A slope car (スロープカー, surōpukā) is a small automated monorail, or a fusion between monorail, people mover, inclined elevator and rack railway. It is a brand name of Kaho Manufacturing [ja]. Since this mode of transportation is relatively unknown, it lacks widely accepted generic name, other than the simple "monorail". The system is different from normal modern monorails in many ways. It is a development from industrial monorails used in 1960s orchards. Slope cars are installed in more than 80 places in Japan and South Korea.[1]
The system is introduced generally when there are steep slopes or stairs between entrance gates and buildings. Slope cars generally function as amenities that provide accessibilities for elderly or handicapped people visiting particular places, such as parks, golf courses, or hotels. As most lines move fairly slowly, people without disabilities often find it faster to walk the same routes on foot, rather than to use slope cars. However, there are also places where slope cars climb very steep slopes which people without disabilities can not climb unless there are stairs. In Japan, slope cars are not legally considered as railways.
System
There is a type that is 3 m (9 ft 10 in) long, having a 4 to 8 passengers capacity, and another type that is 6 m (19 ft 8+1⁄4 in) long, having around 30 passengers capacity. Some slope cars are "trainsets" consisting of two cars. Most slope cars are straddle-beam monorails, but there are suspended monorail slope cars as well.[2]
Normal monorails generally use rubbertyres running on a concretebeam, while slope cars use a steelbeam with a rack rail on one side. As such, slope cars can climb 100% (45°) slopes at maximum speed. The system is powered by a "third rail" on the other side of the beam.
The system does not require a driver. A car starts when a user pushes a button, and it automatically stops at the selected destination.
History
In 1966, Yoneyama Industory, an agricultural machinery maker in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, invented "Monorack" (モノラック, Monorakku), a freight-only rack monorail system. It soon became widespread in mikan citrus orchards in the prefecture, and in other parts of Japan. Other makers also started to build similar systems. Later in 1990, a company called Chigusa developed a passenger rack monorail system. These rack monorails were first used to transport workers in construction sites or forests. However, from 1990s, public facilities such as parks also started to use the system. Kaho Manufacturing [ja] started to sell their "slope cars" in 1990.
Similar systems were designed for vineyards in Switzerland and Germany in the 1960s. These were also transporting workers from the start. The brand name Monorack is used here for the Garaventa Monorackbahn since 1976. The main difference is the type of rail being used - the Japanese systems use 4 cm (1.6 in) and the European systems use 6 cm (2.4 in) square tubing.[3] The cooperation between Nikkari in Japan and Habegger in Switzerland started in 1975, so the Monorack tractors are mostly identical.[4][3][5]
Other names
As "slope car" is the brand name of Kaho Manufacturing, similar, if not the same, concepts are called differently by different manufacturers.
Ansaku makes Trans Mobile (トランスモービル, Toransu Mōbiru).
Chigusa makes Raxcar (ラックスカー, Rakkusukā).
Monorail Industry makes Monorider (モノライダー, Monoraidā).
Senyō Kōgyō makes Mountain Liner (マウンテンライナー, Maunten Rainā).
EMTC of Korea makes the Mountain Type (which has two rails) and the monorail Inclined Type and Locomotive Type[6]
Doppelmayr Garaventa makes the Monorack for agricultural use. They say they have installed 650 systems worldwide.[7]
Slope cars are similar in some ways to personal rapid transit systems in that they offer on-demand service for individuals or small numbers of passengers.
^ abThomas Pösch (2021-12-02). "Moderne Methoden zur Erschließung steilster Weinberge an der Untermosel, am Beispiel der Monorackeinschienenzahnradbahn" [modern methods for accessibility of steepest vineyards in the Lower Mosel region by example of Monorack monorail rack rail] (PDF). Diplomarbeit (master thesis) (in German). Fachhochschule Mainz / ARGE Landentwicklung. Retrieved 2022-10-03. Der größte Unterschied zwischen der japanischen Monorailbahn und der europäischen Monorackbahn besteht in der Schiene. Die japanischen Modelle fahren auf einer Schiene von 4 cm Kantenlänge, während die Schienen in der Schweiz und später auch in Deutschland eine Kantenlänge von 6 cm haben. Der Traktor ist vom Aufbau her nahezu gleich.
^"Nikkari - Works History". Retrieved 2022-10-17. 1966: Developed the first mono-rail carrier for steep slopes for agricultural use (Monorack) in Japan / 1975: Technical cooperation with HABEGGER Maschinenfabrik AG. a mono-rail manufacturer and seller in Switzerland / 2010: Developed a battery-powered mono-rail for one passenger
^Note: Nikkari adopted the name in 1973 while Habegger was sold to Van Roll in 1981. Graventa bought the rope business from Van Roll in 1996 including the Monorack systems.
