Wellington Cable Car Museum - What's On Display

The original winding house for the cable car system is now the home of the Wellington Cable Car Museum (it ceased to be used for cable car purposes in 1979, when the new system was introduced).

   The building, the first on Upland Road, was completed in 1902 and has a Category Two classification from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Designed by engineer James Fulton and architect John Swan, its purpose was to accommodate the cable car system's steam engine and winding gear and to serve as a maintenance depot for the cars.
   From the exterior, the winding house originally resembled a large and sedate two-storey home, made up of two connected wings. However, inside was a hive of bustling activity, dirt and noise. One wing housed two coal-hungry boilers and the other contained the engine, winding gear and service pit for the cars.
   Over the years, the building has been altered extensively, most dramatically in 1933 when electricity replaced steam as the power driving the winding gear. As a result of this change, the north wing was removed, the roof replaced, the loft floor raised and much of the floor area rebuilt in concrete. At the end of this process, the winding house was transformed from a stylish wooden building into a functional shed.
   Having survived two demolition threats (in 1979 and 1993), the winding house has been carefully refurbished with the involvement of conservation architect Ian Bowman for its latest role as the Wellington Cable Car Museum.


The gripping levers - Wellington Cable Car Museum display

The winding gear
The winding gear, which has been restored to working order and can be seen on the lower level of the museum, is one of the last cable car winding mechanisms in the world that is still on its original site.
During its years of service from 1902-1978, the basic components of the cable car winding gear remained largely unchanged. It now looks very much as it did in 1933, when the steam engine that originally drove the winding room wheels was replaced by two 112 kw electric motors. The vital 1,490 metre steel rope, or haulage cable, was driven by a system of wheels that can be still be seen on the museum’s lower level, while the haulage system (a funicular balance rope/endless street cable car driving rope hybrid) is believed to be the only one of its kind in the world.

A gripping occupation
   Working as a gripman demanded considerable strength and skill. The driver of the downward cable car always controlled each journey and acted as gripman because only the descending car gripped the haulage rope. The ascending car was pulled up by the balance or tail rope.
   The most challenging aspect of the work was being able to judge accurately when to begin braking for a stop. In doing so, the gripman had to take into consideration the number of passengers in the down car compared with the up car.
   Each car was equipped with three different types of brakes. For emergencies, the gripman would use the powerful wheel-operated fell brake, which gripped each side of the centre rail. Emergency was signalled from descending cars by three rings; both cars applied all brakes and the winding room shut off motors and applied the electric motor brake.