Private Funiculars
Private funiculars on steep sections provide easier access from the street to a house than steep paths or steps. They are common in hilly cities, such as Wellington, New Zealand, which has about 300. These have a small car for two to four people permanently attached to a cable from a winch, which runs on an inclined pair of rails (beams) or a single rail at a low speed (0.3 to 1.0 metres/second). They are often called "cable cars" or "lifts" (elevators), e.g., in the New Zealand standard for private cable cars (NZS 5270). Larger and faster models can improve access to commercial buildings (NZ, commercial).
In Quebec City, Canada, the Old Quebec Funicular has been operating since 1879, connecting the Haute-Ville (Upper Town) to the Basse-Ville (Lower Town).
Greenwood Forest Park in North Wales is home to the Dragon roller coaster. This coaster uses a funicular railway pulley system to lift the empty roller coaster using the weight of the people about to ride in it.
Read more about this topic: Funicular
Famous quotes containing the word private:
“Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of such a part as it may please the master to assign you, for a long time or for a little as he may choose. And if he will you to take the part of a poor man, or a cripple, or a ruler, or a private citizen, then may you act that part with grace! For to act well the part that is allotted to us, that indeed is ours to do, but to choose it is another’s.”
—Epictetus (c. 55–135 B.C.)