The Manizales - Mariquita Cableway was a

cableway Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by driv ...

used for transporting coffee, that connected Mariquita ( Tolima) with the city of

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an important hub for higher ...

( Caldas), both in central Colombia. It was one of the most important engineering works carried out in Colombia in response to the difficult topography of the region, that hindered the construction of a railroad. Torre del cable-Manizales

History

In the first decade of the twentieth century, an English company called The Ropeway Extension, obtained a concession from the Colombian government to build a ropeway (at the time, the longest one in the world), which cover a distance of approximately 72 kilometers between Mariquita, in Tolima and Manizales in Caldas. This would enable a link between the

Colombian coffee growing axis The Colombian coffee region ( es, Eje Cafetero), also known as the Coffee Triangle ( es, Triángulo del Café) is a part of the Paisa region in the rural area of Colombia. It is famous for growing and producing the majority of Colombian coffee ...

and the ports on the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...

. So far, the only roads that could have been used, were dirt roads. And railroad construction was thought to be impossible due to the difficult terrain (even though one was built later). Exploration work began around 1912 and construction started in 1914, under guidance from James F. Lindsay, a New Zealand-born civil engineer. Construction would begin in 1914, coinciding with the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. All machinery, tools, materials and supplies needed for the work were transported from England by boat over the Atlantic Ocean, with a smaller boat over the Magdalena River until

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, and then by mule and ox. The first track Mariquita - Soledad (today Herveo), was inaugurated in March 1914. Tower number 20 ( Torre de Herveo), pictured above, was exceptional as it needed to be constructed in a depression between two hills. Requests were sent to England to design a special high tower, like what you see in the photo. But the ship that was carrying it to Colombia was sunk by a German submarine, which caused the construction work to be suspended almost entirely. However local engineers were able to construct a copy of the design entirely in wood. The rest of the work resumed in 1916 and were successfully completed six years later in the Station Camelia in Manizales (January 22, 1922). After nearly 45 years of operation, the competition of regular road transport became too high, and the cableway ceased working on October 20, 1967. Torre de Herveo was declared a national monument, was restored and moved to Manizales.

Data

* 73 km long * 376 steel towers (exception: Torre de Herveo was partially in wood), between 4 and 55 meter high, in 15 sections * 8 engines of 140 hp each * 22 stations, constructed in wood {{Coord, 5, 3, 21.45, N, 75, 29, 9.33, W, display=title Transport in Colombia Aerial tramways in Colombia Buildings and structures in Manizales 1914 establishments in Colombia 1967 disestablishments in Colombia Transport infrastructure completed in 1914