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==Operation==
In a funicular, both cars are permanently connected to the opposite ends of the same cable, known as a ''haul rope''; this haul rope runs through a system of [[pulley]]s at the upper end of the line. If the railway track is not perfectly straight, the cable is guided along the track using [[sheave]]s – unpowered pulleys that allow the cable to change direction. While one car is pulled upwards by one end of the haul rope, the other car descends the slope at the other end. Since the weight of the two cars is counterbalanced (except for the difference in the weight of passengers), the engine only has to provide energy to pull the excess passengers in the uphill car and the cable itself, plus the energy lost to [[friction]] by the cars' wheels and the pulleys.<ref name=Giessbach/><ref name="Hofmann" />

For passenger comfort, funicular carriages are often, although not always, constructed so that the floor of the passenger deck is horizontal rather than parallel to the sloped track.

[[File:Funicular bottom pulley.png|thumb|Bottom Towrope]]
In some installations, the cars may also be attached to a second cable – the ''bottom towrope'' – which runs through a pulley at the bottom of the incline. In these designs, one of the pulleys must be designed as a tensioning wheel to avoid slack in the ropes. One advantage of such an installation is that the rope's weight is balanced between the carriages; therefore, the engine no longer needs to expend power to lift the cable itself. This practice is used on funiculars with slopes below 6%, funiculars using sleds instead of carriages, or any other case where it is not ensured that the descending car is always able to pull out the cable from the pulley in the station at the top of the incline.<ref name="hefti">Walter Hefti: ''Schienenseilbahnen in aller Welt. Schiefe Seilebenen, Standseilbahnen, Kabelbahnen''. Birkhäuser, Basel 1975, {{ISBN|3-7643-0726-9}} (German)</ref> It is also used in systems where the engine room is located at the lower end of the track (such as the upper half of the [[Great Orme Tramway]]) – in such systems, the cable that runs through the top of the incline is still necessary to prevent the carriages from coasting down the incline.<ref name="orme">[http://www.greatormetramway.co.uk/en/how-it-works How it works] – Great Orme Tramway</ref>

===Types of power systems===
====Cable drive====
[[File:FunicularDriveTrain.jpg|thumb|left|Funicular drive train]]
[[File:Muzeum MHD, dvoukolí vozu petřínské lanovky 1891.jpg|thumb|[[Petřín funicular]] [[Wheelset (rail transport)|wheelset]] with [[Rack railway#Abt (1882)|Abt]] rack and pinion brake]]

In most modern funiculars, neither of the two carriages is equipped with an engine of its own; propulsion is provided by an [[electric motor]] in the engine room (typically at the upper end of the track), linked via a speed-reducing gearbox to a large pulley – a ''drive [[bullwheel]]'' – which then controls the movement of the haul rope using friction. Some early funiculars were powered in the same way, but using [[steam engine]]s or other types of motors. The bullwheel has two grooves: after the first half turn around it, the cable returns via an auxiliary pulley. This arrangement has the advantage of providing twice the contact area between the cable and the groove and of returning the downward-moving cable to the same plane as the upward-moving one. Modern installations use high-friction liners to increase the friction between the bullwheel grooves and the cable.<ref name="Hofmann" /><ref name=Stoos /><ref name=Neumann >{{Cite journal |last=Neumann |first=Edward S. |title=Cable-Propelled People Movers in Urban Environments |url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1992/1349/1349-017.pdf |journal=Transportation Research Record |volume=1349 |pages=125–132}}</ref>

There are two sets of brakes in the engine room: an emergency brake that directly grips the bullwheel and a service brake mounted at the high-speed shaft of the gear. The cars are also equipped with spring-applied, hydraulically opened rail brakes for emergency use.<ref name=Neumann />

The first funicular caliper brakes, which clamp each side of the rail crown, were invented by the Swiss entrepreneurs [[Franz Josef Bucher]] and Josef Durrer and were implemented on the {{ill|Stanserhorn funicular|de|Stanserhorn-Bahn}}, opened in 1893.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berger |first1=Christoph |title=Das kleine Buch vom Stanserhorn |date=2005 |publisher=Christoph Berger, Stans |location=Erstausgabe |isbn=3-907164-12-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cuonz |first1=Romano |title=Franz Josef Bucher und Josef Durrer – Hotelkönig / Bergbahnpionier |date=2015 |publisher=Brunner Medien AG |isbn=978-3-03727-063-9}}</ref> The [[Rack and pinion railway#Abt (1882)|Abt rack and pinion system]] was also used on some funiculars for speed control or emergency braking.<ref name=Giessbach /><ref name="Hofmann">{{Cite journal |last=Hofmann |first=Gottfried |date=2007-01-03 |title=Advanced funicular technology |url=https://repository.mines.edu/handle/11124/70549 |journal=International Organization for the Study of Transportation |location=San Francisco, Calif. |publisher=International Organization for the Study of Transportation by Rope; Internationaler Seilbahnkongress}}</ref>
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====Water counterbalancing====
{{main|Water balance railway}}
[[File:Fribourg funicular.jpg|thumb|upright|The wastewater-powered Fribourg funicular featuring an Abt switch]]
{{For|a list of water-powered funiculars|Category:Water-powered funicular railways}}

Many early funiculars were built using water tanks under the floor of each car, which were filled or emptied until just sufficient imbalance was achieved to allow movement, and a few funiculars still operate that way. The car at the top of the hill is loaded with water until it is heavier than the car at the bottom, causing it to descend the hill and pull the other car up. The water is drained at the bottom, and the process repeats with the cars exchanging roles. The movement is controlled by a [[brakeman]] using the brake handle of the rack-and-pinion system, engaged with the rack mounted between the rails.<ref name="Giessbach" /><ref name="Hofmann" />

The [[Bom Jesus funicular]] built in 1882 near [[Braga]], Portugal, is an extant system of this type. Another example, the [[Fribourg funicular]] in [[Fribourg]], Switzerland, built in 1899,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tpf.ch/funiculaire |title=Funiculaire Neuveville – St-Pierre |publisher=Transports publics fribourgeois Holding (TPF) SA}}</ref> is of particular interest as it utilizes waste water, coming from a sewage plant at the upper part of the city.<ref name="The Atlantic">{{cite news|last=Kirk|first=Mimi|title=A Lasting Stink: Fribourg's Sewage-Powered Funicular|url=http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/06/a-lasting-stink-fribourgs-sewage-powered-funicular/487346/|access-date=19 June 2016|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=16 June 2016 }}</ref>

Some funiculars of this type were later converted to electrical power. For example, the [[Giessbachbahn]] in the Swiss [[canton of Bern]], opened in 1879, was originally powered by water ballast. In 1912, its energy supply was replaced with a hydraulic engine powered by a [[Pelton turbine]], which was replaced in 1948 by an electric motor.<ref name="Giessbach" />
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===Track layout===
[[File:funicular_layouts.svg|thumb|link={{filepath:funicular_layouts.svg}}|Track layouts used in funiculars &ndash; in [{{filepath:funicular_layouts.svg}} the SVG file,] click to move the cars]]
{{Multiple image|align=right|total_width=390|image1=Cliff Railway Hastings (4906029502) (cropped).jpg|caption1=[[East Hill Cliff Railway]] in [[Hastings]], [[United Kingdom|UK]] – a four-rail funicular|image2=Angels Flight after reopening in September 2017.jpg|caption2=[[Angels Flight]] in [[Los Angeles, California]] – a three-rail funicular|image3=Nazare Funicular - panoramio (3).jpg|caption3=[[Nazaré Funicular]] in [[Nazaré, Portugal|Nazaré]], Portugal – a two-rail funicular}}

Three main rail layouts are used on funiculars; depending on the system, the track bed can consist of four, three, or two rails.

* Early funiculars were built to the four-rail layout, with two separate parallel tracks and separate station platforms at both ends for each vehicle. The two tracks are laid with sufficient space between them for the two carriages to pass at the midpoint. While this layout requires the most land area, it is also the only one that allows both tracks to be perfectly straight, eliminating the need for sheaves to keep the cable in place. Examples of four-rail funiculars are the [[Duquesne Incline]] in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], and most cliff railways in the United Kingdom.
* In three-rail layouts, the middle rail is shared by both carriages, while each car runs on a different outer rail. To allow the two cars to pass at the halfway point, the middle rail must briefly split into two, forming a [[passing loop]]. Such systems are narrower and require less rail to construct than four-rail systems; however, they still require separate station platforms for each vehicle.<ref name="Giessbach" />
* In a two-rail layout, both cars share the entire track except at the [[passing loop]] in the middle. This layout is the narrowest of all and needs only a single platform at each station (though sometimes two platforms are built: one for boarding, one for alighting). However, the required passing loop is more complex and costly to build, since special turnout systems must be in place to ensure that each car always enters the correct track at the loop. Furthermore, if a rack for braking is used, that rack can be mounted higher in three-rail and four-rail layouts, making it less sensitive to choking than the two-rail layout in snowy conditions.<ref name="hefti" />

Some funicular systems use a mix of different track layouts. An example of this arrangement is the lower half of the [[Great Orme Tramway]], where the section "above" the [[passing loop]] has a three-rail layout (with each pair of adjacent rails having its own conduit through which the cable runs). In contrast, the section "below" the passing loop has a two-rail layout (with a single conduit shared by both cars). Another example is the [[Peak Tram]] in [[Hong Kong]], which is mostly two-rail except for a short three-rail section immediately uphill of the passing loop.

Some four-rail funiculars have their tracks [[Gauntlet track|interlaced]] above and below the passing loop; this allows the system to be nearly as narrow as a two-rail system, with a single platform at each station, while also eliminating the need for the costly junctions on either side of the passing loop. The Hill Train at the [[Legoland, Windsor|Legoland Windsor Resort]] is an example of this configuration.

====Turnout systems for two-rail funiculars====
In the case of two-rail funiculars, various solutions exist for ensuring that a carriage always enters the same track at the passing loop.

One such solution involves installing [[Railroad switch|switches]] at each end of the passing loop. These switches are moved into their desired position by the carriage's [[Wheelset (rail transport)|wheels]] during trailing movements (i.e., away from the passing loop); this procedure also sets the route for the next trip in the opposite direction. The [[Great Orme Tramway]] is a funicular that uses this system.

{{Anchor|Abt switch}}<!--"Railroad switch" links here.-->

{{CSS image crop|Image = 2-rail Funicular Railway 01.svg|bSize = 230|cWidth = 220|cHeight = 200|oTop = 95|oLeft = 5|Location = left|Description = Abt switch}}

Another turnout system, known as the '''Abt switch''', has no moving parts on the track. Instead, the carriages are built with an unconventional [[Wheelset (rail transport)|wheelset]] design: the outboard wheels have [[flange]]s on both sides, whereas the inboard wheels are unflanged (and usually wider to roll over turnouts more easily). The double-flanged wheels keep the carriages bound to one specific rail at all times. One car has the flanged wheels on the left-hand side, so it follows the leftmost rail, forcing it to run via the left branch of the passing loop; similarly, the other car has them on the right-hand side, meaning it follows the rightmost rail and runs on the right branch of the loop. This system was invented by [[Carl Roman Abt]] and first implemented on the [[Lugano Città–Stazione funicular]] in Switzerland in 1886;<ref name="Giessbach" /> since then, the Abt turnout has gained popularity and become a standard for modern funiculars.<ref name="Stoos">{{cite web |date=December 18, 2017 |title=Ceremonial Inauguration of the New Stoos Funicular |url=https://newsroom.doppelmayr.com/download/file/5051/ |publisher=Garaventa }}</ref> The lack of moving parts on the track makes this system cost-effective and reliable compared to other systems.
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<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Six and Seven , Great Orme tramway , Llandudno.jpg|The two cars on the upper half of the [[Great Orme Tramway]] passing each other at a switch-controlled passing loop
File:Heidelberg funicular wheelset.jpg|Wheelset of a two-rail funicular with the Abt switch turnout system
</gallery>

===Stations===
[[File:Prager Standseilbahn zum Petřín 14.jpg|thumb|left|The two cars of the [[Petřín funicular]]—they both stop when one of them is at Nebozízek station (foreground), and the other is between stations.]]

Most funiculars have two stations, one at the top and one at the bottom of the track. However, some systems have been built with additional [[intermediate station]]s. Because of the nature of a funicular system, intermediate stations are usually built symmetrically about the midpoint, allowing both cars to call at a station simultaneously. Examples of funiculars with more than two stations include the [[Wellington Cable Car]] in New Zealand with five stations, including one at the [[passing loop]],<ref>[https://www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz/ Wellington Cable Car]</ref> and the [[Carmelit]] in [[Haifa]], Israel with six stations, three on each side of the passing loop.<ref name="carmelit">{{cite web |url=http://www.carmelithaifa.com/carmelit-haifa/carmelit-haifa-about/ |title=Carmelit Haifa – The most convenient way to get around the city |publisher=Carmelit |access-date=2018-07-04}}</ref>

There are a few funiculars with asymmetrically placed stations. For example, the [[Petřín funicular]] in [[Prague]] has three stations: one at each end, and a third (Nebozízek) a short way up from the passing loop.<ref>[https://www.prague.eu/en/object/places/1354/petrin-funicular-lanova-draha-na-petrin Petřín Funicular (Lanová dráha na Petřín)] – prague.eu</ref> Because of this arrangement, when a car on one side stops at Nebozízek, the car on the other side stops without a station access.
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