4 ms·

why didn't he just use a cable to pull it? no need for gears, no traction issues, the motor etc can stay stationary. trains have their own power because you can

why didn't he just use a cable to pull it? no need for gears, no traction issues, the motor etc can stay stationary. trains have their own power because you can't stretch a cable across the country, but this is so tiny it'd be trivial.

upwardbound 4y ago
Yeah, early precursors to railroads (cable railways used for mines) did just this :-D , and there were even passenger railways that used cable haulage as the form of motive power! Here's a really cool example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_and_Blackwall_Railway#Cable_haulage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_and_Blackwall_Railway#C...
- adrianmonk 4y ago
  And there still are in San Francisco. And they can go around corners: http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Anat/Anat.html http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Anat/Anat.html
perbu 4y ago
The rails don't go in a straight line.
- birdyrooster 4y ago
  Neither do cable cars?
  - function_seven 4y ago
    Look at all the complexity needed to get a cable car to follow curves. Top comment was implying that using a cable would eliminate the issues with gears or traction. That’s not true.
    - TylerE 4y ago
      Not only the complexity… the power. The San Francisco system uses 95% of its power just overcoming cable friction.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
xracy 4y ago
It has to go around a corner, that I think explains why he didn't just use a cable. It's a lot harder to go around a corner without some kind of guidance for the wheels.
itronitron 4y ago
Since it seems like the main concern is moving the bins without messing up the yard, if it were me I'd do the rail and platforms for the trash cans that he did and then just push or pull the train manually. If I wanted to get fancy I'd angle the rail track down slightly so that when bins are full they are easier to move, but that runs the risk of interfering with the landscaping.
lisper 4y ago
Others have mentioned both of these things, but not together so... 1. The track is curved. 2. One of the design goals was to disrupt the surroundings as little as possible. This second point is really important, and reveals the utter brilliance of this design. He uses the existing driveway as a second rail, but only for part of the travel. Once the train leaves the driveway there is an actual second rail. I have never seen this before. It is sheer genius IMHO.
- cjrp 4y ago
  Couldn't he just route the cable via a pulley (or series of pulleys) to navigate the curves? Admittedly would fall foul of requirement #2.
  - lisper 4y ago
    > Couldn't he just route the cable via a pulley (or series of pulleys) to navigate the curves? Yes, that is possible. But... > Admittedly would fall foul of requirement #2. You got it. There are all kinds of other problems as well. The train will make a very sharp turn every time it hits a pulley. It's hard to attach something to a cable in such a way that it can reliably go over a pulley. Yada yada yada.
lanewinfield 4y ago
A cable isn't as fun as a fully-functional train.

upwardbound 4y ago

Yeah, early precursors to railroads (cable railways used for mines) did just this :-D , and there were even passenger railways that used cable haulage as the form of motive power! Here's a really cool example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_and_Blackwall_Railway#Cable_haulage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_and_Blackwall_Railway#C...

adrianmonk 4y ago
And there still are in San Francisco. And they can go around corners: http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Anat/Anat.html http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Anat/Anat.html

perbu 4y ago

The rails don't go in a straight line.

birdyrooster 4y ago
Neither do cable cars?
- function_seven 4y ago
  Look at all the complexity needed to get a cable car to follow curves. Top comment was implying that using a cable would eliminate the issues with gears or traction. That’s not true.
  - TylerE 4y ago
    Not only the complexity… the power. The San Francisco system uses 95% of its power just overcoming cable friction.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

xracy 4y ago

It has to go around a corner, that I think explains why he didn't just use a cable. It's a lot harder to go around a corner without some kind of guidance for the wheels.

itronitron 4y ago

Since it seems like the main concern is moving the bins without messing up the yard, if it were me I'd do the rail and platforms for the trash cans that he did and then just push or pull the train manually. If I wanted to get fancy I'd angle the rail track down slightly so that when bins are full they are easier to move, but that runs the risk of interfering with the landscaping.

lisper 4y ago

Others have mentioned both of these things, but not together so... 1. The track is curved. 2. One of the design goals was to disrupt the surroundings as little as possible. This second point is really important, and reveals the utter brilliance of this design. He uses the existing driveway as a second rail, but only for part of the travel. Once the train leaves the driveway there is an actual second rail. I have never seen this before. It is sheer genius IMHO.

cjrp 4y ago
Couldn't he just route the cable via a pulley (or series of pulleys) to navigate the curves? Admittedly would fall foul of requirement #2.
- lisper 4y ago
  > Couldn't he just route the cable via a pulley (or series of pulleys) to navigate the curves? Yes, that is possible. But... > Admittedly would fall foul of requirement #2. You got it. There are all kinds of other problems as well. The train will make a very sharp turn every time it hits a pulley. It's hard to attach something to a cable in such a way that it can reliably go over a pulley. Yada yada yada.

lanewinfield 4y ago

A cable isn't as fun as a fully-functional train.