Editing Funicular (section)

{{Short description|Form of cable railway}}
{{For|the mathematical and architectural curve|Funicular curve}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
[[File:Baku Funicular.jpg|thumb|upright|Funicular in [[Baku]], Azerbaijan]]

A '''funicular''' ({{IPAc-en|f|juː|ˈ|n|ɪ|k|j|ʊ|l|ər|,_|f|(|j|)|ʊ|-|,_|f|(|j|)|ə|-}} {{respell|few|NIK|yoo|lər|,_|f(y)uu|-|,_|f(j)ə|-}})<ref>{{cite OED |funicular |access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> is a type of [[cable railway]] system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep [[grade (slope)|slope]]. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable, which is looped over a [[pulley]] at the upper end of the track.<ref name="Giessbach">{{cite book |url=http://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/ResourceFiles/AboutASME/Who%20We%20Are/Engineering%20History/Landmarks/259-Bro-Standseilbahn.pdf |title=The Giessbach Funicular with the World's First Abt Switch |date=2015 |publisher=The [[American Society of Mechanical Engineers]]}}</ref><ref name="TCQSM">{{Cite book |url=https://www.nap.edu/read/24766/chapter/1 |title=Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual. Transit Cooperative Highway Research Program (TCRP) Report 165 |date=2013 |publisher=Transportation Research Board |isbn=978-0-309-28344-1 |edition=Third |location=Washington |pages=11–20 |chapter=Chapter 11: Glossary and Symbols |doi=10.17226/24766 |author=Kittelson & Assoc |author2=Parsons Brinckerhoff |author3=KFH Group |author4=Texas A&M Transportation Institute |author5=Arup}}</ref> The result of such a configuration is that the two carriages move synchronously: as one ascends, the other descends at an equal speed. This feature distinguishes funiculars from [[inclined elevator]]s, which have a single car that is hauled uphill.<ref name="Giessbach" /><ref name="TCQSM" /><ref name="Pyrgidis">{{cite book |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=e5ymCwAAQBAJ}} |title=Railway Transportation Systems: Design, Construction and Operation |last=Pyrgidis |first=Christos N. |date=2016 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4822-6215-5 |pages=251–260 |chapter=Cable railway systems for steep gradients}}</ref>

The term ''funicular'' derives from the [[Latin]] word {{wikt-lang|la|funiculus}}, the diminutive of {{wikt-lang|la|funis}}, meaning 'rope'.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/funicular |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703103957/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/funicular |archive-date=3 July 2018 |title=funicular |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=3 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>