Gravity at work
The city of Valparaíso is built upon 42 steep hills, or cerros, that rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. This topography made connecting the port-level business district, the "plan," with the residential areas on the hillsides a difficult engineering problem in the late 19th century. The solution was a network of funiculars, known locally as ascensores. These machines use the force of gravity to move people up and down slopes that are too severe for conventional transport.
The earliest systems were examples of applied physics. The Ascensor Concepción, inaugurated on December 1, 1883, initially operated using a water counterbalance system. This mechanism involves two cars connected by a single steel cable that loops around a large pulley wheel at the upper station. To initiate movement, a water tank fitted to the car at the top station was filled. This added mass made the upper car heavier than the lower car. When the brake was released, gravity would pull the heavier car down the slope, simultaneously pulling the lighter car up. Upon reaching the bottom, the water was discharged, and the process could be repeated. This design provided an energy-efficient solution before widespread electrical power was available. The first funicular to use an electric motor was the Ascensor Barón in 1906.