Isle of Man Transport: Snaefell Mountain Railway
18.5 هزار بار بازدید -
13 سال پیش
-
The mountain of Snaefell (Snow
The mountain of Snaefell (Snow Mountain in Scandinavian) rises 2036 feet above sea level, and from it you can see the Seven Kingdoms: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Mann, Heaven and the Sea.
When the Manx Electric Railway reached the mining village of Laxey, the plans to construct an electric tramway to the summit of the mountain were released, and speculation ensued as to whether the trams would climb the 1 in 12 gradient on wheel adhesion alone. So, when construction began on the first British mountain railway (it predates the Snowdon Steam Railway) in 1894, the Fell Incline Railway system was adopted (where extra driving wheels gripped a central rail) but this was unnecessary as the trams had no trouble, so the centre rail was retained as a braking system (since changed to an emergency braking system only, hence the rust...). When being built, an extra rail was laid to 3ft gauge as the IOM Steam Railway locomotive Caledonia assisted in the job but could not run on the 3ft 6ins gauge decided upon for the Snaefell Railway.
The trams are equipped with four 25hp motors (a total of 100hp per tram), making them the most powerful trams in the country at the time of building. Six of these passenger cars were built, and all still run in service to this day. Number 7 was a freight wagon with a cab at either end and a six-ton freight wagon body in the middle. You can see in this video that one of the trams is being used as a works car pulling a skip full of material to the summit instead of 7 (whose remains sit next to the tram shed).
Departing Laxey you can see where three tramway tracks all cross the road: Snaefell, MER Northbound and MER Southbound. As when crossing roads the trams must have their bells/whistles going, it is a very noisy area. Heading up the line you can see the famous Laxey Wheel. Bungalow station passes by, where passengers may alight halfway up or down, and the tram then continues up to the Summit, where the Summit Hotel was built at the same time as the tramway to serve refreshments to the tourists at the highest point on the island.
When the Manx Electric Railway reached the mining village of Laxey, the plans to construct an electric tramway to the summit of the mountain were released, and speculation ensued as to whether the trams would climb the 1 in 12 gradient on wheel adhesion alone. So, when construction began on the first British mountain railway (it predates the Snowdon Steam Railway) in 1894, the Fell Incline Railway system was adopted (where extra driving wheels gripped a central rail) but this was unnecessary as the trams had no trouble, so the centre rail was retained as a braking system (since changed to an emergency braking system only, hence the rust...). When being built, an extra rail was laid to 3ft gauge as the IOM Steam Railway locomotive Caledonia assisted in the job but could not run on the 3ft 6ins gauge decided upon for the Snaefell Railway.
The trams are equipped with four 25hp motors (a total of 100hp per tram), making them the most powerful trams in the country at the time of building. Six of these passenger cars were built, and all still run in service to this day. Number 7 was a freight wagon with a cab at either end and a six-ton freight wagon body in the middle. You can see in this video that one of the trams is being used as a works car pulling a skip full of material to the summit instead of 7 (whose remains sit next to the tram shed).
Departing Laxey you can see where three tramway tracks all cross the road: Snaefell, MER Northbound and MER Southbound. As when crossing roads the trams must have their bells/whistles going, it is a very noisy area. Heading up the line you can see the famous Laxey Wheel. Bungalow station passes by, where passengers may alight halfway up or down, and the tram then continues up to the Summit, where the Summit Hotel was built at the same time as the tramway to serve refreshments to the tourists at the highest point on the island.
13 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1390/06/05 منتشر شده
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