Quebec City's funicular is 125 years old
Broadcast Date: July 28, 2004
For more than two centuries, the only way to travel from Quebec City's Lower Town to the Upper Town was to hoof it – either on your own two feet or by horse. But that all changed in 1879, when William Griffith built the city's funicular railway. Pulled by cables, its two cabins carry passengers up and down a 59-metre height on parallel rails and afford an excellent view for tourists and locals alike. This CBC-TV clip looks back as Quebec City's funiculaire marks 125 years of operation.Quebec City's funicular is 125 years old
• Quebec City's funicular was originally steam powered, but switched to electric power in 1907.• There are funicular railways in many cities around the world, but according to its website, Quebec City's is unique in North America.
• Aside from the funicular, the only way to travel from the Lower Town to the Upper Town is via a hairpin street called Cote de la Montagne.
• In its earliest years the city was squeezed between the harbour and the cliff rising upwards – the area now called the Lower Town. Churches and other religious buildings were among the first to occupy what is now the Upper Town.
Quebec City's funicular is 125 years old
Medium: Television
Program: Canada Now
Broadcast Date: July 28, 2004
Guest(s): Isabelle Lussier
Reporter: Rosemary Barton
Duration: 1:50
Last updated:
July 13, 2009
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Quebec City's funicular is 125 years old.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: July 13, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]