Preview
Creation Date
1905
Description
The Mt. Pilatus Railway in Switzerland is the steepest rack railway in the world. First usable in 1889, it climbs the Esel, one of the easternmost of Mt. Pilatus' 10 peaks. The railroad starts at Alpnachstad on Lake Lucerne, which those who take the train get a gorgeous view of from the top of the mountain. At the time this railway was built, conventional systems could not handle the steep climb up the Esel, so Swiss engineer Eduard Locher proposed an alternate way to design the railroad using a cog wheel with teeth on the sides to catch the wheels to raise or lower the train and prevent it from being toppled from severe crosswinds. Since the government didn't subsidize the railway, Locher created his own company to be able to build it, and it has remained in operation for over 100 years. In this image, you can see the train on the side of the Esel about to go into one of its four tunnels.
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Keywords
Railway, Railroad, Switzerland, Mt. Pilatus, Cog Railroad, Rack Railway, Alpnachstad, Lake Lucerne, Esel, Eduard Locher
