Whirlpool Aero Car
Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox aerial lift line The Whirlpool Aero Car or Spanish Aero Car is a cable car located in Niagara Falls, Ontario that transports passengers over a section of the Niagara River referred to as the Niagara Whirlpool. The system was designed by Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo and has been upgraded several times since 1916 (in 1961, 1967, 1984<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and 2023).<ref name="Whirlpool">Template:Cite web</ref> The system uses one car that carries 35 standing passengers over a one-kilometre trip.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Technical specifications
The Aero Car is suspended on six interlocking steel cables, each of which is Template:Cvt in diameter. The car is powered by an electric Template:Convert motor and travels at approximately Template:Cvt. In the event of a power failure, a diesel engine drives a hydraulic pump to pull the carrier back to the loading/unloading terminal. It also has a rescue car which holds four passengers and one operator. The rescue car has so far only been used for training purposes.
The Aero Car is suspended between two Canadian points, though it crosses the Canadian and American borders four times on a full trip. The car crosses the border about Template:Convert from the starting point and runs through United States territory for about Template:Convert, but riders need no immigration clearance.<ref name="Whirlpool border">Template:Cite web</ref> At each end of the crossing, it is Template:Convert high, and in the centre, it averages Template:Convert above the river depending on the level of the water below. Its span is Template:Convert. The rapids entering the whirlpool below the Aero Car move at an estimated Template:Cvt, and the flow of the water coming through the river is about Template:Convert in the summer months, and Template:Convert in the winter months. From the Aero Car, sightseers can see Whirlpool State Park in Niagara Falls, New York, as well as the Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station in Lewiston, New York. From the side or centre of the car, one can view the violent motion of the Template:Convert whirlpool below. Riders may also see hikers on nature trails and fishermen on both sides of the river.
The car was originally open, but a roof has been added to all later designs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A four-person rescue car is available (a smaller silver car stored at the opposite end in an indoor area), but not used in regular service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The car operates from 10am to 5pm from the second week of March to the first week of November. Despite the similarities between the Aero Car and ski lifts, it has not been operated in winter since 2004.
History
In May 30, 1989, the cable was hit by a sightseeing helicopter flying too close. The landing gear of the helicopter was damaged, but the pilot managed to land on a golf course. Nobody was hurt but the ride was closed for three days to check the cable.<ref name="Michelmore">Template:Cite news</ref>
Gallery
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Sightseers at Niagara Gorge, with Aero Car in distance, c. 1960
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Whirlpool and Aero Car
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View of New York State behind Aero Car
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Whirlpool Rapids viewed from the Aero Car
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Cable car crossing the Niagara Whirlpool, 1959
See also
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Transport in Niagara Falls, Ontario
- Spanish inventions
- Tourist attractions in Niagara Falls, Ontario
- Aerial tramways in Canada
- Crossings of the Niagara River
- Niagara Parks Commission
- 1916 establishments in Ontario
- Transport infrastructure completed in 1916
- Cross-border public transport