The trend towards small-scale, decentralised power production means that rope transmission might have a place in our energy system again
Jerker line systems can be used to operate water pumps or sawing machines, to forge iron, to process food or fibres, or to make paper.
Long-distance power transmission predates the invention of electricity by almost four centuries.
The possibilities of pedal power largely exceed the use of the bicycle.
From the 1870s onwards, pedals and cranks were attached to tools like lathes, saws, grinders, shapers, tool sharpeners and to boring, drilling and cutting machines.
Cargo tramways can be fully or partly powered by gravity, and some deliver excess power that can be utilized to generate electricity or to drive cranes or machinery in nearby factories
Boat mills, bridge mills and hanging mills were almost as widespread as windmills.
Would it make sense to revive the industrial windmill and again convert kinetic energy directly into mechanical energy?