Material ropeway

A material ropeway, ropeway conveyor (or Aerial tramway in the US)[1]: 659  is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.

View along the Forsby-Köping limestone cableway, Sweden
Etching of the world's first cable car, created by Adam Wybe in Gdańsk (etching by Willem Hondius)
Material ropeway in Nußloch, Germany

Description

Material ropeways are typically found around large mining concerns, and can be of considerable length. The COMILOG Cableway, which ran from Moanda in Gabon to Mbinda in the Republic of the Congo, was over 75 km (47 mi) in length. The Norsjö aerial tramway in Sweden had a length of 96 km (60 mi).

Conveyors can be powered by a wide variety of forms of energy, such as electricity, engines, or gravity (particularly in mountainous mining concerns, or where running water is available).[2] Gravity-driven conveyors may qualify as zip-lines, as no electricity is used to operate them, instead relying on the weight of carts going down providing propulsion for empty carts going up.

History

The first recorded mechanical ropeway was by Croatian Fausto Veranzio who designed a bicable passenger ropeway in 1616. The world's first cable car on multiple supports was built by Adam Wybe in Gdańsk, Poland in 1644. It was powered by horses and used to move soil over the river to build defences.[3]

In Eritrea, the Italians built the Asmara-Massawa Cableway in 1936, which was 75 km (47 mi) long. The Manizales - Mariquita Cableway (1922) in Colombia was 73 km (45 mi) long.

Amongst the first material ropeways in India was the Amarkantak Ropeway[4] in Chaktipani, Korba, Chhatisgarh, which was 16.8 km (10.4 mi) long with capacity of 150 TPH constructed by Damodar Ropeways & Infra Ltd. (DRIL) (formerly known as (Damodar Enterprises Ltd. (DEL). It was made for Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) in collaboration with Nikex, Hungary.

In the United Kingdom, aerial ropeways used for conveying mining goods and materials were historically common; however, just one remains in existence and operation, in Claughton, Lancashire, constructed in 1924 and used for quarrying shale to make bricks. It is scheduled to be demolished in 2036, once the last of the shale has been quarried.[5][6]

List

Closed ropeways
Ropeway line / Company System Type Support type Length Fall/Rise (City/State/)Country In operation Notes
American Agricultural Chemical CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodSearsport, Maine  USA
Maine Insane HospitalTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood1,050 feet150 feetAugusta, Maine  USA1899 -
Plymouth Cordage CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeSteel1,150 feetPlymouth, Massachusetts  USA
Farnam-Chesire Lime CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodChesire, Massachusetts  USA
Cayuga Lake Cement CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope2,340 feetIthaca, New York  USA1901 -
Magnetic Iron Ore Company Trenton-Bleichert 290 feet 25 rise Benson Mines, New York  USA
Solvay Process CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood16,500 feet239 feetSyracuse, New York  USA
Warner's Portland Cement Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,056 feet 48 feet Syracuse, New York  USA
Catskill Cement CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope4,170 feetSmith's Landing, New York  USA
Witherbees, Sherman & Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 3,668 feet 406 feet Port Henry, New York  USA
United States Military AcademyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeIron1,640 feetWest Point, New York  USA1901 -
Edgewater Lime WorksTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope360 feet20 feetEdgewater, New Jersey  USA1901 -
Vermont Marble CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,600 feetProctor, Vermont  USA1894 -
New England Talc CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood2,400 feetStockbridge, Vermont  USA
Pottsville Iron and Steel CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,100 feet70 feetPottsville, Pennsylvania  USA
Cambria Steel CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeSteel3,260 feetJohnstown, Pennsylvania  USA
Curwensville Fire Brick CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope2,337 feetBolivar, Pennsylvania  USA1903 -
Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron CompanyTrenton-BleichertSingle cable reversibleWest Shenandoah Colliery, Pennsylvania  USA
Keystone Plaster CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,500 feetChester, Pennsylvania  USA
Keystone Plaster CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,400 feet200 feetEast Brady, Pennsylvania  USA
St. Bernard Coal CompanyTrenton-BleichertSingle cable reversibleWood600 feetEarlington, Kentucky  USA
East Shore Terminal CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood700 feetlevelCharleston, South Carolina  USA
East Shore Terminal Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 650 feet level Charleston, South Carolina  USA
Pulaski Iron CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope960 feet494 feetBuchanan, Virginia  USA
Royal Coal and Coke CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope2,800 feet820 feetPrince, West Virginia  USA
Bagdad Chase Gold Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodAtlanta, Idaho  USA1903 - 1931
Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope9,000 feet713 feetWardner, Idaho  USA1891 -
Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 1,200 feet 370 feet Wardner, Idaho  USA
Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 320 feet level Minneapolis, Minnesota  USA
St. Louis, Rocky Mountain & Pacific CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodKoehler, New Mexico  USA
United States Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodBingham, Utah  USA
Highland Boy Gold Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood12,700 feetBingham, Utah  USA
Highland Boy Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 20,975 feet Bingham Canyon, Utah  USA 1910 -
Utah Consolidated Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodBingham Canyon, Utah  USA
Yampa Smelting CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodBingham, Utah  USA
Vallejo Tunnel and Mine Company Hallidie Single-rope Wood 2,400 feet 600 feet Little Cottonwood, Utah  USA 1872 - 1874
North American Copper Company Leschen Double-rope Wood 16 miles Grand Encampment, Wyoming  USA 1904 -
Nevada Gypsum CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodMound House, Nevada  USA
Gold Prince Mine TramwayTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWoodAnimas Forks, Colorado  USA1906 -
Compromise Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 3,200 feet 920 feet Aspen, Colorado  USA
Aspen Public Tramway Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope Wood 9,850 feet 2,409 feet Aspen, Colorado  USA 1890 - 1893
Carbon Coal and Coke CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeSteelTrinidad, Colorado  USA
Old Hundred Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood1,850 feet1,050 feetHowardsville, Colorado  USA
Victor Fuel CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,850 feet57 feetHastings, Colorado  USA
St. Bernard Coal CompanyTrenton-BleichertSingle cable reversible2,370 feetDenver, Colorado  USA
Old Hundred Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood760 feet515 feetHowardsville, Colorado  USA
Old Hundred Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood1,610 feetHowardsville, Colorado  USA
Silver Age Mining and Milling Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 6,240 feet 989 feet Idaho Springs, Colorado  USA
Sunnyside Extension Mine Huson Single-rope 2,279 feet Silverton, Colorado  USA 1891 -
Ross Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble cable reversibleWood1,400 feet524 feetSilverton, Colorado  USA
Iowa Gold Mining and Milling CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble cable reversibleWood8,625 feetSilverton, Colorado  USA
Shendandoah-Dives Mining Company Double-rope Wood 10,000 feet Silverton, Colorado  USA 1929 - 1960
Pay Rock Mine Huson Single-rope Wood Silver Plume, Colorado  USA
Smuggler Union MineTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope3,150 feetCreede, Colorado  USA
Bachelor Commodore Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope3,310 feetCreede, Colorado  USA
Bachelor Commodore Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertSingle cable reversibleWood850 feet400 feetCreede, Colorado  USA
Smuggler Union MineTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope400 feetTelluride, Colorado  USA
San Juan Mining CompanyLeschen and SonsDouble-ropeWoodTelluride, Colorado  USA
Colorado Fuel & Iron CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope2,370 feetDenver, Colorado  USA
Keane Wonder Mine Double-rope Wood Death Valley, California  USA
Four Metals Mining CompanyMontgomeryDouble-ropeWood5,5 milesKeeler, California  USA1909 - 1914
Inyo Cerro Gordo Mining and Power CompanyLeschenDouble-ropeWood5,6 milesKeeler, California  USA1914 - 1959
Morning Star Mine TramDouble-ropeWoodKeeler, California  USA
Mountain Ledge Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 5,800 feet 1,600 feet Sierra City, California  USA
Saline Valley Salt CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood13,5 miles3,000 feetSwansea, California  USA1913 - 1936
Eureka Slate CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope13,300 feetSlatington, California  USA
United Concentration CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope6,600 feet1,820 feetMonte Cristo, Washington  USA
Oregon Gold Mining Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 5,000 feet 2,000 feet Cornucopia, Oregon  USA
Old Dominion Copper CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,250 feetGlobe, Arizona  USA1892 -
Keeler, Holcombe & Company Trenton-Bleichert Double-rope 7,500 feet 1,850 feet Kelly Switch, New Mexico  USA
Consolidated Kansas City Smelting and Refining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope2,500 feetEl Paso, Texas  USA
Bi-Metallic Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope9,750 feet1,225 feetGranite, Montana  USA
Granite Mountain Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope8,750 feet1,207 feetGranite, Montana  USA
Chilkoot Trail tramwaysTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood8,250 feet/7 miles1,070 feetChillkoot Pass, Alaska  USA1898 -
Nowell Gold Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope11,600 feet2,297 feetJuneau, Alaska  USA
Mond Nickel CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope11,400 feetVictoria Mines, Ontario  Canada
Laurentide Pulp CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,500 feet15 feetMontreal  Canada
Compania Metalurgica de TorreonTrenton-BleichertSingle cable reversibleWood1,453 feet730 feetCoahuila, Mexico  Mexico
La Gran Fundicion National MexicanaTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeWood8,650 feetSanta Catarina, Mexico  Mexico
San Toy Mining CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeSteelChihuahua  Mexico
Thomas & SpillaneTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope825 feet425 feetSan Luis Potosí  Mexico
Cia. Manufacturera de Ladrillos AreniscosTrenton-BleichertDouble-rope1,950 feetCoah  Mexico
Trinidad Asphalt CompanyTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeIron5,100 feet80 feetLa Brea, Trinidad  Trinidad
Compagnie HeitienneTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeIron12 milesPort de Paix, Haiti  Haiti
Vivero Iron Ore Company- Mina de la SilvarosaTrenton-BleichertDouble-ropeIron625 feetVivero, Spain  Spain1899 -

See also

References
  1. Ernst, Richard (1989). Wörterbuch der Industriellen Technik [Dictionary of Industrial Technology] (in German) (fifth ed.). Wiesbaden: Oscar Brandstetter. ISBN 3-87097-145-2.
  2. Decker, Kris De (26 January 2011). "Aerial ropeways: automatic cargo transport for a bargain". lowtechmagazine.com. Low Tech Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  3. Masłowski, Aleksander. "Adam Wijbe (1584?-1653)". rzygacz.webd.pl (in Polish). Akademia Rzygaczy. Archived from the original on 3 December 2006.
  4. "Tracing the course of infra technology Indian ropeways have been using since the 1970s". The Financial Express. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  5. Scott, Tom (12 July 2021). "The UK's last aerial ropeway uses no power, moves 300 tonnes a day, and will be gone by 2036". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  6. "Claughton Aerial Ropeway". nationaltransporttrust.org.uk. National Transport Trust. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.


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