Quote:
Originally Posted by amor de cosmos
i didn't know there was a difference. i fixed the op but i don't think it will show up in the title in the transportation forum
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Well, it's not like they're hugely different, but they are different. For gondolas, the cable itself is moving, and the cabs grip the cable to move. For Trams, the cars move along fixed cables as if they were rails, pulled by a third cable.
That's why trams are usually much bigger (as you have different cables for movement and support). Trams can also scale more impressive terrain and maintain much longer distances between towers, which is why they're chosen for some applications over gondolas. The Portland tram, for example, has only one tower to cover a horizontal distance of 3,000+ feet. This also allows for scaling some impressive heights as well.