Talk:Gondola lift
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someone more knowledgeable on the subject than me needs to describe the difference between a Gondola lift and an aerial tramway, preferably both in this article and the one at Aerial tramway! [[User:Grutness|Grutness hello? 
]] 12:37, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- As the aerial tramway article says, it has a fixed cable on which the cabin runs, and another cable which does the pulling. This design can usually only accommodate one or two cabins. If two, they are often counterbalanced to each other. A Gondola lift, however, has no fixed cable, just a lopped moving cable to which the cabins are affixed. dramatic 09:12, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- I agree, but then, this paragraph isn't quite correct and should refer to aerial tramways, shouldn't it? :
- Another type of gondola lift is the bi-cable gondola, which has one other stationary cable, besides the main haul rope, that helps support the cabins. Examples of this type of lift include the Cable Car in Singapore and the Sulphur Mountain Gondola in Banff, Canada. There are also tri-cable gondolas that have two stationary cables that support the cabins. - IMHO this "bi-cable" or "tri-cable" so-called "gondolas" are in fact aerial tramways. Gestumblindi 02:46, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
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- However, having now seen the picture of the Singapore bi-cable gondola lift this looks quite like a gondola lift to me, too. Maybe to the distinction should be added that aerial tramways use 1-2 big cabins for up to dozens of passengers, whereas a gondola lift is using several smaller, 2-8 passenger cabins? Gestumblindi 03:30, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
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- I have now added to the bi-cable/tri-cable part: They differ from aerial tramways in that the latter consist only of one or two large cabins, moving up and down, not circulating. Gestumblindi 19:43, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)
I would state the difference as that an aerial-tramway has only one "gondola" per (set of) cables, and that it does not rotate at the stations. Whereas a gondola usually consists of many (smaller) cabin's that rotate at their terminals (they are in series as opposed to the tramways that are parallel).
But what does one call a system with 5 12pers gondola's on close range after eachother, one set to go up while another set goes down, that rotate in the station? (like the one linkins Furgg to Schwarzsee in Zermatt)
- Sounds like a type of gondola lift to me (several cabins, rotating). Gestumblindi 23:06, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Perhaps its up to the individual operator to decide if they want to call their lift a gondola or call it a tramway or a skyway or whatever. Could someone find out the origins of using the term gondola to refer to this kind mechanism? Were they named after the gondola boats in Venice?
