Ropeway conveyor

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View along the Forsby-Koping limestone cableway, Sweden Kalklinbanan-Granhammar.jpg
View along the Forsby-Köping limestone cableway, Sweden
Etching of Adam Wybe's world's first cable car in Gdansk. (by Willem Hondius) Willem Hondius cable car.jpg
Etching of Adam Wybe's world's first cable car in Gdańsk. (by Willem Hondius)

A ropeway conveyor or material ropeway [1] is essentially a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.

Gondola lift a type of aerial lift in which cabins are supported and propelled by cables, but where the cabins are not permanently fixed to the cables

A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal, which is typically connected to an engine or electric motor. They are often considered continuous systems since they feature a haul rope which continuously moves and circulates around two terminal stations. Depending on the combination of cables used for support and/or haulage and the type of grip, the capacity, cost, and functionality of a gondola lift will differ dramatically. Because of the proliferation of such systems in the Alpine regions of Europe, the French language name of Télécabine is also used in an English language context.

Contents

Ropeway conveyors are typically found around large mining concerns, and can be of considerable length. The COMILOG Cableway, which ran from Moanda in Gabon to Mbinda in the Republic of the Congo, was over 75 km in length. The Norsjö aerial tramway in Sweden had a length of 96 kilometers.

Mining The extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an orebody, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposit. These deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner.

The COMILOG Cableway was one of the longest cableways in the world, until its closure in 1986. The ropeway conveyor ran for 76 km from Moanda in the Haut-Ogooué Province of south eastern Gabon to Mbinda in the Republic of Congo.

Moanda Place in Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon

Moanda is one of the largest towns in Gabon, lying on the N3 road in Haut Ogooué. It is also one of the most important manganese mining towns in the world, under the auspices of the Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué (COMILOG), which began mining in 1957. Moanda has a population of around 39,298 inhabitants and is the second largest city in the Haut Ogooué Region, after Franceville. It is also a border town, lying 100 km away from the border with the Republic of Congo.

The first recorded mechanical ropeway was by Croatian Fausto Veranzio who designed a bicable passenger ropeway in 1616. The world's first cable car on multiple supports was built by Adam Wybe in Gdańsk, Poland in 1644. It was moved by the horses and used to move soil over the river to build defences. [2]

Croatia Republic in Central Europe

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the southeast, sharing a maritime border with Italy. Its capital, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with twenty counties. Croatia has an area of 56,594 square kilometres and a population of 4.28 million, most of whom are Roman Catholics.

Fausto Veranzio Italian humanist and bishop

Fausto Veranzio was a Croatian polymath and bishop from Šibenik, then part of the Venetian Republic and today part of Croatia.

Adam Wybe engineer

Adam Wybe, also known as Adam Wiebe, was an engineer and inventor of Dutch origin, active mainly in Danzig. His work includes the world's first cable car on multiple supports in 1644. It was the biggest built until the end of the 19th century.

In Eritrea the Italians built the Asmara-Massawa Cableway in 1936, which was 75 km long. The Manizales - Mariquita Cableway (1922) in Colombia was 73 km long.

Eritrea country in the Horn of Africa

Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa, with its capital at Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands. Its toponym Eritrea is based on the Greek name for the Red Sea, which was first adopted for Italian Eritrea in 1890.

Italians nation and ethnic group native to Italy

The Italians are a Romance ethnic group and nation native to the Italian peninsula and its neighbouring territories. Most Italians share a common culture, history, ancestry or language. Legally, all Italian nationals are citizens of the Italian Republic, regardless of ancestry or nation of residence and may be distinguished from people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship and from ethnic Italians living in territories adjacent to the Italian Peninsula without Italian citizenship. The majority of Italian nationals are speakers of Italian, or a regional variety thereof. However, around half also speak another regional or minority language native to Italy; although there is disagreement on the total number, according to UNESCO there are approximately 30 languages native to Italy.

Asmara-Massawa Cableway Aerial lift in Asmara, Eritrea

The Asmara-Massawa Cableway was a cableway built in Italian Eritrea before World War II.The Eritrean Ropeway, completed in 1937, ran 71.8 km from the south end of Asmara until the city-port of Massawa.

Conveyors can be powered by a wide variety of forms of energy, electric, engines, or gravity (particularly in mountainous mining concerns, or where running water is available). [3]

See also

Aerial lift Cable transport in which passenger containers are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables

An aerial lift (US), also known as a cable car, is a means of cable transport in which cabins, cars, gondolas or open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables. Aerial lift systems are frequently employed in mountainous territory where roads are relatively difficult to build and use, and have seen extensive use in mining. Aerial lift systems are relatively easy to move, and are and have been used to cross rivers and ravines. In more recent times, the cost-effectiveness and flexibility of aerial lifts has seen an increase of gondola lift being integrated into urban public transport systems.

Aerial tramway Aerial lift in which the cars are permanently fixed to the cables

An aerial tramway, sky tram,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. With this form of lift, the grip of an aerial tramway cabin is fixed onto the propulsion rope and cannot be decoupled from it during operations.

Blondin (quarry equipment) quarry equipment

Blondins were a type of aerial ropeway employed in open pits in the slate quarries in Wales to transport wagons loads of rock between locations. They were named after the famous tightrope walker Charles Blondin.

Related Research Articles

Cable transport broad class of transport modes that have cables as foundation for transporting things, people, or vehicles

Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by drives within the object being moved on cableways. The use of pulleys and balancing of loads moving up and down are common elements of cable transport. They are often used in mountainous areas where cable haulage can overcome large differences in elevation.

Chairlift type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop carrying a series of chairs

An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They are the primary onhill transport at most ski areas, but are also found at amusement parks, various tourist attractions, and increasingly in urban transport.

Funitel aerial lift

A funitel is a type of Cableway, generally used to transport skiers, although at least one is used to transport finished cars between different areas of a factory. It differs from a standard gondola through the use of two arms attached to two parallel overhead cables, providing more stability in high winds. The name funitel is a blend of the French words funiculaire and telepherique.

A ropeway is a form of naval lifting device used to transport light stores and equipment across rivers or ravines. It comprises a jackstay, slung between two sheers or gyns, one at either end, from which is suspended a block and tackle, that is free to travel along the rope and hauled back and forth by inhauls .It is a very useful method of Transportation for very short distance.

Singapore Cable Car gondola lift providing an aerial link from Mount Faber to the resort island of Sentosa

The Singapore Cable Car is a gondola lift providing an aerial link from Mount Faber on the main island of Singapore to the resort island of Sentosa across the Keppel Harbour. Opened on 15 February 1974, it was the first aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbour. However, it is not the first aerial ropeway system to span the sea. For instance, Awashima Kaijō Ropeway in Japan, built in 1964, goes over a short strait to an island. Although referred to by its operators as a cable car, the listed system is in fact a monocable gondola lift and not an aerial tramway. A round-trip ticket currently costs SGD 33 for adults and SGD 22 for children.

Aerial lift pylon type of supporting structure

An Aerial lift pylon is a pylon-like construction bearing the cables of an aerial lift such as an aerial tramway or gondola lift. Large pylons of aerial tramways usually consist of a steel framework construction, smaller pylons of gondola lifts are made of tubular steel. Early aerial tramways often had pylons of reinforced concrete and ropeway conveyors had timber pylons, if they were cheaper than steel pylons.

Norsjö ropeway

Norsjö aerial tramway is a 13.2 kilometre long aerial tramway between Örträsk and Mensträsk in the Norsjö Municipality in Sweden.

3S Cable Car Swiss cable car system

The 3S Cable Car (Europe), 3S Gondola Lift or 3S Aerial Tramway (US) is a cable car system that was developed by the Swiss company Von Roll transport systems in Thun to unite the benefits of a gondola with those of a reversible cable car system.

Bleichert Former German wire ropeway & automobile manufacturer

Bleichert, short for Adolf Bleichert & Co., was a German engineering firm founded in 1874 by Adolf Bleichert. The company dominated the aerial wire ropeway industry during the first half of the 20th century, and its portfolio included cranes, electric cars, elevators, and mining and ship-loading equipment.

Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car aerial tramway

The Zugspitzebahn was the first wire ropeway to open the summit of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain on the border of Austria. Designed and built by Adolf Bleichert & Co. of Leipzig, Germany, the system was a record-holder for highest altitude. Opening in 1926, the Zugspitzebahn connected the Austrian town of Ehrwald with the top station at 2,950 metres above sea level next to the summit of Zugspitze.

Wings of Tatev

Wings of Tatev is a 5.7 km (3.5 mi) cableway between Halidzor and the Tatev monastery in Armenia. It is the longest reversible aerial tramway built in only one section, and holds the record for Longest non-stop double track cable car. Construction was finished on 16 October 2010.

Arosa Lenzerheide Ski area in Switzerland

Arosa Lenzerheide is a ski area located in Arosa, Lenzerheide, Valbella, Parpan and Churwalden, Graubünden/Switzerland. It originated 2013/14 by connecting the existing ski areas of Arosa and Lenzerheide. With a total of 225 kilometers of ski slopes and 41 cable cars it is the largest contiguous ski area in Graubünden.

IGA Cable Car Cableway in Berlin, Germany

The IGA Cable Car, also known as Berlin Cableway, IGA Ropeway or IGA Cableway, is a 1.58 km (0.98 mi)-long gondola lift line serving and crossing the Erholungspark Marzahn in Berlin, capital of Germany. Built for the Internationale Gartenausstellung 2017, an international horticultural exhibition, it is the first cableway opened in the German capital.

References

  1. ↑ Ernst, Dr.-Ing. Richard (1989). Wörterbuch der Industriellen Technik (5th ed.). Wiesbaden: Oscar Brandstetter, 1989, p. 659. ISBN   3-87097-145-2.
  2. ↑ Adam Wijbe
  3. ↑


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