At 38 degrees or greater, even the strongest professional cyclist won’t be able to ascend a hill. Gravity, elements and friction are too much. Luckily, we don’t need to use pedal-power to climb a slope. Thanks to the innovations of a number of industries and their inventions, we can kick up our feet and relax while we glide effortlessly to our destination. Here are just a few of the predecessors that led to sweat-free jaunts up and down steep places.
Gravity Plane
Inclined elevators save a lot of energy and work, which is why it shouldn’t be a surprise that miners were among the first innovators. To get their materials up and down slopes, early miners used a gravity plane. This used a track with two carts connected by a pulley. By loading the top cart with materials, the downward force would pull a cart with less weight upward, allowing hard-working miners to get a much deserved break. Although, modern inclined elevators don’t rely on gravity planes, they still use cables and wheeled carts to move people and their things up and down hills.
Elevators
Elevators have been around for millennia, but they didn’t resemble modern designs until the 19th century. Inclined elevators use a number of features that came from traditional elevators. The gearbox is perhaps the most important. The gearbox helps to create torque, which gives force to pull the car upward. One of the key differences between a traditional elevator and an inclined elevator are the tracks and the wheeled cart. Inclined lifts use these features to provide extra safety and guidance.
Railways
Modern inclined elevators also borrowed innovations from railways, particularly machine power. By using machine power, locomotives could carry tons of material across great distances while traversing slight slopes along the way. The key difference between the two is the grade of the slope. Early locomotives had weak breaks. They couldn’t handle steep slopes without wearing down. To avoid derailments and increase efficiency, engineers built tracks flat. Apart from a few inclined railways, which use the similar features as inclined lifts, most railroad tracks are still flat.
Plenty of thought, trial and experimentation went into the machines that effortlessly guide us up and down slopes. To see some of the latest inclined elevators in action, check out our gallery page to learn more.
