Solving transportation problems with cables is a system that has been used for thousands of years. Cables twisted or interwoven with animal hides or plant fibers have been used to transport people and materials since ancient times. We find examples of primitive cableways in China, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, and India. In Europe, the first cableways were built in the Middle Ages and were used for the construction of fortifications and castles.
The first "modern" cable cars were used to transport both people and goods. Initially, there was a clear distinction between systems for strictly terrestrial passenger transport (funiculars) and those for transporting goods, which could be either terrestrial or aerial (cable cars). The first modern cable cars for passenger transport were local, intra-urban means of transport, which, from 1860 onward, met the mobility needs of hilly urban areas. The first urban cable system was built in 1862 in Lyon, France, and consisted of three-car trains that could carry up to 324 people. It was during the 19th century that funiculars began to be used as leisure vehicles. One example is the funicular built in 1874 for Leopoldsberg, near Vienna.
From 1907/1908, the knowledge gained in the field of aerial systems for transporting materials was applied to the construction of modern passenger transport facilities. One example is the Colle cable car in Bolzano, Italy, the first cable car for transporting people in Central Europe.
Meanwhile, winter tourism demanded increasingly efficient and comfortable facilities. In 1930, the first large gondola lift was built in Freiburg, Germany, followed by the first ski lift in 1933 in Davos, Switzerland, and the first chairlift in 1935 in Sun Valley, USA. In 1947, the first Italian chairlift was built in Corvara.
The development that began in 1900 has continued to this day. Cable cars are now functional, comfortable, and innovative means of transport, primarily used for winter sports and tourism. Thanks to their specific characteristics, such as flexibility and cost-effectiveness, these facilities are gaining increasing importance in the world of urban transport.
Source: https://www.leitner.com/es/
