View along the Forsby-Köping limestone cableway, Sweden
Etching of the world's first cable car, created by Adam Wybe in Gdańsk (etching by Willem Hondius)
Material ropeway in Nußloch, Germany

A material ropeway, ropeway conveyor (or aerial tramway in the US)[1]: 659  is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.

Description

Material ropeways are typically found around large mining concerns, and can be of considerable length. The COMILOG Cableway, which ran from Moanda in Gabon to Mbinda in the Republic of the Congo, was over 75 km (47 mi) in length. The Kristineberg-Boliden ropeway in Sweden had a length of 96 km (60 mi).

Conveyors can be powered by a wide variety of forms of energy, such as electricity, engines, or gravity (particularly in mountainous mining concerns, or where running water is available).[2] Gravity-driven conveyors may qualify as zip-lines, as no electricity is used to operate them, instead relying on the weight of carts going down providing propulsion for empty carts going up.

Double-rope (bi-cable) ropeways, have a stationary carrying rope and a separate hauling rope that controls their movement. Single-rope (mono-cable) ropeways use one carrying-hauling rope.[3][4]

History

The first recorded mechanical ropeway was by Croatian Fausto Veranzio who designed a bicable passenger ropeway in 1616. The world's first cable car on multiple supports was built by Adam Wybe in Gdańsk, Poland in 1644. It was powered by horses and used to move soil over the river to build defences.[5]

In Eritrea, the Italians built the Asmara-Massawa Cableway in 1936, which was 75 km (47 mi) long. The Manizales - Mariquita Cableway (1922) in Colombia was 73 km (45 mi) long.

Amongst the first material ropeways in India was the Amarkantak Ropeway[6] in Chaktipani, Korba, Chhattisgarh, which was 16.8 km (10.4 mi) long with capacity of 150 TPH constructed by Damodar Ropeways & Infra Ltd. (DRIL) (formerly known as (Damodar Enterprises Ltd. (DEL). It was made for Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) in collaboration with Nikex, Hungary.

In the United Kingdom, aerial ropeways used for conveying mining goods and materials were historically common; however, just one remains in existence and operation, in Claughton, Lancashire, constructed in 1924 and used for quarrying shale to make bricks. It is scheduled to be demolished in 2036, once the last of the shale has been quarried.[7][8]

List

Closed ropeways

Ropeway line / Company System Type Support type Length Fall/Rise City/State Country In operation Notes
American Agricultural Chemical Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Searsport, Maine  USA
Maine Insane Hospital Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 1,050 feet 150 feet Augusta, Maine  USA 1899 -
Plymouth Cordage Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Steel 1,150 feet Plymouth, Massachusetts  USA
Farnam-Chesire Lime Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Chesire, Massachusetts  USA
Cayuga Lake Cement Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 2,340 feet Ithaca, New York  USA 1901 -
Magnetic Iron Ore Company Trenton-Bleichert 290 feet 25 rise Benson Mines, New York  USA
Solvay Process Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 16,500 feet 239 feet Syracuse, New York  USA
Warner's Portland Cement Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,056 feet 48 feet Syracuse, New York  USA
Catskill Cement Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 4,170 feet Smith's Landing, New York  USA
Witherbees, Sherman & Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 3,668 feet 406 feet Port Henry, New York  USA
United States Military Academy Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Iron 1,640 feet West Point, New York  USA 1901 -
Edgewater Lime Works Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 360 feet 20 feet Edgewater, New Jersey  USA 1901 -
Vermont Marble Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,600 feet Proctor, Vermont  USA 1894 -
New England Talc Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 2,400 feet Stockbridge, Vermont  USA
Pottsville Iron and Steel Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,100 feet 70 feet Pottsville, Pennsylvania  USA
Cambria Steel Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Steel 3,260 feet Johnstown, Pennsylvania  USA
Curwensville Fire Brick Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 2,337 feet Bolivar, Pennsylvania  USA 1903 -
Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Company Trenton-Bleichert Single cable reversible West Shenandoah Colliery, Pennsylvania  USA
Keystone Plaster Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,500 feet Chester, Pennsylvania  USA
Keystone Plaster Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,400 feet 200 feet East Brady, Pennsylvania  USA
St. Bernard Coal Company Trenton-Bleichert Single cable reversible Wood 600 feet Earlington, Kentucky  USA
East Shore Terminal Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 700 feet level Charleston, South Carolina  USA
East Shore Terminal Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 650 feet level Charleston, South Carolina  USA
Pulaski Iron Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 960 feet 494 feet Buchanan, Virginia  USA
Royal Coal and Coke Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 2,800 feet 820 feet Prince, West Virginia  USA
Bagdad Chase Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Atlanta, Idaho  USA 1903 - 1931
Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 9,000 feet 713 feet Wardner, Idaho  USA 1891 -
Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,200 feet 370 feet Wardner, Idaho  USA
Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 320 feet level Minneapolis, Minnesota  USA
St. Louis, Rocky Mountain & Pacific Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Koehler, New Mexico  USA
United States Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Bingham, Utah  USA
Highland Boy Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 12,700 feet Bingham, Utah  USA
Highland Boy Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 20,975 feet Bingham Canyon, Utah  USA 1910 -
Utah Consolidated Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Bingham Canyon, Utah  USA
Yampa Smelting Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Bingham, Utah  USA
Vallejo Tunnel and Mine Company Hallidie Single-rope Wood 2,400 feet 600 feet Little Cottonwood, Utah  USA 1872 - 1874
North American Copper Company Leschen Double-rope Wood 16 miles Grand Encampment, Wyoming  USA 1904 -
Nevada Gypsum Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Mound House, Nevada  USA
Gold Prince Mine Tramway Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood Animas Forks, Colorado  USA 1906 -
Compromise Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 3,200 feet 920 feet Aspen, Colorado  USA
Aspen Public Tramway Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 9,850 feet 2,409 feet Aspen, Colorado  USA 1890 - 1893
Carbon Coal and Coke Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Steel Trinidad, Colorado  USA
Old Hundred Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 1,850 feet 1,050 feet Howardsville, Colorado  USA
Victor Fuel Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,850 feet 57 feet Hastings, Colorado  USA
St. Bernard Coal Company Trenton-Bleichert Single cable reversible 2,370 feet Denver, Colorado  USA
Old Hundred Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 760 feet 515 feet Howardsville, Colorado  USA
Old Hundred Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 1,610 feet Howardsville, Colorado  USA
Silver Age Mining and Milling Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 6,240 feet 989 feet Idaho Springs, Colorado  USA
Sunnyside Extension Mine Huson Single-rope 2,279 feet Silverton, Colorado  USA 1891 -
Ross Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double cable reversible Wood 1,400 feet 524 feet Silverton, Colorado  USA
Iowa Gold Mining and Milling Company Trenton-Bleichert Double cable reversible Wood 8,625 feet Silverton, Colorado  USA
Shendandoah-Dives Mining Company Double-rope Wood 10,000 feet Silverton, Colorado  USA 1929 - 1960
Pay Rock Mine Huson Single-rope Wood Silver Plume, Colorado  USA
Smuggler Union Mine Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 3,150 feet Creede, Colorado  USA
Bachelor Commodore Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 3,310 feet Creede, Colorado  USA
Bachelor Commodore Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Single cable reversible Wood 850 feet 400 feet Creede, Colorado  USA
Smuggler Union Mine Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 400 feet Telluride, Colorado  USA
San Juan Mining Company Leschen and Sons Double-rope Wood Telluride, Colorado  USA
Colorado Fuel & Iron Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 2,370 feet Denver, Colorado  USA
Keane Wonder Mine Double-rope Wood Death Valley, California  USA
Four Metals Mining Company Montgomery Double-rope Wood 5,5 miles Keeler, California  USA 1909 - 1914
Inyo Cerro Gordo Mining and Power Company Leschen Double-rope Wood 5,6 miles Keeler, California  USA 1914 - 1959
Morning Star Mine Tram Double-rope Wood Keeler, California  USA
Mountain Ledge Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 5,800 feet 1,600 feet Sierra City, California  USA
Saline Valley Salt Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 13,5 miles 3,000 feet Swansea, California  USA 1913 - 1936
Eureka Slate Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 13,300 feet Slatington, California  USA
United Concentration Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 6,600 feet 1,820 feet Monte Cristo, Washington  USA
Oregon Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 5,000 feet 2,000 feet Cornucopia, Oregon  USA
Old Dominion Copper Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,250 feet Globe, Arizona  USA 1892 -
Keeler, Holcombe & Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 7,500 feet 1,850 feet Kelly Switch, New Mexico  USA
Consolidated Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 2,500 feet El Paso, Texas  USA
Bi-Metallic Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 9,750 feet 1,225 feet Granite, Montana  USA
Granite Mountain Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 8,750 feet 1,207 feet Granite, Montana  USA
Chilkoot Trail tramways Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 8,250 feet/7 miles 1,070 feet Chillkoot Pass, Alaska  USA 1898 -
Nowell Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 11,600 feet 2,297 feet Juneau, Alaska  USA
Mond Nickel Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 11,400 feet Victoria Mines, Ontario  Canada
Laurentide Pulp Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,500 feet 15 feet Montreal  Canada
Compania Metalurgica de Torreon Trenton-Bleichert Single cable reversible Wood 1,453 feet 730 feet Coahuila, Mexico  Mexico
La Gran Fundicion National Mexicana Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 8,650 feet Santa Catarina, Mexico  Mexico
San Toy Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Steel Chihuahua  Mexico
Thomas & Spillane Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 825 feet 425 feet San Luis Potosí  Mexico
Cia. Manufacturera de Ladrillos Areniscos Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,950 feet Coah  Mexico
Trinidad Asphalt Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Iron 5,100 feet 80 feet La Brea, Trinidad  Trinidad
Compagnie Heitienne Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Iron 12 miles Port de Paix, Haiti  Haiti
Vivero Iron Ore Company- Mina de la Silvarosa Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Iron 625 feet Vivero, Spain  Spain 1899 -
British Australian Oil Company Bleichert Double-rope Steel 3.5 miles 500 feet Murrurundi, New South Wales,  Australia 1911-1915 Carried oil shale[9]
Hoskins Iron & Steel Single-rope Steel 0.75 miles Cadia, New South Wales  Australia 1918-1928 Carried iron ore[10][11]
Kandos Cement Company No.1 Single-rope Steel 3 miles Kandos, New South Wales  Australia 1915- Carried limestone[12]
No.2 Single-rope Steel 3.25 miles Kandos, New South Wales  Australia 1920- [12]
No.3 Double-rope Steel Kandos, New South Wales  Australia 1989-2011 [12]
Warragamba Dam (Construction phase) Single-rope Steel 22 km Near Penrith to Warragamba Dam construction site, New South Wales  Australia c.1952-c.1960 Carried gravel and sand[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ernst, Richard (1989). Wörterbuch der Industriellen Technik [Dictionary of Industrial Technology] (in German) (fifth ed.). Wiesbaden: Oscar Brandstetter. ISBN 3-87097-145-2.
  2. ^ Decker, Kris De (26 January 2011). "Aerial ropeways: automatic cargo transport for a bargain". lowtechmagazine.com. Low Tech Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Types of ropeway - LEITNER". www.leitner.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  4. ^ "Ropeways - Double and Mono-Cable Systems".
  5. ^ Masłowski, Aleksander. "Adam Wijbe (1584?-1653)". rzygacz.webd.pl (in Polish). Akademia Rzygaczy. Archived from the original on 3 December 2006.
  6. ^ "Tracing the course of infra technology Indian ropeways have been using since the 1970s". The Financial Express. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  7. ^ Scott, Tom (12 July 2021). "The UK's last aerial ropeway uses no power, moves 300 tonnes a day, and will be gone by 2036". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  8. ^ "Claughton Aerial Ropeway". nationaltransporttrust.org.uk. National Transport Trust. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Shale Works at Murrurundi". Muswellbrook Chronicle. 1911-09-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  10. ^ "CADIA: THE LAND OF PROMISE". Leader (Orange, NSW : 1899 - 1945). 1918-11-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  11. ^ "CADIA". Bathurst Times. 1918-09-27. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  12. ^ a b c Kandos History (2019-05-23). "Beneath a Moving Ropeway at Kandos". Kandos History. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  13. ^ "1951-1952". www.waternsw.com.au. Retrieved 2022-07-06.

External links

Cable transport
Mining equipment
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