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Princess Cruises
Page 6: Barcelona - Sunday 30th October
2011
Sea Day
4 -
Monday 31st October 2011
This page is under construction
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This page is one of a series showing mainly shipping
and other transport images from a 14 night cruise on Grand Princess in
October2011 from Southampton to the Mediterranean. We travelled in balcony
cabin C316, Deck 10 on the port side. This page covers our sixth port of
call Barcelona.
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Princess Cruises
Page 6: Barcelona - Sunday 30th October
2011
Sea Day
4 -
Monday 31st October 2011
Each image links to a larger copy which opens in a
new window/tab
Our sixth port of call was Barcelona. We have been
there numerous times before and decided to travel on the
Telefèric
del Port cable car which was closed the last time we were there.
We arrived early in the morning but
Grand Holiday and
Freedom of the Seas had already docked. We travelled on the
Montjuic Funicular up Montjuic then the
Telefèric del Port across the harbour to the Barceloneta beach
area.
Grand Princess at Barcelona
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 30th October 2011
Grand Holiday
(Iberocruceros)
Grand Holiday at Barcelona
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 30th October 2011
Local Ferries & Excursion Boats in Barcelona
Cruise Barcelona arriving at Civitavecchia
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 30th October 2011
Barcelona port seen from the cable car
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 30th October 2011
Telefèric del Port
Montjuic-Barcelona Port Cable Car
The Telefèric del Port is a cable car which starts at
the Miramar station situated halfway down the hill of Montjuïc at an
altitude of 57m, passes through the peak of Torre Jaume I which is 107m high
and ends at the top of Torre Sant Sebastià at 86 m, from where an elevator
descends to the streets of Barcelona. The ride offers a fine view over
Barcelona, the nearby Plaça del Portal de la Pau with the Columbus Monument,
Port Vell with its Balearic ferries and the World Trade Centre, and
Barceloneta with its Mediterranean beaches. The tramway normally makes a
short stop at Torre Jaume I, allowing passengers to wander around the
platform of this tower which was the world's highest aerial lift pylon until
1966. However, the central Torre Jaume I has been closed on my two 2009/2011
visits whilst the lifts are being refurbished.
The aerial tramway was intended to be an attraction at the 1929 Barcelona
International Exposition, a World's fair. To this end, the Air Rail San
Sebastian-Miramar, S.A. was incorporated and obtained the royal licence to
build and operate the tramway. The manager of the project was Juan Rodriguez
Roda. The towers were designed by the architect Carles Boigas and executed
by Material para Ferrocarriles y Construcciones S.A.. The aerial tramway was
built by Bleichert, at that time a company with a worldwide reputation which
had just completed the Aeri de Montserrat. However, the size of the project
was underestimated and the aerial tramway was opened only on 12 September
1931.
Initially, the aerial tramway consisted of two sections with two cars each.
The cabins travelled from the terminal stations to Torre Jaume I and back,
however, there was only one haul rope for the total length which moved all
four cabins.
All hopes for a commercial success of the venture were annihilated in the
Great Depression and in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Torre Jaume I was
used as a look-out and a machine gun post. The aerial tramway was heavily
damaged and reduced to the structures of the towers rusting away. One of the
two surviving cabins was transferred to Aeri de Montserrat which started to
operate again in 1940. There were discussions to demolish the installation
completely. Eventually, Friedrich Gründel, Bleichert's chief engineer during
the construction, succeeded in establishing Teleféricos de Barcelona, S.A..
In 1960, Torre Sebastià reopened with a new restaurant at its top, followed
two years later by Torre Jaume I. 1963, the aerial tramway reopened with
only two cabins which travelled along the total length and through the top
of Torre Jaume I. After Mr. Gründel's death, the ownership changed several
times, commercial results diminished and the technical status deteriorated.
The authorities had already decided to close the installation, when in 1996,
Barcelona decided to redevelop Port Vell and to build the World Trade
Centre. In this context, the aerial tramway was also renovated and it
reopened in 2000. (Ref: Wikipedia)
The Telefèric del Port at Barcelona
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 30th October 2011
The Funicular de Montjuïc, or Montjuïc funicular, is
a funicular railway in the city of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. The line
is largely in tunnel and connects the Barcelona Metro Parallel station with
the hill of Montjuïc and the various sporting and other facilities there.
The funicular uses the same fares as the metro and is listed on maps as part
of the metro network. It is operated by Transports Metropolitans de
Barcelona (TMB), which also operates most of the metro lines. The line was
opened in 1928, in order to serve the International Exhibition of 1929. It
was extensively reconstructed in 1992, in order to cope with traffic to and
from the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys and other facilities used for the
1992 Summer Olympics, situated on the Montjuïc hill. The funicular is one of
three in Barcelona, the others being the Funicular de Vallvidrera and the
Funicular del Tibidabo, although neither of these is operated by the TMB.
(Ref: Wikipedia)
Length: 758 metres
Height: 76 metres
Maximum Steepness: 18%
Cars: 2x 3-car train sets
Capacity: 400 passengers per train
set
Configuration: Single track with
passing loop
Journey time: 2 minutes
Maximum speed: 10 metres per
second
Track gauge: 1.2 metre
Traction: Electricity
Montjuic Funicular
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 30th October 2011
