Rope rider

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V-shaped rope rider on the Zugspitze cable car
Π-shaped rope rider at the Bezau cable car ( Funifor )
View from the Säntis cable car to the mountain station. The V-shaped rope rider is clearly recognizable

A rope rider is a technical construction that prevents the pulling or opposing rope of a cable car from sagging too low. With the rope riders, the pull or counter rope is held at about the height of the suspension rope. The slack carrier is at cableway systems with one or more carrying cables and one or more traction cables ( counter-parts ) is used (z. B. material ropeways , aerial tramways , Funifor etc.).

Embodiments of rope riders

Cable riders can be designed as structures that can be driven through by the equipment (e.g. cabin) or the load, or as structures that cannot be driven through. In the case of aerial tramways and material ropeways, riders are consistently designed as structures that can be traversed by the vehicle or the load. A rope rider is mounted above (Funifor) or below (aerial tramway) the respective suspension rope (s). In the case of ropeways that have only one carrying rope per lane (lane), the rope rider is L-shaped or hangs directly under the carrying rope (rope rider cannot be passed through), in ropeways with two carrying ropes it is V-shaped or in the Funifor Π-shaped.

In the case of cable cars with more than one support cable per lane, the cable rider also serves as a spacer between the support cables.

The longitudinal distances between the riders along the roadway vary depending on the situation. This is to prevent the ropes from swinging up and the riders are to be placed closer in the areas of the roadway where stronger gusts of wind are to be expected.

Cable riders are partially painted in signal colors so that they can also be used to mark the cable car as an aviation obstacle . Riders can also serve as a support structure for a weather station (e.g. on the Karrenseilbahn . On the Matterhorn glacier ride there is an anemometer powered by photovoltaic modules in the span between supports no. 2 and 3 ).

Benefits of using rope riders

Ropes primarily prevent the pulling rope or the opposing rope from sagging too much. This results in advantages such as B .:

  • Better wind stability, the cable car can be operated longer in windy conditions because the pulling or opposing rope cannot be deflected strongly in cross winds ,
  • Fluctuations in the pulling force caused by the pulling rope can be better compensated because the pulling rope does not have to be pulled out of the slack ( tensioned ) when the cab / truck starts up ,
  • Overturning between the carrying and pulling rope can be prevented because there is no great slack in the pulling rope that can be set in motion,
  • In the case of material ropeways or material transport on aerial tramways, rope riders can also prevent the risk of the pull rope getting caught on the transported piece goods (e.g. on a tree trunk) or on trees that are still standing.

Dangers from rope riders

Cable riders not only serve the safety of cable cars, they can also impair safety under certain circumstances. For example, if the brake shoe of a suspension cable brake rubs against it, it can be triggered incorrectly. In an incident at the cable car in the Ahorn ski area in Mayrhofen in the Zillertal ( Tyrol ), the cable car was shut down for several days due to a loose rider.

Inspection and Maintenance

There are increased point loads in the area where the rope riders are attached to the carrying rope. Cable riders and the attachment points must therefore be particularly checked during the monthly and annual maintenance of the cable car and, if necessary, the cable riders must be moved along the supporting cable.

example

At the Zugspitze cable car, there are 21 riders on each of the 4 km long lanes. On the eastern lane there are 15 rope riders above and 6 rope riders below the only support. On the western lane there are 14 rope riders above and 7 rope riders below the support. These are painted bright orange and weigh around 200 kilos each.

The Matterhorn glacier ride in Zermatt has 70 rope riders.

Web links

Commons : Seilreiter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ engl. : suspended haul rope support or rope carrier or slack carriers , franz. : cavalier or colonnette .
  2. ↑ 36-AT Karrenseilbahn , website: lift-world.info.
  3. ↑ a b Matterhorn glacier ride Internationale Seilbahn-Rundschau (ISR) from October 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ Incidence of suspension cable brakes on aerial tramways, website: bav.admin.ch, report BAV, reference / file number: 021.58 / 2013-03-08 / 342.
  5. ↑ After a defect: Cable car in Zn Mayrhofen back in operation , website of the Tiroler Tageszeitung from January 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ Ahornbahn is back in operation , website: orf.at from January 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ Tiroler Zugspitzbahn ( Memento of the original dated August 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. For example, description @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zugspitzbahn.at
  8. ↑ Rider & cable car cabins are installed , website: zugspitze.de from November 2, 2017.