Funicular Slovenská–Imperial, Cable railway system in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
The Funicular Slovenská–Imperial was a ground funicular in Karlovy Vary, opened on 15 June 1912, running on a concrete embankment from Slovenská Street to the Imperial Hotel. Its single track had a 1,000 mm gauge and a passing loop midway; the inclined length was 126 m, the vertical rise 60 m, and the maximum gradient 575 ‰. The cars were wooden, with two enclosed and two open compartments, seating 40, and the winding machinery stood in the upper station.
This railway was built in 1912 to quickly transport guests from the town center up to the hotel. It represented one of the spa town's major infrastructure projects during its period of rapid growth.
The line was built by the private Karlovarské elektrické lanové dráhy Westbury company, which also ran the tunnel funicular, and it opened together with the Imperial Hotel on 15 June 1912. Its wooden cars had four compartments, two closed and two open, seated 40 people and had doors on one side only.
The line climbed very steeply and required robust engineering to operate safely through its sections. Visitors valued the time saved by not having to walk up the hillside on foot.
The track's maximum gradient of 575‰ made it the steepest funicular in what is now the Czech Republic. Its cars were wooden, with two enclosed and two open compartments, seating 40 people, and doors only on one side.
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