serving immigrants, including most of the Irish immigrants to the city, and in building ties. In 1985, the district was deemed to have retained "most of its original character and fabric" from the late 1800s. Washington Park, J.H. Thedinga House (1855), Fenelon Place Elevator, and Redstone (1888) are all individually listed on the National Register.
An inclined elevator or inclined lift is a form of cable railway that hauls rail cars up a steep gradient.
The Odesa Funicular serves the Ukrainian city of Odesa. Running alongside the Potemkin Stairs, it connects the Prymorskyi Boulevard with the Port of Odesa.
The Dubuque Casket Company is a historic building located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The city was a leading national market in the production of caskets towards the end of the 19th century. This location had been the site of a casket manufacturing plant from 1877 to 1987. The Dubuque Furniture and Burial Case Company was the first firm in Dubuque and the first to locate here. The building was largely destroyed by fire in 1883 and the company was forced out of business. The Dubuque Casket Company was incorporated in 1893 and acquired this property. They started construction of the first part of this building the same year. The four-story brick Neoclassical building was one of the largest manufacturing facilities in Dubuque. The machine and equipment room was located on the first floor, they manufactured fine cloth covered caskets on the second floor, they manufactured undertaker's dry goods on the third floor, and the fourth floor was used for storage. The first addition, now known as the center section was begun in 1903, and another expansion that also unified the main facade was begun in 1911. Two other Dubuque casket manufacturers, Iowa Coffin Company and the Hawkeye Casket Company, were out of business by 1924.
Jackson Park Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. This is primarily a residential area, with some institutional and commercial buildings, located north of the central business district. The city originally developed just to the south of here. The Cathedral Historic District represents the oldest residential neighborhood in Dubuque, and began to house the working-class people closer to the docks. Once the Jackson Park area opened for development the city's wealthier residents built their homes here. Architectural styles rang from the vernacular, which are found mainly along the bluff, to the high style found mainly along Main and Locust Streets. Most of the houses were built from the mid to the late 19th century. The Andrew-Ryan House (1873) was individually listed on the National Register. Most of the institutional architecture are churches, which include St. John's Episcopal Church (1878) and St. Patrick's Catholic Church (1878). Central High School, no longer extant, was located across from Jackson Park, and it was also individually listed on the National Register before its demise. The Carnegie-Stout Public Library (1902) is located on the south side of the district.
West Eleventh Street Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 288 resources, which included 191 contributing buildings, 32 contributing structures, 61 non-contributing buildings, two contributing sites, and one non-contributing structure. This district is a residential area on top of the bluff above the Jackson Park Historic District, which is in the river valley below. Its name comes from its historical association with the former West Eleventh Street Elevator, a funicular that was similar to the Fenelon Place Elevator to the south. For the most part the historic buildings here are single-family residences with their attendant out-buildings, although the number of out-buildings located here is relatively low. There is one apartment building and 46 duplexes. Some of the single-family houses were converted into multi-family residences, and then some of those were converted back. The various Victorian styles are found along the bluff fronts on the eastern and southern edge of the district, and vernacular structures on the northern and western sections. The Charles T. Hancock House (1890) was individually listed on the National Register. Given the steep bluffs in the district the historic structures are retaining walls and steps that replace the sidewalks.
The Fenelon Place Residential Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 218 resources, which included 171 contributing buildings, two contributing structures, one contributing site, 43 non-contributing buildings, and one non-contributing structure. The residential area that makes up the district is located on a plateau located directly above the Mississippi River Valley. This was the first bluff-top neighborhood in Dubuque that established elevator service. The first Fenelon Place Elevator, listed on the National Register in 1978, was completed in 1894. Early houses on the plateau were small cottages built by lead miners. They were replaced by large houses that were built in two periods. The first period at the end of the 19th century saw houses built in the Italianate, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, and Queen Anne styles. House in the second period in the beginning of the 20th century were largely built in the Classical Revival and Tudor Revival styles.
