LOW-TECH MAGAZINE

Aerial ropeways: automatic cargo transport for a bargain

These days, we use them almost exclusively to transport skiers and snowboarders up snow slopes, but before the 1940s, aerial ropeways were a common means of cargo transport, not only in mountainous regions but also on flat terrain, with large-scale systems already built during the Middle Ages.

Cargo tramways can be fully or partly powered by gravity, and some deliver excess power that can be utilized to generate electricity or to drive cranes or machinery in nearby factories. Some innovative systems have been constructed in recent years.

Ropeway in Gdansk/Danzig, 1644

Water powered cable trains

Cable trains (or funiculars) are one of the most energy-efficient modes of transport out there.

A large portion of the power required to pull up the ascending car is delivered by the counterweight of the descending car.

Many historical systems used this efficiency and took it one step further with systems exclusively powered by water and gravity.