Peak Tram

Peak Tram 山頂 纜車
The Peak Tram train just before the mountain station
Route length:	1,365 km
Gauge :	1520 mm ( Russian gauge )
Legend Garden Road Cotton Tree Drive Kennedy Road Kennedy Road Former vehicle depot MacDonnell Road MacDonnell Road Magazine Gap Road May Road May Road Evasion Barker Road Barker Road The Peak

The Peak Tram ( Chinese  山頂 纜車  /  山顶 缆车 , Pinyin shāndǐng lǎnchē , Jyutping saan ¹ deng ² laam ⁶ ce ¹ ) is a funicular on Hong Kong Island . It runs from the Garden Road stop ( 花園 道  /  花园 道 , Huāyuándào , Jyutping Faa ¹ jyun ⁴ dou ⁶ ) in Central on the Victoria Gap sub-peak ( 爐 峰 峽  /  炉 峰 峡 , Lúfēng Xiá , Jyutping Lou ⁴ fung ¹ Haap ⁶ ) of Victoria Peak .

history

development

Line 1897

Garden Road valley station, circa 1890

Alexander Findlay Smith proposed the project in 1881 and applied for a concession , which was granted to him in 1883. Construction began in 1885. To prepare for that, Smith had undertaken a world tour and looked at other railways that mastered similarly steep inclines: the San Francisco Cable Cars , the Rigi Railway , the Drachenfels Railway in Königswinter , the Funicolare del Vesuvio on Vesuvius near Naples and others. The Peak Tram was opened on May 28 or 30, 1888 by the governor Sir George William des Voeux ( 德 輔  /  德 辅 , Défǔ , Jyutping Dak ¹ fu ⁶ ), originally powered by a stationary steam engine and was considered a technical marvel. 800 passengers used the train on the first day of operation, 150,000 in the first year of operation. At first it served mainly the residents of Victoria Peak and strongly promoted the settlement of the slope below. Back then the wooden wagons had three classes :

• 1st Class: Reserved for colonial officials and residents of Victoria Peak; Return ticket : 45 cents
• 2nd class: British Military and Hong Kong Police Force ; Return ticket: 30 cents
• 3rd class: other travelers and animals; Return ticket: 15 cents

From 1908 to 1949, the front row seats of each car were reserved for the governor of the Hong Kong Crown Colony . On the backrest there were bronze signs with the inscription: " This seat reservation to His Excellency the Governor ". If the governor did not want to ride - which was usually the case - these seats were released for general use immediately before departure.

Twice, in 1899, and on June 12, 1966 was due to the topography after heavy rains to landslides , mitrissen also parts of the track.

In 1926 the company was fundamentally restructured. Since then, the funicular has been running on electrical energy . New vehicles with 52 seats were loaded and the three-class system abolished. On December 11, 1941, the machine house in which the hoist is located was badly damaged in the Japanese attack on Hong Kong. Operations were suspended during the Japanese occupation and only resumed after the reconquest on December 25, 1945. In 1948 there were new vehicles with 62 seats, in 1959 the railway received new wagons made of light metal that could carry 72 passengers.

present

In 1989, the system was completely overhauled by the Swiss industrial group Von Roll : the route was rebuilt, the control system was controlled by computer and new vehicles were procured from Gangloff AG , Switzerland. The new double carriages have a capacity for 120 passengers. This makes the system a classic funicular, the crossing point in the middle of the route is equipped with tongue-less Abt switches . Today 4 million passengers use the Peak Tramway every year, that's over 11,000 every day. The train operates daily between 7 a.m. and midnight and runs without a timetable as required, but at least every 15 minutes.

Museum presentation

Peak Tram vehicle from 1959, exhibited in the outdoor area in front of the mountain station

In the valley station, the history of the Peak Tram is presented in "The Peak Tram Historical Gallery". Among other things, replicas of a vehicle of the first generation and the engine room from 1926 as well as numerous objects from the operation since the early days of the railway can be seen. A vehicle from the 1959 generation is in the outdoor area in front of the mountain station.

route

The single-track line has a turnout in the middle that enables the uphill and downhill car to pass each other. The 1365 m long track has a track width of 1520 mm, the difference in altitude is 368 m. The gradient varies considerably in individual sections between 4 ° and 27 °, with the steepest having a gradient of 48% - this corresponds to an angle of approx. 26 ° to the horizontal. The route serves four intermediate stops.

The top and bottom stations each have two platforms , which are to the right and left of the vehicles. One is used to get in, the other to get off. The dispatcher works in the mountain station. The four intermediate stops each have a platform and a bus shelter . All four work according to the “ stop on demand ” principle.

Operators of the Peak Tram is now the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Group (HSH), which also owns the shopping center, the mountain station is in the. A trip over the entire route takes just under 5 minutes at a cruising speed of 21.5 km / h.

literature

• Eric Cavaliero: Grand old lady to turn 110 . In: The Standard v. July 24, 1997.
• NN: Peak Tram History . ( Memento from February 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
• NN: Peak Tram in Hong Kong. Over 120 years of tramway excellence . [Leaflet] n.d., approx. 2012.
• NN: The Shortcut to Beauty, Hong Kong's Peak Tram . Approx. 1930.

Web links

Commons : Peak Tram  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official Website The Peak Tram (English)
• Peak Tramway .
• The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels - Peak Tramways
• Poster of the Peak Tram and the original Peak Hotel, 1888

Individual evidence

1. ↑ So: NN: "The Shortcut".
2. ↑ So: NN: Peak Tram in Hong Kong .
3. ^ NN: "The Shortcut".
4. ^ Cavaliero: Grand old lady .
5. ^ NN: Peak Tram History .
6. ^ Cavaliero: Grand old lady .
7. ^ NN: Peak Tram in Hong Kong .
8. ^ NN: Peak Tram in Hong Kong .
9. ^ NN: Peak Tram in Hong Kong .
10. ^ NN: Peak Tram in Hong Kong .
11. ↑ Peak Tramway.

Coordinates: 22 ° 16 '19.63 "  N , 114 ° 9' 17.47"  E