A funicular, also called funicular railway, inclined railway, inclined plane, or, in the United Kingdom, a cliff railway, is a type of self-contained cable railway in which cables attached to a tram-like vehicle on rails move it up and down a very steep slope.

The word "funicular" derives from the Latin funiculus (thin rope), a diminutive of funis (rope).

Function

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In most funiculars, two cars at the end of a cable go alternately up and down on either two tracks or one track which splits and rejoins in the middle. However, there are differences in funicular layout. In some cases, such as on the Duquesne Incline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, there are separate parallel tracks and platforms for each vehicle; the carriages' flanged wheels resemble those of standard railway vehicles. In the case of the Angels Flight funicular in Los Angeles, which has a three-rail gantlet track configuration, the two cars share a central rail, but each has its own outside rail, except for the passing segment, where the central rail splits into two. Angels Flight also differs from most funiculars in that it uses separate cables for the two vehicles, linked together with a gear, rather than the same cable, attached to a vehicle at each end.

More on [ Funicular ]

Kids and model railroading

Safety Suggestions for Children
J&S RR Fri, 22 May 2009 19:49:49 -0000
     I am currently involved with HO Scale modeling as a family project.  I have found that this hobby has really enhanced "family time" and brought us all closer together. My main partner is my fiance's little girl (Skyler) who is 6 yrs old.  I am very suprised at the level of accuracy such a young child has to details in general.  The best example I have is scratchbuilding trees.  I have difficulty in identifying the trees I have built and painted compared to the ones she has built (I actually have to mark them to see who made what).  Needless to say I am very proud of the talent and patience shown by such a young child.       The main purpose of this thread is to discuss the more subtle safety precautions involved with HO scale modelling.  Obviously, all benchwork will be conducted by me, so no powertools for Skyler yet.  I want very much to keep her interested in this hobby and make it as fun as possible, as it affords so many ways to enhance being a family.    Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Introducing young ones to the hobby
Phoebe Vet Fri, 08 May 2009 20:34:05 -0000
I started my grandchildren by buying Bachmann's Thomas the Tank Engine in HO.  Later I added Hogwart's Express.  Now they prefer the REAL trains.
Thomas Mad Bomber 'widescreen' & extra scenes
rollingstockvid Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:55:14 -0000
Please enjoy a very reworked Mad Bomber, now in 16:9 wide screen, new music, new character with extra scenes linking onto the second episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F6ckqYfg9A&feature=channel_page Thank you.
episode VI
Gino Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:45:53 -0000
This one is a little more low key, because Michael is really mellow.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVJoxIJYEaA
Looking for a good, short, inexpensive HO steam switcher.
HolbrookBill Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:10:23 -0000
My eight year old son and I attended the local train show last weekend and when we got home he pulled out all my old train stuff. We found a small place in his room to put up a 2' x 4' switching layout and I've got the board together and even have some track in place.  The biggest problem, though, is that with the track plan we have, there's not a lot of room for cars and an engine on the sidings. I have a 70's Mantua 0-4-0 tank switcher that would be the perfect engine for switching this track IF it ran well ( and it NEVER ran well as a switcher ). Even an 0-4-0 with a tender is a little too long for this layout. I'm looking for something similar in size, and it HAS to be a steam engine ( so my son says ). Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can use? I'd like to keep costs down, but I'm willing to pay a little more for quality... It also needs to be pretty smooth, since I know that if the engine is jerky and/or too fast that he'll lose interest.  THANKS!  
2yr Old w/train addiction
HEdward Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:38:48 -0000
Every chance he gets, Kevin lines up his toy cars, trucks, and whatever he has that has wheels, into a train.  If I go to the basement, both boys follow and insist that I run the train.  The poor old Marx engine has had more miles put on it this year than in it's prior history.  If they wander off to do other things, I'm still not allowed to shut off the train or they throw a fit.  At the LHS they have 3 Thomas tables near the back of the store.  In the front window there's an HO display layout.  Kevin looked in the window, locked onto the scene and resisted going around to the door to go inside.  When inside, he gave us a hard time getting him away from the layout.  finally, we pried him away and took he and Eddie to the Thomas displays.  After twenty minutes while Mommy sat with them, Daddy was done shopping and it was time to go.  One would think we were torturing a dozen babies with the noise they made.  Back at the car, I let go of Kevin's hand for a second to open the door and he immediatly turned his attention to heading back to the store.  Good thing I've got long arms. 

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