Functional model of the cable crane system @museum.de

The more granite was quarried, the deeper the quarries became. This meant that the stones had to be moved up before they could be transported to the workshops. In the museum, we can clearly see how the development of electrical equipment changed the work in the quarry. The first workers still had to do everything by hand, i.e. with their own physical strength. But after the development of electrical equipment - which, incidentally, was from 1912 onwards - many jobs could be done by machines. However, this also meant that there were employees who could operate and possibly repair these machines. Well, our cable crane system here is a model. It is smaller than the system that was once in operation in the quarry. But it shows well how the granite stones could be moved.

So, we have two masts. A steel cable is stretched between them, under which a wagon can move back and forth. So there are actually several cables. The trolley not only had to be moved back and forth, but also up and down. That was a huge relief for the stone workers when the cable crane was put into operation. And of course everything went faster with such a crane.

Faster... Of course. People always think it's great when things go faster - I've never understood that. That it's easier, requires less strength and therefore less effort, yes, I get that. But faster? No idea, humans and animals are just too different.

The ropes of such a crane system had to be very strong. They were of course much thicker than those of our model. A cable like this could safely hold several tons of weight. The first cable crane system was used in Lusatia in 1901. And as for Fuchs. On the one hand, he's right, of course. People always want more and faster and further and higher. But just imagine: Around 1900, more and more paved roads were needed. Because there was more traffic. The Reichsstraße 6 from Dresden to Görlitz alone required 72 million small cobblestones. If it didn't have to be done quickly!