🚞 Putting the Fun Back in Funicular

Hines · January 8, 2025, 11:03pm

Here’s something for the bucket list; The Thüringer Bergbahn.

2 railway lines needed to connect with each other up a hill and wanted to avoid switchbacks, so decided to build a funicular to carry fully loaded freight wagons up a hillside.

The two lines have been adapted for German tourists and adventurers. Best of all, you can get there by train!

The Thüringer Bergbahn is made up of two sections:

The funicular railway between Obstfelderschmiede and Lichtenhain
The upland route between Lichtenhain and Cursdorf

When the contract to build a rail line was announced, the connection had to run between Obstfelderschmiede and Cursdorf, i.e. the funicular was an integral part of the route from the very beginning.

The funicular section uses two different vehicles: a passenger carriage with a stepped interior, and a freight platform. The latter can carry railway wagons with a standard gauge and total mass of 27 tonnes.

Its original purpose was to carry freight between the upland around Oberweissbach and Germany’s nationwide rail network.

The “convertible” was fashioned from a service car that was once part of a construction works. Wagon 3 is designed to be mounted on the freight platform the same as the closed-top carriage.

The Thüringer Bergbahn was designed to transport normal railway wagons – the only one in the world to do so – is what makes it possible to use these two carriages for transporting people. The open-top wagon is considerably longer than its closed-top counterpart, so it projects much further over the edge of the transporter platform. This means that passengers are even higher above the level of the tracks below, giving better views

If you’re using Safari you can click on the left side of the web address and it will translate the full page. With this feature, you can watch a full video of the funicular negotiating the curves and pass through the mind boggling switches and then channel your inner Kormsen to navigate through the official German site with ease.

For those who don’t have time for the video here’s how the switches work.

Abt switches have no moving parts. The passenger carriage has double-flanged wheels on the left-hand side, and it is guided by the left-hand rail. Its roller wheels on the right can simply pass over the cable gap in switch. On the freight platform, the wheel positions are reversed. It is guided by the right-hand rail, while its roller wheels are located on the left.

capecodtodd · January 9, 2025, 3:02pm

WOW that is really something. How clever is that but how long does it take to transfer an entire train? The wheel set up for the switches is also very clever.

The cart that carries the cars looks like something I will soon be building as part of my Mik build

Dave_Meashey · January 9, 2025, 6:07pm

Folks;

I think it was several years ago when somebody posted videos of their passenger carrying funicular large scale model here. It also used double-flanged wheels on the outside rail and switches minus a frog or points.

There is a system in England that works only with the weight of water. The car at the top of the grade fills a tank between its frame members with water. That gives it enough weight to pull the other car (with tank emptied) back up the incline.

Regards, David Meashey

Hines · February 4, 2025, 1:20am

Been open to tourists since 2001 at the amazing speed of 7 kilometres per hour.

Grade: 106%

Hines · February 19, 2025, 11:14am

There are reportedly 3 water powered funiculars left in the world.

From Wikipedia

Although the water was cheap to come by (unless it had to be pumped up to the mountain station, which required energy to do so), there were disadvantages to operating with water ballast. Winter operation became dangerous as soon as there was a risk of the water tanks or the brake rack icing up. Likewise, the forced break that was necessary until the next trip due to refilling proved to be disadvantageous. In addition, the high operating weight and the high axle load of the wagons increased the maintenance effort for the entire system. Because of these limitations, only a few water-ballast-operated railways were built; and most have been converted to electric operation or have been discontinued.

Dave_Meashey · February 21, 2025, 2:52pm

Bill;

Ironic as this may sound, Roanoke, VA actually had a funicular at the turn of the 20th century. A local copier place sold copies of the funicular’s company advertisements, and I have one of them. The line ascended our local Mill Mountain. The 1910 ad stated that the temperature was always 10 degrees F cooler on top of the mountain than it was in the valley in the summer time. The company that built this funicular is still in business. The old roadbed is now used as a power line right of way, so very low chance for it being rebuilt.

Best, David Meashey

P.S. Somewhere in the ad it proclaims something like: “Sound as the Rock of Gibraltar and safe as the Bank of England.”

Hines · February 21, 2025, 8:45pm

Pretty cool Dave. I assume it was only used in the summer to escape the heat? I read the land is owned by a power company now.

Cliff_Jennings · February 21, 2025, 9:24pm

Pittsburgh has two “incline railways.” They differ from funiculars in that they don’t share the upper and lower tracks.

The advantage with the funicular is that your hoisting gear and turning sheaves are all centered with the upper and lower track. Advantage with the incline is avoiding the switches for the parallel section in the middle, and perhaps better stability with flanges on all wheels.

Either way, the cars counterbalance each other, and the drive gear is shared. I went on the Monongahela Incline back in 2021, and here’s the engine at the top. Used to be steam powered, but now all electric of course.

With the incline approach, you have to spread the left cable apart from the right, and that’s why it’s so complicated at the top. Here’s a video of that “spreading gear,” if you will. A chart at the end shows how the gear is arranged.