Chemin de fer du Salève

The Salève Railway ( French: Chemin de Fer du Salève ), was the first electric cog railway in the world. It is known in the French department of Haute-Savoie, south of Geneva, Chemin de Fer du Salève, although she was not a cable car, under the term funicular Salève. The full name is French: Société anonyme des Chemins de fer du Salève (CFS ). In German: Aktiengesellschaft of Salève railways.

The meter-gauge cog railway was equipped with a zweilamelligen rack system Abbot, referencing the current like a subway from a busbar which side was the running rails. This persisted during the whole operating period not safe power supply resulted in the death of three people and an unknown number of wild and farm animals.

Twelve railcars for passenger traffic with an empty weight of 10.4 tons, designed for 40 passengers, anxious along with 6 Loren for freight to all traffic. The railcars were 8.5 meters long, 2.1 meters wide and 3 meters high. Two motors of 40 hp ( 29 kW ) enabled the operating speed from 5.4 to 10.8 km / h

The first line Étrembières - Mornex - Monnetier- Mairie - Treize- Arbres ( Salève ) of 6 km in length was opened in 1893, the second line Veyrier - Monnetier- Mairie of 3 km in length in 1894.

The trains left Etrembières and Veyrier the same time and met in Monnetier- Mairie. From there, they drove in a convoy of individually -propelled railcars to 1,140 m above sea level. M. terminus located Treize- Arbres.

In the summer of 1914 took an uphill or downhill about an hour. The fare for a trip from Veyrier after Treize- Arbres and back into the first class were: FF 10 - and in the second class FF 7 -.

At the beginning of the Salève train was profitable. After the First World War, also as a result of the emerging automobile traffic, the cog railway experienced less rosy. With the opening of the competing cable car Veyrier - Treize- Arbres in 1932, the end of the now obsolete and slow cog railway was sealed. 1937, the operation was set to the last part, after the villages were accessible by a bus operating at the section Étrembières - Monnetier- Mairie in the winter of 1931/1932. In 1938 the entire route was canceled.