Post by eascogo on Dec 17, 2017 22:52:13 GMT
World's steepest railway opens
I was intrigued by this BBC news item today about the steepness of a newly opened Swiss mountain cable railway. The article says:
"... The floors tilt, adjusting to the slope as the funicular climbs 110m (360ft) over a distance of 100m at the steepest point."
I remembered an ancient Swissair TV ad that went along the line that Swiss people were used to fly from peak to peak from an early age. However I could not figure out how a newly opened Swiss cable railway could climb 110m over a distance of 100m -- a feat surely beyond modern Swiss engineering. See www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42384814
The puzzle is solved by a read of the relevant news at www.swissinfo.ch/ger/pionierarbeit_die-steilste-seilbahn-der-welt/43757080
" ... Am 16. Dezember 2017 wird die steilste Standseilbahn der Welt eröffnet. Die Bahn bewältigt auf 100 Metern in waagrechter Richtung 110 Höhenmeter, was einer Steigung von 110 Prozent entspricht."
This explains how a climb of 110m is achieved over a horizontal distance of 100m, equivalent to an incline of 110%.
Having cycled along the Welsh hills I should have remembered what a 10% or 15% slope actually means: breathlessness. Reference to slopes is always to the level (horizontal) distance.
I was intrigued by this BBC news item today about the steepness of a newly opened Swiss mountain cable railway. The article says:
"... The floors tilt, adjusting to the slope as the funicular climbs 110m (360ft) over a distance of 100m at the steepest point."
I remembered an ancient Swissair TV ad that went along the line that Swiss people were used to fly from peak to peak from an early age. However I could not figure out how a newly opened Swiss cable railway could climb 110m over a distance of 100m -- a feat surely beyond modern Swiss engineering. See www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42384814
The puzzle is solved by a read of the relevant news at www.swissinfo.ch/ger/pionierarbeit_die-steilste-seilbahn-der-welt/43757080
" ... Am 16. Dezember 2017 wird die steilste Standseilbahn der Welt eröffnet. Die Bahn bewältigt auf 100 Metern in waagrechter Richtung 110 Höhenmeter, was einer Steigung von 110 Prozent entspricht."
This explains how a climb of 110m is achieved over a horizontal distance of 100m, equivalent to an incline of 110%.
Having cycled along the Welsh hills I should have remembered what a 10% or 15% slope actually means: breathlessness. Reference to slopes is always to the level (horizontal) distance.