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.
The Fenelon Place Elevator is a 3 ft narrow gauge funicular railway located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was included as a contributing property in the Cathedral Historic District in 1985, and in the Fenelon Place Residential Historic District in 2015.
The Reichenbachfall Funicular is a funicular in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It links Willigen, near Meiringen, with the uppermost of the Reichenbach Falls, famous as the site of the apparent death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional hero, Sherlock Holmes. On its route the line follows and crosses the lower falls of the Reichenbach.
The Gelmer Funicular is a cable railway in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It links a lower terminus at Handegg, in the Haslital, with an upper terminus at the Gelmersee lake, 448 m above.
The Braunwaldbahn, Braunwald-Standseilbahn (BRSB), or Braunwald Funicular, is a funicular railway in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. The line links Linthal Braunwaldbahn station, on the Swiss Federal Railways' Weesen to Linthal line, with the car-free resort of Braunwald on the mountain 605 m above.
An inclined elevator or inclined lift is a form of cable railway that hauls rail cars up a steep gradient.
The Zermatt–Sunnegga Funicular, also known as the Standseilbahn Zermatt–Sunnegga, or short SunneggaExpress, is an underground funicular railway in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It links a lower station in the resort village of Zermatt, with an upper station at 2293 m Sunnegga, 698 m above, and forms the first link in the route to the Sunnegga Paradise ski area. The funicular was heavily modernized by Doppelmayr in 2013.
The Odesa Funicular serves the Ukrainian city of Odesa. Running alongside the Potemkin Stairs, it connects the Prymorskyi Boulevard with the Port of Odesa.
Dietschibergbahn was a funicular railway at Lucerne, Switzerland. The line lead from the city to Dietschiberg at 628 m. The hill, 210 m above Lake Lucerne, was also known as "Little Rigi". The line had length of 1240 m and an incline between 9 and 25%. The funicular with two cars had a single track with a passing loop. After the restaurant burned down in 1977, the funicular ceased operations in September 1978.
Caumasee-Lift is a funicular at Flims, Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It provides access to Caumasee at 1003 m - with its bath and restaurant - from an upper station at 1075 m, on Via Dil Lag in Flims Waldhaus. Since 1990, the installation consists of a pair of fully automated inclined elevators. The track has a length of 125 m at an incline of 35%. The upper station can be reached by foot in 10 minutes from the bus stop "Flims-Waldhaus, Caumasee“.
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.
Standseilbahn Hotel Montana is a funicular in Lucerne, Switzerland. It leads from Haldenstrasse at the shore of Lake Lucerne to the entrance of Hotel Montana at Adligenswilerstrasse. The installation has a single-car and a counterweight. It runs for a length of 85 m and a difference of elevation of 38 m. The average incline is 50%. Intermediate stops provide access to the premises of SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern.
Standseilbahn Amsteg–Bristen was built 1920 for the construction of the Amsteg power plant between Amsteg at ca. 530 m and Bristen at ca. 780 m in the Canton of Uri, Switzerland. The funicular line with a single car has a length of 400 m and a maximum incline of 92%.
The Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern is a funicular railway at the Linth-Limmern pumped storage plant in the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Built in 2013 for a transport capacity of 215 tonnes, the funicular moved the four transformers of the hydroelectric plant from Tierfehd at an elevation of 816 m (2,677 ft) to the machinery cavern of the Limmern plant at 1,697 m (5,568 ft). This made it the highest-capacity funicular. The 3,778-metre-long (12,395 ft) line, passing through a tunnel, has an elevation difference of 882 m (2,894 ft) and an incline of 24 per cent. The single track has a passing loop for the descending car.
Le Remontoir is a funicular-like inclined elevator in Le Locle, Switzerland. It links the town's centre with Le Locle railway station located above. With a length of 62 m, it climbs a difference of elevation of 24 m. The lower station is located in Rue de la Côte at a small square named Sidmouth's Square.
Standseilbahn Lochezen is an inclined lift at Lochezen on Walensee, Switzerland. It was built in 1956 to provide access from the lake shore at 425 m to the limestone quarry at 575 m. With a length of ca. 200 m, the lift climbs a difference of elevation of 150 m at an incline of 89%. The open platform is pulled by a winch above the upper station.
Schweizer Seilbahninventar was published in 2011 by the Federal Office of Culture. Of about 3000 cableways in Switzerland, the heritage inventory assesses 67 as of national importance and 44 as of regional importance in terms of the Swiss Federal Act on the nature and cultural heritage. It also includes 18 noteworthy more recent systems. Installations are included for their cultural or technological significance. The inventory covers aerial cableways, funiculars and ski lifts. Classifications applied are those of Swiss authorities. It does not cover inclined elevators, mobile lifts and installations part of residential, military or industrial building complexes.
Schräglift Webermühle is an inclined lift at Limmat river in Wettingen, Aargau, Switzerland. The lift connects the Webermühle residential area in Neuenhof to the Wettingen railway station above. It has a difference of elevation of 20 m. The lower station is located next to the pedestrian bridge to Webermühle. A footpath along the river leads to Spinnerei Wettingen. The upper station is on Alberich-Zwyssig-Strasse. It is open to the public during daytime.
A Water balancea railway is a funicular, aerial tramway or cable railway that uses the weight of water to move its carriages.
