Steep grade railway
A mountain railway is one belonging to the railways for the transport of persons or goods transport, which runs in a mountainous region and often opens up a summit. Overcoming large gradients is therefore a typical feature of the mountain railway. They are used in particular for tourism, mountaineering and winter sports. They can be designed as a gear train, cable car or funicular and are of normal railway network separate routes.
A distinction is the mountain railway from the mountain railway, which refers to a location in the mountains rail line, which is built as a pure adhesion railway.
History
The Mount Washington Cog Railway by Sylvester Marsh is the world's first only up for excursions and pleasure traffic on a mountain cog railway leading. It was put into operation on July 3, 1869, still exists today. Niklaus Riggenbach developed at the same time in Switzerland be rack railway system, and he received on 9 June 1869, the necessary license and building permit for the Rigi. On 21 May 1871, the first mountain railway in Europe was handed over for operation and extended to Rigi- Kulm on June 27, 1873 between Vitznau Rigi-Staffel height. However, the Rigi was not the first cog railway in Europe. As such, has in fact been founded in 1870 a quarry railway from Ostermundigen near Bern. In 1874, the Arth -Rigi -Bahn, the railway Kahlenberg in Vienna, the Swabians mountain railway in Budapest and the Rorschach -Heiden mountain railway was put into operation. 1883 followed with the Drachenfelsbahn in King Winter the first tourist mountain railway in Germany. These were all built after the Riggenbach system. Apart from the Rorschach -Heiden mountain railway opened them all a mountaintop.
After 1877 in Lausanne a first rail-bound railway was built with cable drive for urban transport by cable car Lausanne- Ouchy, was born on July 21, 1879 opened the first tourist funicular to Giessbach on Lake Brienz, which was first invented by mountain railway pioneer Carl Roman Abt Ausweiche began, which was later developed for Abtsche crossover. She was designed as a water ballast train. With the Bürgenstock Railway, an electric drive was used in 1888 for the first time. 1901 by Eugen Langen ( simultaneously with the Wuppertal suspension railway ) designed monorail Dresden was opened, which was the first mountain railway to the principle of today's cable cars (driven in the mountain station pull cord ) is to be considered, although no supporting cable, but a rail was still in use (both lead coined by Eugen Langen actually false name " monorail " to date). 1908 followed with the Kohlerer web at Bolzano and the Wetterhorn Lift at Grindelwald, the first alpine cable cars. Then cars and ski lifts were built to increased development of the emerging winter sports areas.
After the Second World War many new railways were built for mass tourism in the Alps, material ropeways served the supply of Alpine cabins, hotels and mountain huts.
Importance
The construction of mountain railways promoted the development of tourism in the mountains and now have great importance for tourism in the Alps. From conservation organizations such as Mountain Wilderness, the excessive expansion of lifts is criticized in the mountains.