Cable railway

San Francisco is the city famous for its cable car system. A cable car is a vehicle with no motor. It is moved along a track by a cable. There is an engine at some point along the route which pulls the cable through a system of pulleys. A groove in the pavement keeps all of these mechanics below ground level and each car has an arm which can reach into the groove and grip the cable. The cable moves continuously and the car operator releases the cable to stop and grips it to start. A funicular railway, or cable railway, is similar but the cars are permanently attached to the cable and the cable must stop when the cars stop. These are usually used where there are no intermediate stops.

It varies depending on the country your in, the voltage of the cable and the type of soil. Also if there is anything on the surface above the cable, railway lines for example. Another important thing to remember is that not all 'time-is-money' cable laying crews follow the rules. From experience, they are almost always too shallow. Scary!

A cable grip is a device for propelling a vehicle by attaching to a wire cable (also called wire rope) running at a (relatively) constant speed. The vehicle may be suspended from the cable, as in the case of aerial lifts such as a gondola lift may be guided by rails, as in a cable traction railway, or may be self-guiding, as in a button lift. Typically, multiple vehicles will use the same cable; where just one or two vehicles are in use they will tend to be attached to the cable permanently.

A cable grip is a device for propelling a vehicle by attaching to a wire cable (also called wire rope) running at a (relatively) constant speed. The vehicle may be suspended from the cable, as in the case of aerial lifts such as a gondola lift may be guided by rails, as in a cable traction railway, or may be self-guiding, as in a button lift. Typically, multiple vehicles will use the same cable; where just one or two vehicles are in use they will tend to be attached to the cable permanently.