Featured photo
Bica's cable car.Lisbon is famed by its trams, but long before the first trams some steep hills were equipped with cable cars.
Three cable car systems were built from 1888 to 1890, all three are still working today.
This was the last one built.
The first mechanism used to power this cable car was water driven, but in 1927 the water system was replaced with electrical engines, the same system it uses today.
The first attempt to replace the water system had been made in 1916, but a brake failure caused an uncontrolled descent: the cable car crashed to smithereens and eleven years would pass before Bica's cable car could run again.
Tags:Portugal photo
posted by DCveR at 12:47 AM
8 Comments:
they are truly beautiful and truly unique - very "alfacinha"!. it is just too bad it can not stop half way up or down, once you ride it you have got to go all the way! My aunt lives near the Elevador da Glória.
btw, we are all better now. :)
It's just amazing! Small yellow citycar :) I didn't know that Lisbon is on such hills! Still a lot to learn :)
coffee addict: Glad to know you've recovered. When I was a kid you could jump off the cable cars in the middle of the journey, but back then you could also do that in the trams...
shyha: Like Rome, Lisbon is built over 7 hills: Castelo, Graça, Monte, Penha de França, São Pedro de Alcântara, Santa Catarina and Estrela.
TGOV: It seems to me the two cities are very much alike, San Francisco steep streets are much more impressive mostly because they are straight and broad streets, most of the steep streets in Lisbon are curved and very often narrow. The narrowness of the streets comes from ancient times, it was easier to hold back attackers in narrow streets.
you all have cable cars like san francisco? how very cool! and yours are so much cuter! ::grin::
bees knees: The regular trams are much more similar to those in San Fran.
christine: Thanks. That's the same one I prefer, hence being the featured one. I just added the second one for the detail of the steps.
what a cute little yellow tram :)
remind me a bit of san francisco... in a way.. :)
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