Cable car of Valtaps Shetan

General introduction

The Sanad Kankunz Takori, a Kubolen people living between the greater areas of the Eastern Erana Cave-tinent called the Moiyeli chamber and the Central Erana Mountain Range chamber have invented a mode of transportation befitting the area they inhabit perfectly. One of the greater caverns they inhabit is crucial for supporting the population with crops. The special layout of the cavern resembles terrace farming, as ascending plateaus stretch up the northern slopes of the giant hollow. This has also brought about this area's name with Valtaps Shetan meaning 'Gigantic stairs'.

To navigate these vast fields, at first a number of serpentine paths, ladders and stairways were established. These proved impractical and ineffective though for bridging long distances and especially for transport along the steep and narrow pathways. Sanad Kankunz Takori ingenuity though led to the construction of winches, first only to transport goods terrace by terrace. Later on this technology was developped further, until a fully functionally cable car with stations on most layers of the terraces was being constructed: The cable car of Valtaps Shetan.

Functionality and construction

The cable car runs along the western part of the terraces and has a stop on five of the thirteen levels of the terraces. This is due to the varying heights and different inclinations at different levels. In one case a platform has been built, so enable access to the wagon.

The materials used come from a wide array of different sources: metal, chitin, plant fibres and natural glues won from certain mushrooms all are present in the machine and its stations. One major issue was the size of certain components and their weight, as some of the poles of the cable car are just huge. Compound materials made of a combination of metal, chitin and mushroom based materials helped to safe a huge amount of heavily weighing metals, while at the same time sharing similar properties like solidity without being brittle, a problem often encountered when working with chitin. Chitin has its use though in constructing the wagons, which are not as massive to begin with, but also must be kept lightweight as the goods transported are often heavy enough.

For maintenance on the poles, the cables and the stations, often the entire construction has to be stopped for a few days. Repairing the cables is the most difficult past. As it is very difficult to mount the cable, it is almost never taken down in its entirety. Rather, since it is made of stretches of fibres, mostly only parts of it are ever being replaced at certain points in time. The special braiding technique employed in the making of the cable lends itself especially for partly repairs of a long rope or cable.

Powering, use and overall importance

The cable car of Valtaps Shetan is powered by muscle power. In fact it is Rudana, a plump and dumb sort of fur reptile, that lives also in the wilderness of the area between the Moiyeli chamber and the Central Erana Mountain Range chamber, that provides the power to move the wagons along the track. For this, a huge mill has been built at the lower base station, that is worked by 17 or 18 Rudana at a time. They provide enough power to move the wagons over the roughly three kilometres from bottom to top and back. The Rudana are replaced about every two hours, individual by individual as to not let the rotation come to a halt. Every day there is a certain period of pause, when the cable car is stopped. The length of this time period depends on the number and mass of goods that have to be moved. Sometimes also people hitch a ride on the wagons, although there are technically no passenger cabins.

The cable car plays an important role in transportation of tools and fertiliser or sometimes workers to the fields that produce food for the majority of the Sanad Kankunz Takori population. Of course, on the way down, the crops make up the majority of the transported goods.