Wallmannsberger system
The Wallmannsberger system is the first automatically operated cable clamp system for detachable two- cable circulating cable cars , which was developed in 1947 by the Salzburg engineer Georg Wallmannsberger.
history
The engineer was already working on the construction of a circulating cable car ("gondola") in the interwar period. Wallmannsberger's aim was to increase the conveying capacity by uncoupling the cabins from the pulling rope in the stations. The division of functions between the carrying cable and the pulling cable that was customary at the time was retained ; it was only the Müller-Klemme developed a few years later that made it possible for railways to get by with just a single wire rope , the so-called haulage cable . This clamp makes it possible to automatically detach the cabin from the rope in the station and thus offer passengers easy access.
Wallmannsberger first developed a drive whose clamping technology was based on the throw lever clamping devices (screw clamps) from the German company Pohlig , which were then widely used in material ropeways . Wallmannsberger wrote his dissertation about this drive and its calculation . Each drive has two self-sufficient clamping devices. The first project envisaged a facility in the Hohe Tauern in Carinthia; but the project was never realized. The system was not used until after the Second World War; systems were built by Girak in Mutters ( Muttereralmbahn ), Sankt Gilgen ( Zwölferhornbahn ) or Hallein (Salzbergbahn). Since Girak was the company that created most of the systems with this drive, the name "System Girak" became established over the years. The classic "Wallmannsberger drive" with double spring clip is based on this double clamping device.
Georg Wallmannsberger had a prototype system built at Wiener Brückenbau und Eisenkonstruktions AG in Vienna-Inzersdorf at his own expense, and for all other railways he granted the license to various companies. The Swiss company Theodor Bell built the first cable cars according to the Wallmannsberger system from now on in Crans-sur-Sierre in 1949/50 . In Austria, the railway to the Stubnerkogel in Bad Gastein (1950) and the Schöckl cable car (1951) were built by Wiener Brückenbau und Eisenkonstruktions AG and the Grünberg cable car in Gmunden (1957) by VÖEST . In total, however, only 28 systems were built with these terminals, the last being the Rendlbahn from Waagner-Biro in St. Anton am Arlberg in 1974 . In addition to the two ropes required, another disadvantage is that the clamps are heavy and require a lot of maintenance. The more cost-effective single-rope circulation principle with Müller screw clamps therefore prevailed for the time being.
Functional principle of the two clamping devices
Wallmannsberger running gear with two self-sufficient throw lever clamping devices, "Girak system"
The driving equipment is brought up to the speed of the pull rope via an inclined plane and the pull rope is inserted into the terminal jaws from below. Both throw levers are thrown against the direction of travel over top dead center via a rail mechanism . The clamp jaw closes. The correct position of the two throw levers is checked using a shutter mechanism before the vehicle leaves the station. If the throw lever is too low or too high, this indicates a malfunction of the terminal and the system is automatically stopped. Disengaging works in reverse order, but without the final clamp test.
Wallsmannsberger running gear with double, self-sufficient spring clamping device, "System Wallmannsberger"
The driving equipment is brought up to the speed of the pull cord by means of gravity or a tire accelerator. At the coupling point, the clamp jaw is opened by means of the coupling rail and the pull rope is inserted into the same from the side. The clamp jaw is then closed, with the correct position of the pull rope in the clamp jaw being checked using a switch finger in the middle of the drive. If the pull rope is properly inserted into the terminal jaws, this is signaled by the safety device "clamp on rope". This safety device consists of a toggle lever, which is pushed upwards by the correctly inserted pull rope, so that the shutter switch is not actuated. If there was a lasting clutch (incorrect position of the pull cords in the clamp), the switch finder would point downwards due to its own weight and activate the shutter switch, which would shut down the system. The disengagement is carried out in reverse order without a safety cover.
Individual plants
Plants in Austria
Remaining Wallmannsberger systems with throw lever clamp in Austria
- Zwölferhornbahn, Sankt Gilgen (last operating day: December 31, 2019, demolition and new construction by autumn 2020)
Replaced systems with throw lever clamps in Austria
- Muttereralmbahn (2 sections)
- Salzbergbahn Hallein (dismantled without replacement)
- Wurzeralmbahn
- Kitzbühel Hornbahn
Remaining Wallmannsberger systems spring clamp in Austria
No systems have been in operation since the Grünbergbahn was shut down.
Conversion systems
A converted system is currently still in operation in Austria, the Kanzelwandbahn. Another converted facility, the Eisgratbahn on the Stubai Glacier , was replaced in 2016 by a three-cable gondola from Leitner. In the case of the Eisgratbahn, significant modernization was carried out and the characteristic Wallmannsberger technology was removed when the system was converted from 4-passenger cabs to 6-passenger cabins. Instead of Wallmannsberger clamping devices, the track was equipped with Girak type B cam clamps.
Replaced plants in Austria
- Schöcklseilbahn,
- Stubnerkogelseilbahn (two sections, some drives were sold to the Grünbergseilbahn),
- Grünbergseilbahn (in operation until 2010, replaced by an aerial tramway in 2013/2014)
- Rendlbahn (first orbit with automatic door operation in Austria)
Systems in Switzerland
In Switzerland, between 1950 and 1966, the Bell Maschinenfabrik company in Kriens built seven systems based on the Wallmannsberger system, including three railways with two sections each:
| Cable car | Installation | Operating length | Sections | replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crans - Merbé - Cry d'Er | 05/06/1950 | 1850 m | 1st section | 1976 |
| Crans - Merbé - Cry d'Er | 05/06/1950 | 1315 m | 2nd section | 1976 |
| Bad Ragaz - Wildboden - Pardiel ( Pizol ) | 01/01/1954 | 1684 m | 1st section | 2007 |
| Bad Ragaz - Wildboden - Pizol | 01/01/1954 | 1811 m | 2nd section | 2007 |
| Kriens - Krienseregg - Fräkmüntegg | December 23, 1954 | 2158 m | 1st section | 1995/96 |
| Kriens - Krienseregg - Fräkmüntegg | December 23, 1954 | 2810 m | 2nd section | 1995/96 |
| Celerina - Saluver (Alp Marguns) | 12/14/1958 | 2302 m | - | 1991 |
| (Lounging) Turren - Schönbüel | 12/30/1960 | 2310 m | - | 1999 |
| Arosa - Hörnli | December 24, 1963 | 3087 m | - | 1987 |
| Klosters - Madrisa | 02/18/1966 | 2252 m | - | 2005 |
The last active gondola lift in Bad Ragaz was only dismantled in 2007 - after 53 years of operation.
Plants in other European countries
| country | Cable car | Installation | Operating length | Manufacturer | replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | Knjaschewo - Kopitoto TV tower | 1962 | 1960 m | Girak company | out of service since 1995, but not dismantled |
Plants in North America
Bell also built six plants of this type in Canada and the USA between 1959 and 1970 :
| Cable car | Installation | replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Banff - Sulfur Mountain | 1959 | in operation |
| Vail - Village | 1962 | 1976 |
| Mammoth Mountain I & II | 1966 | n / A |
| Sparta - Mahogany Rock | 1968 | n / A |
| Vail - Lion's Head | 1969 | 1996 |
| Steamboat Springs - Mount Werner | 1970 | 1986 |
Further development
Waagner-Biro developed a modern ZUB based on the two-cable gondola according to the Wallmannsberger system. The Penkenbahn was built in Mayrhofen as the first lift of this type . It has similar properties to a Wallmannsberger two-cable gondola lift, but the station equipment, drives and clamps have been adapted to modern conditions. Instead of a spring double clamp, a single clamp (Girak cam clamp type B) is used for the cabins with a capacity of 15 people. The same principle was also applied to the Eisjochbahn on the Stubai Glacier, although the system was only modernized. After Waagner-Biro sold the cable car division to Leitner AG , Leitner revitalized the market for bicable ropeways (now called 2S). Drives and stations have again been completely revised and converted to modern modular systems. Instead of the cam clamp, a simple spring clamp derived from the dome clamp for single-cable gondolas is used.
literature
- Accident report of the Grünbergbahn in the International Cable Car Review
Web links
- Information about the detachable two-cable gondolas System Wallmannsberger on the cable car Nostalgie
- Video clip of the two-rope cable car Arosa – Hörnli (1965)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cable car dictionary: technology, relics and pioneers from 150 years of cable car history by Felix Gross pp. 115, 218
- ^ Dataset in the online catalog of the Technisches Museum Wien. Retrieved February 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Pizol gondola lift. In: youtube.com. April 2007, accessed on 19 April 2014 .
- ^ Wallmannsberger two-cable gondola system. In: seilbahn-nostalgie.ch. Retrieved April 19, 2014 .