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.
Brienz is a village and municipality on the northern shore of Lake Brienz, at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain, and in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Besides the village of Brienz, the municipality includes the settlements of Kienholz and Axalp.
Heinrich Georg Bronn was a German geologist and paleontologist. He was the first to translate Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species into German in 1860, although not without introducing his own interpretations, as also a chapter critiquing the work.
The Bernese Oberland, the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions. It constitutes the Alpine region of the canton and the northern side of the Bernese Alps, including many of its highest peaks, among which the Finsteraarhorn, the highest in both range and canton.
Carl Roman Abt was a Swiss mechanical engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. He made groundbreaking innovations in rack-and-pinion railways, giving his name to one of the most widely used systems developed for mountain railways, the Abt rack system.
Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien (1887–1915) by Adolf Engler (1844–1930) and Karl Anton Prantl is a complete revision of plant families down to generic level and often even further. As such it forms part of the Engler system of plant taxonomy.
The Bürgenstock Funicular is a funicular railway in the canton of Nidwalden, Switzerland. The line links the landing stage at Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock, served by the regular passenger boats of the Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des Vierwaldstättersees, with the Bürgenstock resort and its famous hotels.
The Locarno–Madonna del Sasso funicular, or Funicolare Locarno–Madonna del Sasso (FLMS) is a funicular railway near the city of Locarno in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The line links a lower station in the city center with the pilgrimage site of the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso and the municipality of Orselina. It forms part of the route to the summit of nearby Cimetta mountain.
Karl Wilhelm Ritter was a civil engineer, professor of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and later rector of the Polytechnic Institute of Zurich (1887–1891).
Markus Theodor Mattmüller was a Swiss historian.
The Indian locomotive class WCP-2 is a class of 1.5 kV DC electric locomotives that was developed in late 1920s by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Direct Current (C), Passenger traffic (P) engine, 2nd generation (2). They entered service in 1938. A single WCP-1 was built at England in 1938.
The Sorrento Funicular was a steam-driven, inclined rail system located in the commune of Sorrento, within the Municipality of Naples, Italy — connecting its upper terminus at Sorrento's Hotel Vittoria to the resort's port, several hundred feet below on the Gulf of Naples. The system was designed by Italian engineer Alessandro Ferretti, began operating in 1883 and stopped operating approximately three years later.
Gerschnialpbahn is a funicular railway in Obwalden, Switzerland. The line leads from Engelberg at 1000 m to Gerschnialp at 1262 m on the slopes of Titlis. The funicular with two cars has a single track with a passing loop and a tunnel at upper end. Journey time is 5 minutes. It operates all year.
Parkbahn is a funicular at Zurich Airport in Switzerland. The line leads from the "The Circle" buildings to the center of the park atop Butzenbüel. It is part of a landscaping project of the glacial moraine and planted forest. The single-car line has a length of 79 m with a maximum incline of 30% and a difference of elevation of 23 m. It is fully automated and monitored remotely from the airport's Skymetro operation center.
Opened in 1891, the Seilbahn Lauterbrunnen–Grütschalp was a 1.4 km long funicular railway between Lauterbrunnen and Grütschalp in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. From Grütschalp, the Lauterbrunnen–Mürren mountain railway continues to Mürren. The line had a difference of elevation of 674m at an incline of 41-60%. The longest viaduct on the line was 220m. The funicular closed on 23 April 2006, and was replaced by a aerial cablecar in December 2006.
Vinifuni Ligerz–Prêles is a funicular above Lake Biel in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. The line leads from Ligerz/Gléresse at 437 m to Prêles at 820 m on Tessenberg, a plateau part of the Jura range. The line has a length of 1198 m with a difference of elevation of 383 m and a maximum incline of 40%. The single track funicular has had only one car since 2004, when the passing loop and the second car were removed. Two intermediate stations are Pilgerweg at 487 m and Festi/Château at 577 m. The lower station is next to Ligerz railway station and a landing stage for Lake Biel passenger ships.
Drahtseilbahn Engelberg-Hotel Terrasse was a funicular railway in Engelberg, Switzerland. It led from the resort Engelberg at 1003 m to Hotel Terrace at 1053 m. The two-car line with passing loop had a length of 136 m and a maximum incline of 37.2%. It was one of the funiculars built at Belle Epoque hotels.
