Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The military cable car of Terre Rouge, also known as the Gondran cable car, was built between 1937 and 1938 in Briançon, Hautes-Alpes. Originally intended to refuel the forts Séré de Rivière and the military villages of the Maginot line, it allowed to transport goods, food and material to the peaks, thus avoiding the often impassable roads. Its design was based on a 2,625-metre bicable system, supported by twenty metal towers of varying heights to match the mountainous relief. The low station, located at Terre Rouge in the commune of Cervières (1,460 m above sea level), was home to the main driving force, a 25 horsepower electric motor, supplemented by a spare thermal motor manufactured by the Grenobloise company Vialis and Cie.

The operation of the cable car became complex due to climatic and technical conditions. The dumpsters, with a capacity of 250 to 300 kg, were initially designed for semi-continuous operation, but slip problems on the tractor cable led to the adoption of a back and forth system with two fixed dumpsters. Telepherists, often engineers, were required to regularly maintain pylons and wheels, whose wear was accelerated by friction. In winter, snow accumulation could disrupt the unloading of dumpsters at the high station (2,384 m), sometimes for the benefit of the chamois! Despite these challenges, the cable car operated until 1980 before being included in the historical monuments inventory in 2003.

The construction of the cable car was carried out under the direction of the Renoud-Grappin-Viaroz company, based in Grenoble, with the active participation of the military. The building of the lower station was built a posteriori around the technical installations, a reverse approach to the usual methods. This choice reflected the strategic urgency of the time, on the eve of World War II. The cable car played a key role in military logistics, although its official use was limited to the transport of goods — soldiers sometimes travelling clandestinely on "tourism" routes. Its architecture, combining functionality and adaptation to the terrain, makes it a rare testimony to the 20th century Alpine military infrastructure.

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