14 Sep Rope delivery – Rope tensioning – Rope splicing
This week, the majority of the ropeways that we are servicing this year will receive the haul rope. For example, the haul rope is currently being delivered, pulled and spliced on the 8EUB Albonabahn 1 in Stuben, the 8SBK Limbergbahn in Saalbach and the 6SBK Wildkopfbahn on the Turrach.
The 8SBK Limbergbahn has the largest diameter haul rope of the three systems mentioned at 54 mm. Coiled up on a steel drum, this haul rope weighs an impressive 34 tons and is delivered directly to the valley station via special transport.
This is followed by the so-called rope pull, in which the wire rope is applied to the ropeway or the roller batteries in several stages. As it is not possible to start directly with the very heavy and thick haul rope, a thinner and lighter auxiliary rope is first pulled onto the ropeway by hand, with cable winches or by helicopter. A thicker rope is then gradually spliced or knotted to the thinner rope, and then tightened using a rope winch. This process is repeated until the final haul rope comes to rest on the roller batteries of the ropeway supports and is finally tensioned.
This is followed by the final and most delicate work step, the so-called rope splice. Here, the two rope ends are “interwoven” endlessly.
Link to the Teufelberger cable pull splice video
This process takes about 1.5 days and is physically quite challenging. In addition to the main splicer, 5-10 helpers are required to carry out the splice. A good explanatory video comes from the program with the mouse. We don’t want to withhold this video from you.
Link to the program with the mouse
Another interesting article by ORF
Link to the ORF Vorarlberg report
