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From 1880 to 1904 :
It was a two way funicular with two carriage. One got up, the other down, thanks
to and independent steel cable system, that tolered efforts of 25 tons, and
thanks to two high pressure steam engines of 45 H.P., one of which was a reserve
engine, both positioned in lower station. This engine assured the motion of
two endless cables, which bending over two returning pulleys at the two ends of
the inclined plane; while a carriage went up the other went down always by the
same route, so that it became a self-propelling system. Each cable was formed by
49 tarred steel wires, with a diameter of 25 millimeter. The carriage slid on a
central rail, hooked to an oak beam, 26 cm wide and 47 cm thick. In 1889
notwithstanding new carriages were put into service, the plant remained
unchanged until 1904.
The plant in office from 1880 to 1904
From 1904 to 1906 :
The new electric railway Pugliano-Vesuvius, contributed to
double the number of tourists carried up to the lower station. So in 1904 the
old installation was demolished and replaced by a more modern, electric-traction
of 550 Volts one. The new plant consisted of a one track with one meter gauge,
that bifurcated half-way, where the two carriages met. 53 H.P. were required to
work the line, which corresponded to 65 H.P. at the power station, loss of power
included. The electric engines were positioned another time at the lower
station. The installation worked until 1906, when was destroyed by eruption.
The plant in office from 1904 to 1906
From 1909 to 1944:
In 1909,
thanks to the engineer Enrico Treiber, a new and more modern funicular was
studied and realized. The new track disposition let carriages go on for simple
adhesion. The tracing chosen was located more south than the previous one. The
simple track line 807 meter long resulted to consist of two straight stretches
connected by a compensating bending radius of 547 meter, corresponding to the
switch-line, realized with fixed blades. The line gradient was reduced to 55 %.
A 114 tared steel wires, with a diameter of 33 millimeters and a weight of 3
tons which tolered efforts of 39 tons, connected the carriages to each other in
the upper part. A second one, identical to the other connected them down-dale.
The two carriages, by means of an electric engine installed on board, that
absorbed 550 Volts in direct current were self-propelling. They took 8 minutes
to get from lower station to the upper one. The installation worked until 1944,
when was destroyed by eruption.
The plant in office from 1909 to 1944
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