I love the "In Focus" by The Atlantic. There are always mesmerizing and capture the beauty of the subject being talked about. And also, wow - keyboard navigation! Yes!
Stalin's Rope Roads
11–20 of 33 posts
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#12FrogDesign proposed cable gondolas to solve Austin's mass transit problem[1]. With the hills and lakes/rivers in the area, it's a plausible solution (cheaper than a subway, anyway). The only hitch I see is how to air-condition the cars -- I wouldn't want to be in an enclosed glass box on one of our 110F days without it. [1] http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/11/forget-subw...
If I remember right the cable tram in Portland Oregon is air conditioned. I think they just run power through the cable.
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#13FrogDesign proposed cable gondolas to solve Austin's mass transit problem[1]. With the hills and lakes/rivers in the area, it's a plausible solution (cheaper than a subway, anyway). The only hitch I see is how to air-condition the cars -- I wouldn't want to be in an enclosed glass box on one of our 110F days without it. [1] http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/11/forget-subw...
There's a really nice discussion in the comments of that post.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/11/forget-subw...
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#14Side comment: I hadn't noticed that one could use j/k to navigate the photos; whoever put the photo page design together was presumably a vi user?
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#15FrogDesign proposed cable gondolas to solve Austin's mass transit problem[1]. With the hills and lakes/rivers in the area, it's a plausible solution (cheaper than a subway, anyway). The only hitch I see is how to air-condition the cars -- I wouldn't want to be in an enclosed glass box on one of our 110F days without it. [1] http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/11/forget-subw...
We do have air conditioned cabins in the capital - Tbilisi :) http://mail.civil.ge/eng/category.php?id=87&size=wide&galler...
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#16This is reminiscent of the inclines (aka funiculars) in Pittsburgh, another old industrial city set in a similar landscape:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duquesne_Incline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monongahela_Incline
They are far better maintained, and operated as part of the city's public transit system.
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#17“In 2008 the hauling rope of this tramway snapped with 12 passengers inside. Ramaz Khipshidze, the director of the Aerial Tramway Network says the automatic braking system worked "thanks to God."”
Well, it certainly wasn’t thanks to regular maintenance. Honestly, why is everything from the Soviet era just left to rot?
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, one major incident, that killed 20 people. But still! A step up!
That was on a tramway of a different type, in another city. The type in Chiatura does have automatic brakes.
But even then – 20 deaths over 60 years is basically nothing (compared to, say, car accidents).
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#19If you like this kind of stuff, check out Low-tech Magazine. Here's their article on aerial ropeways:
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/01/aerial-ropeways-autom...
Their series on the mechanical transmission of power is great: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/01/mechanical-transmissi...
Re: Stalin's Rope Roads
#20This is really cool and incredibly dangerous: >The cabins run without a braking system; if the haulage cable snaps, the cabins will roll straight back down the track cable. This happened to a tramway in Georgia's capital Tbilisi in 1990, killing twenty people. All in all, a good article that shows a really neat place. A city of tons of tramways, built for an incredible worker efficiency. The pictures are well done an…
Is that better or worse than cars on a windy mountain road?