Funiculaire du Pic du Jer Little Tourist train rides in Lourdes

FUNICULAR OPERATION

The funicular, from the Latin "funiculus" or "little string", was invented by the engineer Stephenson in 1825 who invented it to help steam locomotives cross the slopes of the English hills.

A funicular is a mechanical lift equipped with vehicles traveling on sloping rails and whose traction is provided by a cable to overcome the slope of the terrain. The motor driving the cable is located in the upper station.

The drive is generally provided by an electric motor coupled to a reduction gear setting the drive pulley in motion. The service brake (FS1) and safety brake (FS2) are found closest to the drive pulley.

Most generally, a funicular runs on a single railway line which has a doubled section in the middle of the route for crossing vehicles. This is avoidance, it works without a moving needle thanks to the special arrangement of the axles of the vehicles.

These are equipped with grooved wheels which guide the cabins on the continuous rail on the outside side of the siding, and flat wheels able to pass through the center of the switch on the rail on the inside side of the siding.

This axle arrangement is reversed from one cabin to another, so the crossing works without human intervention, without risk of collision of the cabs or crossing of cables. On the Pic du Jer the type of avoidance is N ° 3.

In the event that there is a break in the cable tie, large mechanical jaws located on the frame near the grooved wheels instantly grip the rails and thus stop the entire installation.