Editing Funicular (section)

===Types of power systems===
====Cable drive====
[[File:FunicularDriveTrain.jpg|thumb|left|Funicular drive train]]
[[File:Muzeum MHD, dvoukolí vozu petřínské lanovky 1891.jpg|thumb|[[Petřín funicular]] [[Wheelset (rail transport)|wheelset]] with [[Rack railway#Abt (1882)|Abt]] rack and pinion brake]] 

In most modern funiculars, neither of the two carriages is equipped with an engine of its own. Instead, the propulsion is provided by an [[electric motor]] in the engine room (typically at the upper end of the track); the motor is linked via a speed-reducing gearbox to a large pulley – a ''drive [[bullwheel]]'' – which then controls the movement of the haul rope using friction. Some early funiculars were powered in the same way, but using [[steam engine]]s or other types of motor. The bullwheel has two grooves: after the first half turn around it the cable returns via an auxiliary pulley. This arrangement has the advantage of having twice the contact area between the cable and the groove, and returning the downward-moving cable in the same plane as the upward-moving one.  Modern installations also use high friction liners to enhance the friction between the bullwheel grooves and the cable.<ref name="Hofmann" /><ref name=Stoos /><ref name=Neumann >{{Cite journal |last=Neumann |first=Edward S.  |title=Cable-Propelled People Movers in Urban Environments |url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1992/1349/1349-017.pdf |journal=Transportation Research Record |volume=1349 |pages=125–132}}</ref>

For emergency and service purposes two sets of brakes are used at the engine room: the emergency brake directly grips the bullwheel, and the service brake is mounted at the high speed shaft of the gear. In case of an emergency the cars are also equipped with spring-applied, hydraulically opened rail brakes.<ref name=Neumann />

The first funicular caliper brakes which clamp each side of the crown of the rail were invented by the Swiss entrepreneurs [[Franz Josef Bucher]] and Josef Durrer and implemented at the {{ill|Stanserhorn funicular|de|Stanserhorn-Bahn}}, opened in 1893.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berger |first1=Christoph |title=Das kleine Buch vom Stanserhorn |date=2005 |publisher=Christoph Berger, Stans |location=Erstausgabe |isbn=3-907164-12-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cuonz |first1=Romano |title=Franz Josef Bucher und Josef Durrer – Hotelkönig / Bergbahnpionier |date=2015 |publisher=Brunner Medien AG |isbn=978-3-03727-063-9}}</ref> The Abt [[Rack and pinion railway#Abt (1882)|rack and pinion system]] was also used on some funiculars for speed control or emergency braking.<ref name=Giessbach /><ref name="Hofmann">{{Cite journal |last=Hofmann |first=Gottfried |date=2007-01-03 |title=Advanced funicular technology |url=https://repository.mines.edu/handle/11124/70549 |journal=International Organization for the Study of Transportation |location=San Francisco, Calif. |publisher=International Organization for the Study of Transportation by Rope; Internationaler Seilbahnkongress}}</ref>
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====Water counterbalancing====
{{main|Waterbalast railway}}
[[File:Fribourg funicular.jpg|thumb|upright|The wastewater-powered Fribourg funicular featuring an Abt switch]]
{{For|a list of water-powered funiculars|Category:Water-powered funicular railways}}

Many early funiculars were built using water tanks under the floor of each car, which were filled or emptied until just sufficient imbalance was achieved to allow movement, and a few such funiculars still exist and operate in the same way. The car at the top of the hill is loaded with water until it is heavier than the car at the bottom, causing it to descend the hill and pull up the other car. The water is drained at the bottom, and the process repeats with the cars exchanging roles. The movement is controlled by a [[brakeman]] using the brake handle of the rack and pinion system engaged with the rack mounted between the rails.<ref name="Giessbach" /><ref name="Hofmann" />

The [[Bom Jesus funicular]] built in 1882 near [[Braga]], [[Portugal]] is one of the extant systems of this type. Another example, the [[Fribourg funicular]] in [[Fribourg]], Switzerland built in 1899,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tpf.ch/funiculaire |title=Funiculaire Neuveville – St-Pierre |publisher=Transports publics fribourgeois Holding (TPF) SA}}</ref> is of particular interest as it utilizes waste water, coming from a sewage plant at the upper part of the city.<ref name="The Atlantic">{{cite news|last=Kirk|first=Mimi|title=A Lasting Stink: Fribourg's Sewage-Powered Funicular|url=http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/06/a-lasting-stink-fribourgs-sewage-powered-funicular/487346/|access-date=19 June 2016|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=16 June 2016 }}</ref>

Some funiculars of this type were later converted to electrical power. For example, the [[Giessbachbahn]] in the Swiss [[canton of Bern]], opened in 1879, was originally powered by water ballast. In 1912 its energy provision was replaced by a hydraulic engine powered by a [[Pelton turbine]]. In 1948 this in turn was replaced by an electric motor.<ref name="Giessbach" />
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