5/5 Gursewak singh n. 3 years ago on Google
The Sugarloaf
Cable
Car
is
a cableway in Rio
de
Janeiro, Brazil.
Moving
between Praia
Vermelha and
the Sugarloaf
Mountain,
it
stops
at Morro
da
Urca (at
722
feet
(220 m))
on
its
way
up
and
down,
and
reaches
the
summit
of
the
1,299-foot
(396 m)
mountain.
The
cableway
was
envisioned
by
the
engineer Augusto
Ferreira
Ramos in
1908
who
sought
support
from
well-known
figures
of
Rio's
high
society
to
promote
its
construction.
Opened
in
1912,it
was
only
the
third
cableway
to
be
built
in
the
world.
In
1972
the
cars
were
updated,
growing
from
a
capacity
of
22
to
75,
and
in
1979
it
featured
in
an
action
scene
for
the James
Bond film Moonraker.
Today
it
is
used
by
approximately
2,500
visitors
every
day.
The
cable
cars
run
every
30
minutes,
between
8
am
and
10
pm.
The
development
of
technical
and
engineering
achievement
of
the National
Exhibition
in
Commemoration
of
the
First
Centenary
of
the
Opening
of
the
Ports
of
Brazil to
the
International
Trade
in
1908
motivated
engineer
Augusto
Ramos
to
imagine
a
cable
car
system
in
Rio
de
Janeiro.
Ramos
had
to
resort
to
well-known
personages
of
Rio's
high
society.
These
included Eduardo
Guinles and Raymundo
Ottoni
de
Castro
Maya,
who
were
powerful
figures
with
a
range
of
developmental
interests
in
the
city,to
promote
the
idea
of
an
electric
cable
system.
When
the
cable
car
was
built,
there
were
only
two
others
in
the
world:
the
chairlift
at Mount
Ulia,
in
Spain,
with
a
length
of
280
metres
(920 ft),
built
in
1907,and
the
lift
at Wetterhorn,
in
Switzerland,
with
a
length
of
560
metres
(1,840 ft),
built
in
1908.
The
Sugarloaf
Cable
Car
was
opened
on
27
October
1912.Its
Portuguese-language
name
comes
from
the
similarities
between
the
cablecars,
and
the
former
trams
in
town.
Envisioned
by
Augusto
Ramos,
it
is
managed
by
Companhia
Caminho
Aéreo
Pão
de
Açúcar,
a
company
created
by
Ramos.
The
first
cable
cars
were
coated
wood
and
were
used
for
60
years.
Originally,
the
cable
car
stopped
at
Urca.
In
1951,
an
accident
occurred
in
which
one
of
the
two
cables
snapped,
leaving
22
people
dangling
on
one
cable.
One
mechanic
aboard,
Augusto
Goncales,
climbed
out
and
slithered
down
to
Urca
station
and
helped
to
build
an
emergency
car
to
go
back
up
and
rescue
the
other
passengers,
12
women
and
girls,
6
men
and
3
children,
in
an
event
which
took
about
10
hours.President
Vargas praised
Goncales
as
the
"Hero
of
the
Day".In
October
1972,
a
second
cable
was
added,
as
well
as
new
cabins,
which
expanded
its
capacity
from
22
to
75;eventually,
it
was
reduced
to
65
to
increase
comfort.
The
cable
car
was
the
setting
for
the
1979
James
Bond
film Moonraker in
which
British
secret
agent
James
Bond
(played
by
actor Roger
Moore)
battles
with
his
nemesis Jaws (Richard
Kiel)
in
the
middle
of
the
tramway,
which
eventually
results
in
a
tramcar
with
Jaws
in
it
crashing
into
the
ground
station
and
smashing
through
the
wall,
although
he
miraculously
survives.
During
the
filming,
the
stuntman
Richard
Graydon
slipped
and
narrowly
avoided
falling
to
his
death.
For
the
scene
in
which
Jaws
bites
into
the
steel
tramway
cable
with
his
teeth,
the
cable
was
actually
made
of liquorice,
although
Richard
Kiel
was
still
required
to
use
his
steel
dentures.Also
in
1979, Las
Vegas-based Steven
McPeak walked
the
tightrope on
the
steel
cable,
the
highest
stretch
of
the
cable
car
route,
a
feat
which
entered
him
into
the Guinness
Book
of
World
Records.On
18
January
1983,
the
route
was
expanded
to
Sugarloaf
Mountain.
In
2007, Falko
Traber walked
along
the
rope
of
the
cable
railway. On
the
centenary
of
the
cableway
in
2012, Google honored
it
with
a doodle,
viewable
in
Brazil.
This
cable
car
also
appears
in
a
few
video
games
as
well.
For
instance,
it
appears
off
in
the
distance
in
the Wii version
of Need
for
Speed:
Nitro,
in
one
part
of
the
Santa
Teresa
racing
course
in
Rio
de
Jainero.
