Asmara-Massawa Cableway

The Massawa - Asmara cableway in Eritrea was the longest ropeway in the world and the fourth longest in the world that has ever been built in its commissioning in 1937.

Construction and operation

It was 1935-1937 by the company Ceretti & Tanfani SA, Milan built on behalf of colonial administration from the former Italian colony of Eritrea. Supplier of steel cables was the company Giuseppe & Fratello Redaelli, Milan, and supplier of machines was Franco Tosi, Legnano. The cable car was built to connect the port city of Massawa on the Red Sea with the located in approximately 2,300 m capital Asmara. The highest point of the trajectory was high 2,326 m. You should increase the transport capacity on this connection because the tight bends traveling through the mountains narrow gauge railroad, Massawa - Biscia was busy up to the edge of its capacity.

The 75.070 km ( according to other sources 74.5 km ) long route of the cable car went over steep mountains and valleys, but not in a direct way, but in a slight curve to be closer to stay on the train route, which the delivery of building materials and the subsequent maintenance in the otherwise trackless area easier. The track consisted of 500 iron truss supports and was divided into independent sections. The drive motors were in Zaga, Mai Atal, Dig- Digta, Sebarguma, Embatkalla, Nefasit, Goley and Asmara. At three intermediate stations, the platforms could also be loaded and unloaded. The suspension ropes were 30 mm thick and the surrounding tension cables that were later driven initially by heavy oil diesel engines, electric motors, 22 mm thick. The detachable transport platforms with 2-roller drives were able to move to the next without stopping on fixed rails of a section. For use 1,540 platforms were (770 in each direction ) with a permissible load of 300 kg. A further 80 sites were located in the terminal stations for loading and unloading or as a reserve. The platforms were sent to a distance of 110 m on the track and needed seven hours for the journey between the endpoints. The train had a capacity of 30 t / h per direction. Although the transport platforms served principally freight transport, but were also used by people.

Destruction

The British considered Eritrea after its conquest as booty and sold numerous plants in the country to get the money for the war indemnity, which was due to them from Italy. Among other things, they sold power units the cable car, which was so shut down as a " temporary" but was never put into operation again. After the federation of Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1952, the Eritrean operating company still called Imperial State railway and cableway administration in Eritrea. The Ethiopian viceroy of Eritrea sold the plant after 1952 for 5 million Ethiopian dollars (then an equivalent of approximately U.S. $ 2.5 million). A 1959 published travelogue describes the ruinous state of the system, which did only still standing because the price of scrap metal to be recovered is less than the demolition costs. However, the plant was actually scrapped in the following period. Only the concrete base of the towers remained standing. Today, the entire freight traffic between Massawa and Asmara is done by truck.