Mechanical transmission of power

[VS]

...at such distances that it looks like transport

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/01/mechanical-transmission-of-power-stangenkunst.html

[Ters]

I've been fascinated by this since I first saw a model in a mining museum years ago. The man engine version actually is transportation, not of power, but people. (At the same place, I was also fascinated by long distance cableways. I find it hard to believe that a fleet of man-driven trucks are cheaper.)