Scenic Skyway
The Scenic Skyway is a cable car belonging to the privately operated Scenic World tourist complex in the Blue Mountains southwest of Katoomba , New South Wales , Australia . It has a cabin for 84 people, which moves horizontally back and forth from the main building of the Scenic World at a height of about 270 m over a gorge of the Jamison Valley and has a view of the nearby Katoomba Falls and the Jamison Valley with the Orphan Rock , the rock walls under the Echo Point and the Three Sisters .
description
The single-lane aerial tramway begins at 957 m above sea level. d. M. located main building and ends in the 330 m away and 944 m above sea level. d. M. station on the other side of the gorge.
The almost 10 m long and 4.20 m wide cabin is designed for 140 passengers, but is only operated with a maximum of 84 passengers. Entry and exit are located at the narrow ends with which the cabin docks at the stations. Its side walls are glazed down to the floor, two windows are deliberately provided with only one large grille. In the middle of the cabin there is a slightly raised, long and accessible floor with 16 modules made of liquid crystals, which is matt when entering the station, but becomes transparent during the journey to allow a view into the depths of the gorge.
The cabin has two hangers with long roller batteries that keep the cabin steady even when passengers are pacing back and forth. The two suspension ropes with a diameter of 42 mm are firmly anchored at both ends. The 25 mm thick pull rope is attached to the drives with one strand, while the other strand, running in opposite directions, is led halfway through the two hangers. This configuration is intended to increase the stability of the cabin. The drive is not located directly in the main station, but on the other side of the street about 50 m behind it. The suspension ropes and the pull rope are freely visible across the street to the machine building, over whose roof two pulleys rotate. The tension weights for the pull rope are in the opposite station.
The cable car has a maximum speed of 5 m / s, but is only operated at 2 m / s (7.2 km / h), so that a single trip takes about 3 minutes.
The cable car was built in 2005 by Doppelmayr / Garaventa to replace an older system, the cabin was supplied by CWA .
The main building of Scenic World is also the starting point of the Scenic Railway , a funicular that goes back to the former coal mine , and the Scenic Cableway (initially called Sceniscender ), a single-track aerial tramway that descends steeply into the Jamison Valley and has a wide cabin with a stepped floor for better visibility.
history
The cable car goes back to Mr. Hammon, who first reopened the old funicular for tourist purposes and a few years later had a cable car built by local craftsmen, which went into operation in 1958. Their plywood-clad, pink-painted cabin for 30 people also had two hangers, but initially only had one pulley on the single suspension rope, which quickly showed signs of wear and tear under this high load. The hangers were therefore each given two pulleys, the suspension rope was replaced and a second pull rope was attached. These drives also turned out to be too short. The number of pulleys was therefore increased to two times four pulleys and the suspension rope renewed again. This system remained in place until the cable car was renewed in 2004. The plywood cladding of the cabins has now been replaced by sheet aluminum. Since the pink color was not available, Mr. Hammon opted for a bright yellow. Other parts such as the drive motor and the roof of the cash desk were renewed over time. After a total of 45 years of service, however, the cable car no longer met the increased requirements for safety and performance, so that a complete renewal was necessary.
Web links
- Short description, photo on the website of Scenic World (English)
- Description with photo documentation on Remontées Méchaniques (French)
Coordinates: 33 ° 43 ′ 43.9 " S , 150 ° 18 ′ 4.7" O