Re: Scenic Railway Expansion

["David Bennetts" <davibenn@pcug.org.au>]

David Martin <d_martin@mountains.net.au> wrote in article
<3675f32e.0@news.camtech.net.au>...
> Katoomba Scenic Railway Expansion Ideas
> 
> The Scenic Railway often operates at capacity. Consequently, the owners
want
> to supplement it with an aerial cable car running more or less parallel.
> 
> The SR train cannot be made longer, as it would lift off the track near
the
> bottom of the steepest section.
> 
> My idea, which I invite comments on, is to have two trains, with a
passing
> loop in the middle. I suspect that the existing haulage machinery could
be
> used.
> 
> This proposal would have less impact on the environment than a cable car,
> and would also result in the elimination of the aerial counterweight.
> 
> I think this idea is obvious (it certainly isn't original), which makes
me
> wonder why it is not being considered. Am I missing some technical
problem
> here?
> 

I would think that having two trains on the funicular would be the obvious
solution - it would virtually double its carrying capacity without the need
for a great deal of modification.  The passing place would have to be
exactly halfway of course, I would think this would be below the 'tunnel'
section so wouldn't require a huge amount of clearing to accommodate the
necessaary pointwork and dual trackage.  

This is the way about 99% of funiculars are constructed - Katoomba is very
odd in having a counterweight running on an aerial cable.

It would certainly be more environmentally acceptable than building another
separate system - whatever happened with that weird 'orphan rocker'
monorail contraption that they built a few years back?

Regards

David Bennetts