Fell system as used on the Snaefell Mountain Railway.

The Fell mountain railway system or Fell incline railway system is a type of Mountain railway system that employs a raised centre rail between the two main rails to provide extra traction and braking needed for steep grade sections. Trains are propelled and braked by wheels pressed horizontally on to the centre rail by springs, as well as by the standard vertical running wheels. These horizontal wheels may be fitted to a specially designed Fell engine, or to self-propelled railcars. ImageMetadata File history File links Snaefell_Mountain_Railway_car_no_4_on_mountain. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Snaefell_Mountain_Railway_car_no_4_on_mountain. ... The Snaefell Mountain Railway is an electric mountain railway connecting the town of Laxey with the summit of Snaefell Mountain which is, at 2036 feet (620. ... A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. ...

History

The Fell incline railway system was designed, developed and patented by British engineer John Barraclough Fell. The first test application was alongside the Cromford and High Peak Railway's cable hauled incline at Whaley Bridge in 1863 and 1864. John Barraclough Fell (1815 – 18 October 1902), was a British railway engineer and inventor of the Fell mountain railway system. ... The Cromford and High Peak Railway was a railway built in the 1830s and operated by the London and North Western Railway to carry minerals and goods between the Cromford Canal at Cromford Wharf and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. ... Location within the British Isles. ... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

These tests attracted the attention of the French Government, who conducted their own tests on the slopes of Mont Cenis in 1865. As a result of these tests, the Mont Cenis Pass Railway was built, to provide a temporary connection between France and Italy whilst the alpine tunnel under the pass was being completed. Mount Cenis (French: Mont Cenis) is a massif and pass (6893 feet) in Savoy (France) which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Several other Fell mountain railways were subsequently built, as described below.

A list of Fell mountain railways

The following railways have used the Fell system. Of these, the only one still in operation is the Snaefell Mountain Railway on the Isle of Man. The Snaefell Mountain Railway is an electric mountain railway connecting the town of Laxey with the summit of Snaefell Mountain which is, at 2036 feet (620. ...

• The Mont Cenis Pass Railway on the borders of France and Italy was 48 miles long and ran from 1868 until superseded by the tunnel under the pass in 1871.
• The Cantagallo Railway in Brazil was built re-using some of the equipment from the Mont Cenis Pass Railway, and continued in operation until the 1960s.
• The Rimutaka Incline at Upper Hutt in New Zealand was opened in 1878 and closed in 1955.
• The Snaefell Mountain Railway on the Isle of Man was opened in 1895 and is still in use. This line uses electrically propelled railcars, and the centre rail is used for braking purposes only.
• The Chemin de Fer du Puy de Dome at Clermont Ferrand in France was opened in 1907 and closed in 1926, using a modified version of the Fell system in which compressed air was used to force the wheels against the centre rail.
• This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... The Rimutaka Incline was a 3-mile (5-km) stretch of steeply-graded line between Summit and Cross Creek on the original Wairarapa railway line between Wellington and Masterton in New Zealand. ... Upper Hutt is a satellite city of Wellington, New Zealand. ... 1878 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Snaefell Mountain Railway is an electric mountain railway connecting the town of Laxey with the summit of Snaefell Mountain which is, at 2036 feet (620. ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne région, with a population of approximately 140,000. ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Pneumatics, from the Greek πνευματικός (pneumatikos, coming from the wind) is the use of pressurized air in science and technology. ...

Related patents

The following patents relating to the Fell incline railway system were lodged with the British Patent Office by J.B.Fell:

• Patent 227 of 1863
• Patent 3182 of 1863
• Patent 899 of 1869
• Patent 762 of 1895

1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

See also

• Cog railway

The rack rail on a cog railway. ...

Mrchuckles says:

• Mountains eh? That reminds me of something. I once saw a chick choke on a worm. They both died! Isn't that great?

External links

• Fell Centre Rail - Describes with pictures how the Fell system works.

References

• Manx Electric, ISBN 1-872524-52-4, by Mike Goodwyn, published by Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. in 1993.
• The Mont Cenis Fell Railway, ISBN 0-906294-41-X, by P. J. G. Ransom, published by Truro: Twelveheads Press, 1999.