It’s a little bit different for “Around the World in Trams” as instead of a traditional tram or light rail system we feature a funicular which operates in Portugal.
The Bom Jesus do Monte Funicular runs in Braga, Portugal and connects the upper town of Braga with the Shrine and heads up 116 metres on standard gauge tracks. There are two tracks (one for each direction) with each car being 7 metres long and 2 metres wide. They can carry 30 seated passengers and eight standees. It runs on water counterbalancing and is the oldest funicular in the world to be operated using this method. As with most funiculars it’s a quick trip taking between two and four minutes.
One of the cars at the upper station with a mosaic on the platform.
A close-up view of the cable as water pours into the car in preparation for the counter balancing to get it down to the bottom.
The wheel which starts the process of flowing the water.
Looking up from the lower station.
The entrance to the lower station. (All Photographs by Kate Meeson)
Thank you Gareth! You should have some from Switzerland, and soon maybe even some from Austria as well! This funicular was one of the only ways to get back up the the hotel I was staying at, and ran all the way from the morning until the evening. Right outside the bottom station is a bus stop, so you could either get the funicular down or walk down the shrine. Was pure chance it was at the hotel I was staying at, thank you for writing the article 😀
The eagle eyed will see fence posts cut from the groved track of the original Braga system. One route terminated at the lower station of Bom Jesus.
If anybody is interested, video on Youtube made in 2012: https://youtu.be/uuutHlWcesY