Editing Gateway Arch (section)

====Modes of ascent====
[[File:Gateway Arch tram car.JPG|thumb|upright |Interior of the tram capsule in the Gateway Arch]]
There are three modes of transportation up the arch: two sets of 1,076-step emergency stairs (one per leg),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/arch-faq.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=December 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530224648/http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/arch_faq.html |archive-date=May 30, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> a 12-passenger elevator to the {{convert|372|ft|m|adj=on}} height,<ref name="James"/> and a tram in each leg.<ref name="csmonitor"/>

Each tram is a chain of eight cylindrical, five-seat compartments<ref name="Nofziger">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mqVYAAAAIBAJ&pg=5612,1305043 |title=The Ups & Downs Of Jefferson Expansion Memorial Park |last=Nofziger |first=Fred |date=December 27, 1987 |newspaper=[[The Blade (Toledo)|Toledo Blade]] |page=D7 |access-date=January 13, 2011 }}</ref> with glass doors.<ref name="Schatt">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Qkk0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5780,5802040 |title=Gateway Arch Worth A Trip To St. Louis |last=Schatt |first=Steve |date=December 28, 1975 |newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]] |page=7F |access-date=January 11, 2011 }}</ref> As each tram has a capacity of 40 passengers and there are two trams, 80 passengers can be transported at one time, with trams departing from the ground every 10 minutes.<ref name="Post-Dispatch"/> The compartments (capsules) rotate like [[Ferris wheel|Ferris-wheel]] cars as they ascend and descend the arch on rails.<ref name="Sutton"/> This fashion of movement gave rise to the idea of the tram as "half-Ferris wheel and half-elevator."<ref name="Sutton"/> The trip to the top takes four minutes,<ref name="Borcover"/> and the trip down takes three minutes.<ref name="Mogin" />
[[File:STL JNEM north tram upper station.jpg|thumb|left |North stairs and tram descending from observation platform]]

Because of a lack of funds in March 1962, the NPS did not accept bids for the arch's internal train system<ref name="Brown7"/> and considered discarding the idea.<ref name="Corrigan"/> In May 1962,<ref name="Corrigan"/> the [[Bi-State Development Agency]] proposed that it issue revenue bonds to obtain the required funds. The Department of the Interior and Bi-State entered into an agreement where Bi-State would construct and operate the tram.<ref name="Corrigan"/><ref name="Brown7"/> Bi-State would have to raise $1,977,750 for the construction of the tram system.<ref name="Brown7"/> It [[wikt:retire#Verb|retired the bonds]] by setting a $1 riding fee to the top.{{#tag:ref |Some locals wrote letters to the [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] accusing Bi-State of "gouging".<ref name="Corrigan"/> |group=lower-alpha}}
[[File:Downtown-STL-4 (32131567337).jpg|thumb|A view of the city of St. Louis from the observation room of the St. Louis Arch]]
Bi-State put in $3.3&nbsp;million [[revenue bond]]s and has operated the tram system since.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kU5hAAAAIBAJ&pg=4456,4487422 |title=St. Louis Arch Train System Opens After Many Delays |date=July 24, 1967 |newspaper=[[St. Joseph News-Press]] |agency=Associated Press |page=1B |access-date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref> The tram in the north leg entered operation in June 1967,<ref name="Freeman"/> but visitors were forced to endure three-hour-long waits until April 21, 1976, when a reservation system was put in place.<ref name="Arch timeline" /> The south tram was completed by March 1968. Commemorative pins were awarded to the first 100,000 passengers.<ref name="Corrigan"/> As of 2007, the trams have traveled {{convert|250000|mi|km}}, conveying more than 25&nbsp;million passengers.<ref name="Post-Dispatch">{{cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/AWNB/119736C1B5DFABF8/0D7C12F5A8A2A86A |title=The Gateway Arch |date=May 24, 2007 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |page=23 |access-date=January 11, 2011 |issn=1930-9600 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707223359/http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date%3AD&p_product=AWNB&p_text_direct-0=document_id%3D%28%20119736C1B5DFABF8%20%29&p_docid=119736C1B5DFABF8&p_theme=aggdocs&p_queryname=119736C1B5DFABF8&f_openurl=yes&p |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>