[Traindude]

With the recent discussion on cog-and-rack traction for mountain railways, I'd been thinking of something else that's related to railways on grades too steep for adhesion alone -- Cable-Propelled Railcars.

Perhaps the most famous example is the cable cars of San Francisco, California. There's even a museum dedicated to them.

Obviously, these cable-propelled cars don't have their own propulsion systems. Instead, they rely on grabbing onto a continuously moving cable located in a trough or conduit between the rails. The controls would be very simple -- since the cable speed governs the car's speed, the player would only need to press D once to lower the grip to engage the cable, and press A once to retract the grip before applying the brakes.

Similarly, cable propulsion can also be used to assist in steeper sections of conventional railways. One example, from my hometown of Seattle, was the Queen Anne Counterbalance, where electric streetcars grabbed on to a cable connected to an underground counterweight for the steep climb (about 15%) up Queen Anne Hill.

There's also this document that may also be of interest. I've also read that the Glasgow Subway in Scotland was, at one time, cable-propelled as well.

I'm just gauging how much interest there is in this sort of rail-vehicle propulsion, just to see if there's enough for us to commit to this aspect of railway propulsion. Here's a Trello Card for you guys to vote on.

[VAPOR3D]

Traindude, on 23 July 2024 - 10:33 PM, said:

With the recent discussion on cog-and-rack traction for mountain railways, I'd been thinking of something else that's related to railways on grades too steep for adhesion alone -- Cable-Propelled Railcars.

Perhaps the most famous example is the cable cars of San Francisco, California. There's even a museum dedicated to them.

Obviously, these cable-propelled cars don't have their own propulsion systems. Instead, they rely on grabbing onto a continuously moving cable located in a trough or conduit between the rails. The controls would be very simple -- since the cable speed governs the car's speed, the player would only need to press D once to lower the grip to engage the cable, and press A once to retract the grip before applying the brakes.

Similarly, cable propulsion can also be used to assist in steeper sections of conventional railways. One example, from my hometown of Seattle, was the Queen Anne Counterbalance, where electric streetcars grabbed on to a cable connected to an underground counterweight for the steep climb (about 15%) up Queen Anne Hill.

There's also this document that may also be of interest. I've also read that the Glasgow Subway in Scotland was, at one time, cable-propelled as well.

I'm just gauging how much interest there is in this sort of rail-vehicle propulsion, just to see if there's enough for us to commit to this aspect of railway propulsion. Here's a Trello Card for you guys to vote on.

For me, all this interest in different types of railroads is very interesting! This will advance our beloved simulator to unsuspected heights. Streetcars, funiculars, everything is very welcome!

P.S: Unfortunately, I do not know how to vote. There is no clear "Vote" button...

[steved]

You can "Rate Topic" up at the top.

Randy

[Traindude]

VAPOR3D, on 24 July 2024 - 08:27 AM, said:

P.S: Unfortunately, I do not know how to vote. There is no clear "Vote" button...

You have to register with an account with Trello, then click on a card and a "Vote" button will appear.

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[VAPOR3D]

Traindude, on 24 July 2024 - 01:02 PM, said:

You have to register with an account with Trello, then click on a card and a "Vote" button will appear.

Yes, thank you, I noticed that later... :sign_oops: