Petřín funicular

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Car 2 of the Petřín funicular in the “Újezd” valley station inside a historic building
Car 2 of the Petřín funicular near the valley station
Both cars at the siding in front of the bridge with the middle station seen from the valley, the brake cables are on the entire route
Abtsche siding at the middle station from the bridge with the pull rope (left outside) and the brake cables (in both tracks in the middle of the track)
Both cars at the Abt turnout with pull (outside) and brake cables (inside)
Middle station "Nebozízek" with a view of the Prague Castle ( Pražský hrad )
Car 1 near the "Petřín" mountain station
Car 2 at the portal of the "Petřín" mountain station
Driver's cab of one of the vehicles

The Petřín funicular ( Czech (pozemní) Lanová dráha na Petřín or shorter lanovka na Petřín ) is a standard gauge funicular , which in the Czech capital Prague to the south of the Hradcany in the western center located Laurenziberg wrong. It was opened in 1891 as a meter-gauge water ballast railway, like the Letná funicular railway . Initially the railway was known as the Laurenziberg cable car or the cable car to the Laurenziberg , later also as the Petřín cable car or the cable car to the Petřín mountain . After a temporary shutdown in 1916, it was electrically powered from 1932 after conversion and, after another shutdown in 1965, it was fundamentally modernized from 1981 to 1985. In addition to various parks and historical buildings, the Petřín observation tower , which opened on the same day and is modeled on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, is located on the Petřín Hill .

history

General

The Petřín funicular is probably the most famous funicular in the Czech Republic. This line, which has been in operation since 1891 with two longer interruptions, was extensively modernized before being reactivated. Therefore, due to the fact that after the several years of operational stoppages a practically complete renovation took place and the railway was put into operation a total of three times, the story can also be compared to that of three different funiculars on the same route (which was shorter in the first operating phase and was later extended in both directions).

prehistory

The history of this cable car began in 1889, when various members of the Czech Tourist Club (Klub českých turistů) from Prague stayed for a while in Paris and visited the famous Eiffel Tower. After their return, they decided to build a scaled-down copy of the tower, which was already world-famous as a symbol of Paris at that time, in their city, and their project met with broad approval. From the late year 1889 to 1891 the 62 m high observation tower was built on the Petřín as a contribution to the Great General Anniversary Exhibition planned last year . Since this would have been relatively far from the city center on the footpath, they also decided to build a funicular at this point at the same time.

Construction and opening

The Petřín funicular was still under the direction of dual monarchy on July 25, 1891 Austria-Hungary under the name Petrin Cable Car as a contribution to the Great General Land Jubilee Exhibition in Prague together with the Petrin Tower , the Letná funicular and the Letná Tram opened . The Cooperative of the Lookout Tower Petřín Ltd. (Czech: Družstvo rozhledny na Petříne ) built the railway as a connection between the Malá Strana district and the highest point of the Petřín hill, located in the eastern part of the city center, with the cooperative being the owner until the first cessation of operations in 1916 stayed.

Like the technically similar Letná funicular from the same year, the Petřín funicular was built in 1891 as a water ballast railway. She had a completely straight running three bar system, which then approximately at mid-span, but closer to the base station (height 194  m ) is a simple symmetrical siding formed. The center rail was used jointly by the two cars, with the exception of the short double-track passing point. The railway initially had a track width of 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) and was equipped with a brake rack according to the Abt system ("rack and pinion cable car with water overweight drive "), which helped regulate the speed and also acted as a parking brake at the stations . The equipment with the rack type according to Carl Roman Abt was a rarity, as most railways of this type were built with a brake rack according to the Riggenbach system. The train was driven by water ballast in the car going downhill, which pulled the other uphill with the help of gravity. The rope pulley in the mountain station had a diameter of 2.80 m and the running surface was clad with wood so that the wire rope was not exposed to any friction on metal and thus significantly reduced wear. The cables were routed between the racks and the external rails with support rollers. The route was at the beginning a total of 396.50 m long and overcame a difference in altitude of 104.00 m, the maximum gradient was 295 ‰ (mean gradient: 267 ‰), with the mountain station near the "Restaurant Nebozízek" at the same height of 298  m . The driving speed was 2.0 m / s (7.2 km / h), a journey took about 6 minutes.

The first two 6.00 m long and 2.00 m wide two-axle wagons supplied by the Ringhoffer railway and wagon construction company in Prague-Smíchov had a wooden car body with generous glazing on the sides with four tiered passenger compartments and a narrow open platform on each of them Pages for the driver / brakeman . They held a total of up to 50 (according to another source 46) people. The wagons had a water container in the base frame, which was filled with water at the mountain station before each descent. During the journey, the water is continuously drained to compensate for the constantly increasing, overhanging weight of the rope.

The funicular operated with the water ballast drive without any significant changes until it was first shut down in 1916. One problem, however, was the increasing water shortage on the Laurenziberg.

First shutdown

The traffic was stopped in 1916 because of the First World War (even if the then Austrian crown land Bohemia was not directly affected by it), the lack of staff caused by conscription and the sharp decline in passenger numbers. It was possible to resume operations later, but in 1921 it had to be stopped for good because of the lack of water. Attempts to use the funicular to the famous Sokolsky slet sporting event near Petřín Hill in 1921, 1923 and 1926 all failed. It was only reopened for another major event in the 1930s after extensive renovations.

Reconstruction and electrification

A new edition of the Sokolsky slet was planned for 1932 , and the completely new Strahov Stadium was built in the immediate vicinity of the Laurenti Hill . For this reason, the Municipal Transport Authority of Prague , which was given ownership of the funicular, instead of building a suspension railway or a large escalator (as was the case after the closure of the Letná funicular), as had been proposed , decided to modernize them from 1931 and then in To reopen the following year for the corresponding major sporting event.

In 1931, the railway, which had been idle for fifteen years, was converted to standard gauge and switched to electric drive. In that year the old meter gauge wagons were scrapped and new ones procured. The now single-track line was extended to 511.00 m at both ends. At the same time, the braking rack system Abt also disappeared. The maximum incline was now 298.00 ‰ (mean incline: 295.00 ‰) and the difference in height was now 130.45 m. Because of the extension of the route (which is why the hunger wall from the 14th century was even broken at one point), the mountain station was now at an altitude of 324.00 m above sea level. The new valley station, which was built into a historic building from the Baroque era , was a little lower than the previous one and thus almost directly across from the current “U Lanové Dráhy” (To the Cable Car) alley - therefore the route was no longer completely straight the valley station an arch. In the middle of the route, shortly before today's middle station, an alternative point in the form of an Abt turnout was created. A stop for the garden restaurant »Nebozízek« was set up above the crossing point. The cars stopped here when necessary on the way up and only to get out. The route was converted by the company Škoda from Pilsen, the electrification with 500 volts direct current was carried out by the companies Českomoravská Kolbén – Danek ( ČKD ) from Prague and Pohlig from Switzerland under the direction of the engineer HH Peter from Zurich. The travel speed was now 4.00 m / s (14.40 km / h) and was thus twice as high as before with water ballast drive.

A special feature was the Pohlig system brake cable system, used for the first time in the world, which made it possible to catch and stop the car in an emergency with its own, somewhat thinner brake cable at any point along the route without the one-sided loading of the car bodies caused by the usual caliper brakes. The brake cable lies as far as possible in the center of the track in relation to those of the pull cable along the entire length of the track; it runs in the floor frame of the car through a clamping device that is usually open. In the mountain station, both brake ropes are placed on drums with powerful brakes, in the valley station they are held taut. If the pulling rope on the car is loose or if the permissible speed is exceeded, the car's safety brake is clamped on the brake rope, takes it along with the downhill force and the brakes in the mountain station bring both cars to a standstill independently of each other. The brake cables rest on the track on smaller, non-plastic-coated support rollers. These are only loaded when the safety brake is applied. This also explains the presence of two ropes per car instead of just one, which looks like four ropes when the two cars meet in the upper part of the route to the passing point.

The second wagons, again built by the Ringhoffer wagon factory , had what was for the time modern, completely closed and similar to contemporary tram car bodies made of wood with a sloping floor. They were 12.00 m long and 2.40 m wide and had slightly smaller window areas and, for the first time, an electric headlight on each front. The capacity was a maximum of 100 people each (75 seats, 25 standing places) and was thus twice as large per unit as the first car. Each car had two small pantographs on the roof to supply the lighting and the air compressor as well as to charge the batteries via the contact line , to transmit signals between the car and the control system and a telephone connection.

The funicular was then reopened on June 5, 1932 with an electric drive, and operation - also a novelty - was fully automatic. The car attendants only needed to press a button, with the signals from the car being transmitted via the overhead line to the engine room, and everything else was done by the technology. If necessary, however, the funicular could also be operated manually from the control stand in the engine room. The traffic continued as planned throughout the Second World War, which the railway survived undamaged. In this configuration, the Petřín funicular remained accident-free and reliably in operation for more than 30 years and became a much-visited attraction for tourists.

Second shutdown

On June 7, 1965, the journey had to be interrupted at around 1.30 p.m., because after days of heavy rain on the Petřín Hill, the route was heavily watered, which consequently lost stability and suffered severe damage. The passengers had to get off on the route, then it was still possible to carefully bring the cars into the stations. The landslide destroyed the route over 180 meters.

Almost exactly two years later in 1967 there were severe landslides along the route, which resulted in the complete erosion of the middle section of the route and at the same time completely destroyed the track system.

The damage found after this second shutdown of the railway was so great, especially after the earth movements, that it only looked like it would now be final. The hoisting machine and the floor frames of the wagons had already been conserved in 1965 by the now former employees of the funicular on a voluntary basis, so that they would be available in perfect technical condition in the event of a possible - albeit extremely questionable - restart. It was not until the 1980s that the railway was reopened after extensive modernization that came close to being a new building.

modernization

activities

History seemed to repeat itself, however, when another major sporting event was planned for 1985 in the Strahov Stadium and around 1980 the Prague city council renewed the desire to reactivate the old funicular. For this, several professional were expert opinions and appraisals commissioned to explore the opportunities available in the face of difficult structural and stretch technical situation. The slope had been examined hydrologically as early as 1970. By installing a sufficiently dimensioned drainage system, it was possible to stabilize the slope of the Laurenziberges to such an extent that it was possible to think about re-establishing the funicular railway.

After the decision of the city of Prague and the approval of the corresponding financial means, the facility, which had been idle since 1965, was subjected to extensive modernization from 1981. Then the entire track material was replaced and almost all of the technical equipment was replaced at the same time. Due to its very good condition due to its preservation in 1965, the winder could largely be kept in its original state, apart from a few improvements made by the Prague company ČKD. The proven Pohlig brake cable system also remained in use, so that there are still two cables per car. This time, however, an overhead line was dispensed with, as the train was no longer to be operated by staff at the push of a button as it was in the past, and radio should also be used for communication. In addition, as a new feature, a new reinforced concrete bridge was built above the escape point in the area of ​​the 1965 landslide. In the area of ​​this bridge, the intermediate station Nebozízek was re-established. At the same time, the railway station building, which had meanwhile been damaged, was renovated, and that of the mountain station is practically a new building around the existing hoisting machine. It was not until July 15, 1985, almost exactly 20 years and 8 days since the last - forced - shutdown that the Petřín funicular was reopened with mostly new technology and very modern vehicles. In contrast to the previous practice from 1932 to 1965, every vehicle again has a driver, so unlike other modern systems of this type, the railway is not operated fully automatically. As after electrification in the early 1930s, the driving speed remained at 4.0 m / s (14.4 km / h).

The vehicle equipment that has been used since 1985 until today consists of two completely enclosed cars with a stepped floor, which, however, unlike in the past, have a completely glazed metal structure with large three-part windshields. However, the wagons are not completely new, as they were manufactured by the wagon factory using the ground frames (including the running gear and Pohlig safety brakes ) from 1932 , which were preserved in 1965, according to a design by the Research Institute for Rail Vehicles in Prague (Czech: Výzkumný ústav kolejových vozidel - VÚKV Praha ) Vagonka Tatra Studénka built. Both cars equipped with electric door drives can hold up to 100 people. The power supply for lighting and heating takes place while the cars are stationary in the stations via fixed contacts and roof conductor rails.

Since then, the Petřín funicular has a total of three stops: the “Újezd” valley station , the “Nebozízek” middle station and the “Petřín” mountain station . The operation of three stations is an operational rarity on funiculars, because unlike the usual two stations, there is no uninterrupted operation between the mountain and valley stations. At the valley station Újezd ​​there is a connection to the Prague tram in the immediate vicinity , which runs to a stop of the same name with several lines.

In 1996, when the 115th anniversary of the opening was celebrated, the lift was closed from April to September for repair work. During this time, the winding machine of the funicular received a new transformer with converters for power supply , whereby the original Ward-Leonard converter was retained as a backup power source for 500 V direct current. At the same time, since then, the operation of the train has been monitored by a computer-controlled machine, which in the event of a malfunction via the track brake system and the Pohlig brake cable system immediately ensures that the train is emergency braked , with the RADOM telemetry system constantly maintaining the connection between the car and the engine room maintains. In the mountain station, however, as in the previous system, there is still a control stand that allows the lift to be operated from here in the event of a need or failure. The train has been running again without interruption since this work. Further maintenance work is to be expected.

Today's operation

Since it reopened in 1985, the railway, which used to be run by its own private company and later became the property of the city, has become an integral part of Prague's public transport system. All single and collective tickets of the tariff of the Prague Transport Association are valid. Since then, the funicular has once again become an attraction known far beyond the city of Prague, which also allows an extraordinary view of Prague Castle (Czech: Pražský hrad ) during the journey . The wagon sequence is 15 minutes in the winter season (October – April) and 10 minutes in the summer season (April – October), although it may change temporarily depending on the season and the number of passengers.

Technical specifications

1891-1916 1932 until today
Track type Passenger funicular with water ballast drive Passenger funicular with shuttle operation and electric drive with two vehicles running at 4 points each (code according to the Czech standard: P-4 )
design type Dreischienig simple turnout and braking rack system Abt Single track with Abtscher turnout
Gauge 1000 mm 1435 mm
Drive type Water ballast Electric
Drive location - At the mountain station
Max. Transport capacity 552 people / hour 1400 people / hour
Stretching of the system - -
Length of the route 396.50 m 511.00 m
Sloping route 396.50 m 511.00 m
Horizontal part of the route - -
Height of valley station (above sea ​​level ) 194.00 m 178.00 m
Height of mountain station (above sea level) 298.00 m 324.00 m
Height difference 104.00 m 130.45 m
Max. Incline 295 ‰% 298 ‰
Manufacturer of propulsion system - Českomoravská-Kolben-Daněk - ČKD , Prague
Main drive power - 106 kW
Pulley diameter 2.80 m 3.00 m
Number of drive ropes 1 1 + 1 brake cable
Diameter pull rope 34 mm (16 strands of 7 wires each on hemp core) 35 mm
Max. Driving speed 2.0 m / s (7.2 km / h) 4.0 m / s (14.4 km / h)
Travel time 6.0 min 2.5 min
number of vehicles 2 2
Capacity vehicles 50 people 100 people
Manufacturer vehicles Ringhoffer / Smíchov wagon factory 1932–1965: Ringhoffer-Werke / Prag-Smíchov
1985-today: Vagonka Tatra Studénka on a chassis from 1932
Manufacturer of the railway Bohemian-Moravian machine factory 1932–1965: Škoda / Plzeň
1985-present: Škoda / Plzeň

See also

Web links

Commons : Petřín funicular  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 4 ′ 55 ″  N , 14 ° 23 ′ 48 ″  E