The Wellington Cable Car is a funicular railway in Wellington, New Zealand, between Lambton Quay, the main shopping street, and Kelburn, a suburb in the hills overlooking the central city, rising 120 m (394 ft) over a length of 609 m (1,998 ft).
Top view of Wellington Cable Car
Control panel in one of the cable cars.
Car 3, restored for display in the museum
Kelburne Cable Car from Salamanca station, 1910
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.
Funicular in Baku, Azerbaijan
Bottom towrope
Funicular drive train
Petřín funicular wheelset with Abt rack and pinion brake