Tag Archives: funicular

Angel’s Flight Railway

I first heard of Angel’s Flight Railway in one of the early Harry Bosch novels that was named for it. Prior to that, I had never heard of this funicular railway in Los Angeles. More recently it was also the subject of a TV series that I started to watch but never continued with. In my many trips to LA, I had never actually seen it. Work took me there a short while ago and my hotel was only a few minutes walk from the railway and, since I seem to have sought out some funiculars recently, I figured I would head to this one after work before it got dark.

I ended up arriving at the top of the railway. Apparently, it has undergone some rehabilitation and modernization, and it certainly seemed it great shape. The top station still has a vintage feel to it, though. There is a stairway that runs down the hill parallel to the track so, rather than ride down, I walked down the stairs to watch the trains as they passed me. The cars are on separate tracks, but they are only spaced to pass halfway up the hill. At the top and bottom, the alignment comes closer together. As the cars approach each other, they move to the side and them come back towards the middle once clear of each other.

The loading is done through end doors at the top and bottom so no need to worry about complex platform issues. Everything seems to be managed from the station at the top. When I got to the bottom, it seemed that people would board freely, having to pay when they made it to the summit. It does provide a good way up the hill, but it isn’t that big of a hill, and I wonder why the railway was necessary when it was built. Now it seems to be a tourist attraction as opposed to a key element of the transit system. Good to have finally seen it, though, and another funicular to visit.

Duquesne Incline

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At the end of my recent visit to Pittsburgh, I wrapped up my meetings and had lunch prior to heading to the airport. I did have about 90 minutes spare and was able to slot in a visit that I had thought about before going but that had slipped my mind for much of the visit when I was tied up with work stuff. This was to check out one of the incline railways that Pittsburgh has. Originally, there were twenty of these funicular railways on the hills surrounding Pittsburgh but now just two remain.

I chose to try the Duquesne Incline. My Uber driver told me that this was the better one as the view from the top covered the downtown better, but I won’t claim this was an informed choice on my part. However, I will take being lucky any time. The incline was built in the late 1800s to get workers from the industrial lands along the rivers to their homes up on the hills overlooking the city. There are two cars on individual tracks (not all funiculars are configured this way) with a cable connecting them after passing through the equipment room at the top of the hill. The weight of the cars counterbalances to a reasonable extent so the power required is only what is necessary to overcome any weight differential and the friction of the system.

At the top of the hill, you can walk down under the station to see the machinery at work. The sheaves reminded me of a visit many years ago to the Cable Car Barn in San Francisco. This is on a smaller scale, of course. Watching the cars heading up and down the grade was pretty cool and the viewing deck at the top provided a great view across the city. This is all part of the Pittsburgh transit system so you can use the Incline as a connection to your bus journey if you want. If you find yourself in Pittsburgh and have a little time, do check out either the Duquesne Incline or the Monongahela Incline. They are quite something.

Clifton Rocks Railway

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The area of Bristol known as Clifton sits on the top of the hill overlooking the Avon. To get from the water to Clifton is quite a climb. These days you would drive up there but, in the days, when vessels would be bringing passengers in by boat along the river, an alternative was required. The Clifton Rocks Railway was the solution. This was a funicular railway that ran in a tunnel from alongside the river up to near the suspension bridge.

Built in the 1890s, it operated until the 1930s when the decline in passenger numbers meant it was no longer viable. The tunnels were used as office space during the Second World War with the BBC being one of the tenants and they continued to use the space into the 1960s. There is now an effort to restore aspects of the tunnels although the railway will never operate again given the usage the tunnels have had since service ended. The station at the bottom is still visible but is now alongside a busy roadway so might easily be missed as you drive past.