Swiss Review 4/2021

Swiss Review / August 2021 / No.4 16 Report The Eggenbergli “Niederberger Schiffli” looks like it belongs in a vintage museum. Photos: Uri Tourismus a composition out of the archived sounds. The historianAschwanden, on the other hand, is more interested in the cable cars’ social impact: small cable cars were as important to the moun- tain community in Uri as more tradi- tional land improvement measures, such as drainage or correcting the wa- ter table in flat land. They facilitated the cultivation of agricultural land and improved its economic viability by providing a connection to civilisa- tion. The cable car connection to out- lying settlements allowed children to attend school and gave parents im- proved access to their second jobs in the valley. The “Niederberger Schiffli” The terrain in the canton of Uri is highly contorted and steep, hence its uniquely dense network of cable cars, 38 of which are still licensed for trans- porting people all over the canton. A ride in the small, open cabin from Bristen in the Maderanertal valley to Waldiberg or from Musenalp down to Chlital in Isenthal is as spectacular as that to Eggenbergli. Remigi Niederberger, an industrial pi- oneer fromNidwalden, invested heav- ily in the cable car boom. He was a blacksmithwho recognised the inher- ent potential of cable networks as a mode of transport around the turn of the century. He and his sons devel- oped, as Aschwanden recounts, their ownmodel designed precisely for the ruggedmountain terrain: a very small cabin, reduced to the bare essentials while offering protection from the weather, with short grips compatible with low pylons. The “Niederberger Schiffli”, which are still used at Eggen- bergli, are nowpart of the rich history of cable car design. Public transport into the heights A small gondola goes up, via amid-way stop, from Schächental valley to the high Ruogig plateau with its pasture- land. There are small farms spread out over a wide distance from the Mittel- station (half-way up) and the Bergsta- tion (at the top), they are connected to the main axis via smaller goods cable lifts. Milk and hay are gathered and dispatched to the valley using this method and daily necessities are dis- seminated to the farming families in the same way. “The Uri cable car cul- ture is not just about the main route, but also the myriad micro connec- tions to the far-flung settlements,” says the historianAschwanden. It is, in effect, an aerial, vertically-oriented public transport network. The curious aspect of this system is its inability to cover costs. “The many small, low-frequency connec- tions can’t really be profitable,” con- firms Toni Arnold, head of the Uri ca- ble car association. This is due in no small measure to growing security re- quirements. Even if the small lines look like badlymaintained temporary measures at first glance, according to Arnold they undergo regular checks as prescribed by law. Every line is offi- cially tested annually and the cable is X-rayed using a special procedure. The only accidents in the past fewdecades involved goods cable lifts carrying people, which is not allowed. Roads as an alternative Arnold hopes the growth of outdoor tourism will make the small Uri ca- ble cars more economically viable, Passengers need to work out for them- selves in the “Nieder- berger Schiffli” cock- pit how to get it moving. Photo: Jürg Steiner