Funicular railways use two counterbalanced passenger cars attached to opposite ends of the same massive cable

A closer look

Because why fight gravity when you can just use the other passengers as a giant counterweight? Funicular railways, often built on incredibly steep mountainsides, don't rely entirely on an engine to pull them up. Instead, two separate cars are permanently attached to the same loop of cable. As one car descends the mountain, its sheer weight naturally pulls the ascending car up the slope. It's highly efficient engineering, right up until you realize your safety relies on the fat folks riding the other way.