Incline Railways - Funiculì, Funiculà!

In my never-ending quest to find obscure topics to add to this forum, I realized I have another small sub-collection among my postcards: funicular railways. I've taken rides on many of these, wherever I travel -- most recently the Duquene Incline in Pittsburgh. They exist (or existed) in most older cities with a lot of hills. There was a famous one built up the side of Mt. Vesuvius, which inspired the song "Funiculì, Funiculà".

I also have postcards of the Pike's Peak Rwy, but that is actually a cog railway, with a single locomotive. A true funicular has two cable cars, which act as counterweights -- one goes up as the other comes down. Sometimes there is a single track with a split in the middle, where the cars pass. Most often funiculars were built to take tourists up to panoramic vistas, but in the days before trucks, they had functional uses, like transporting carriages and market goods up steep hills.

Here are the examples I have so far. I'm sure I'll find more to post down the road.








You'll notice on this one, the postcard printer took some liberties with the steepness of the grade by tipping the photo an extra 20 degrees. But the trees give it away.

There are over 40 funicular railways in the United Kingdom dating back to the 19th century, many of them still in operation and open to the public. Not sure how many have philatelic material!
for example:The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway opened on 1 August 1896. It is a 778 feet long funicular railway in Aberystwyth and is the second longest funicular railway in the British Isles, after the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. Since November 1987, the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway has been a Grade II listed structure. Wikipedia

Here is Angel's Flight Incline Railway (1904-1923) aka Island Mountain Railway funicular at Catalina Island, California. There is one car on each side of the mountain. You could get in the first car at the Amphitheater in Avalon, go up the hill for stunning views on the top platform, then get in the second car and ride down the other side of the mountain to Pebble Beach (where this picture is taken).



Edit: another view showing the steep incline of the railway.



There is another "Angel's Flight Railway" funicular in Los Angeles but I can't find my postcard of it right now.

Thanks for sharing these! I've seen the current Angel's Flight Railway in person but haven't ridden on it. I can't remember if it is a true funicular. I wish that Mt. Lowe railway was still around. There's a brewery in the area named after it.

Ah! I forgot about that one. It is in downtown Los Angeles. It was removed in 1969, then rebuilt about 30 years later in a slightly different location. I have been on the new version. Here is the original.

Until recently, I lived on Mount Waahington in Pittsburgh. I rode the Monogahela Incline daily and the Duquesne on occasion. When I moved there and took my first ride, I was terrified. It got to just be an every day thing though and one that I miss now. Thanks for sharing these very much!

Look at all those happy faces heading down Mt. Manitou.



The funicular came to a stop in 1991, but people would come to climb the tracks for fun. Eventually the city rebuilt the incline as a trail of stair steps. It ascends more than 2000 vertical feet in just under a mile and some athletes run it every day!