The Cableway through the ages
As far back as the 1870s, Capetonians had proposed installing some form of transport to get to the top of Table Mountain. In those days the only way up was on foot, but the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 halted the plans that would see many more people summit the mountain.
In 1912 the plans were revived, and a proposal was made to build a funicular railway that would travel from Oranjezicht, and pass through the Platteklip Gorge, on its way to the top.
There was mass support for this plan, but it was scuppered by the outbreak of the First World War.
In 1925 Norwegian engineer, Trygve Stromsoe, proposed that instead of installing a funicular railway, a cableway be built. His proposal was well-received but funding was slow in coming. Only when Sir Alfred Hennessy, Sir David Graaff and Sir Ernest Oppenheimer agreed to fund the project did the Cableway get off the ground.
The Cableway was designed by Norwegian engineer Stromsoe, and Adolf Bleichert, from Germany, was contracted to build it. A local firm of architects, Walgate & Elsworth, designed and built the upper and lower stations as well as the tea room at the summit.
The construction took four years to complete and the first passengers climbed aboard the Cableway on October, 4, 1929. At the time, it cost £60 000 to build and was initially made of steel and wood. It carried 19 people.
In the years following the launch the Cableway became incredibly popular, and by 1959 the first car, which had operated for 30 years, transported its millionth passenger.
In 1958 the cable car was upgraded. The new car could carry 23 people and was designed with the most sophisticated safety features of the day, including a diesel-powered generator in case of power failures, and an automatic braking system.
In 1965 radio communication was introduced so that the upper and lower cabins could stay in contact. The two new cars remained in operation until 1974. Together the cars transported more than 2-million people and continued with the cableway’s unblemished safety record.
The third upgrade in 1974 saw the introduction of two new cable cars, which could carry up to 28 people. The new cable cars were equipped with advanced safety features and were faster. Travellers could now reach the summit in less than five minutes.
The Cableway was initially designed with the cars lying in-line with the notorious south-easter and north-wester winds. This was a safety precaution against these heavy winds, and would minimise the instances of the Cableway being closed due to bad weather.
In 1997 the ever-increasing number of tourists put the Cableway under strain. Tourists had to wait in long queues to ascend the mountain, so it was decided that the cable car needed modernising.
The upgrade cost R90-million and saw the introduction of state-of-the art rotating cable cars, imported from Switzerland, and which give tourists a 360° view of Cape Town and surrounds. The new cars carry 65 people each and the journey takes between four and five minutes.
With more than 10-million people having travelled on the Cableway since 1929, it is with excitement that we look to the future in anticipation of new developments on the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway.
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