Book 20, Question 129
How Does a Gondola Lift Get Up the Mountain?
A gondola lift gets up the mountain by hanging cabins from a moving cable loop. A big electric motor keeps the cable moving. It is like a giant clothesline that carries people uphill.
More fun facts
- In a monocable detachable gondola, one rope both carries and pulls the cabins.
- Detachable cabins let go of the rope in the stations, so they can move fast on the line but slowly for boarding.
- Detachable lifts have been around since the 1980s and are now the state of the art.
- In a pulsed gondola, cabins stay clamped to the rope, so the rope slows or even stops as groups of cabins pass through the stations.
- Pulsed gondolas carry fewer people, so they suit short ropeways.
- Big three-rope systems can carry over 5,000 passengers per hour at up to 7 meters per second.
Sources: leitner.com
Questions kids ask
Why do gondola cabins slow down in the station?
Many gondolas let the cabins detach from the fast rope in the station, so people can get on and off safely.