The Achensee Railway (german: Achenseebahn, ) is a long
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
railway running between
Jenbach () and Seespitz () on
Lake Achen in
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
(
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
). Within its length it rises some in height, with the steeper sections using the
Riggenbach rack system
A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...
. It is Europe's oldest
cog railway which is still steam operated.
History
In 1886, Theodor Friedrich Freiherr von Dreifuss proposed to connect Jenbach to the Achensee. Despite concerns by villagers in the area, the proposal was supported by the
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
at Fiecht, which owned the Achensee and ran steam boats on the lake.
Consent to build the line was given on 1 August 1888 by
Emperor Franz Josef
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until h ...
. The line was constructed by the Soenderop Company of
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
. The official opening of the line was on 8 June 1889. The line originally ended a short distance short of the pier for the steamboats as it was intended to run a luggage service between Seespitz station and the pier at an extra charge. The railway was extended to a new station serving the steamboats in 1916.
[
The railway carried its highest numbers of passengers during ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and after the war the railway was an important method of supplying the region with goods and materials. In 1950, the Tirolean Water Company (TIWAG) acquired a majority of the shares in the railway, passing them to the villages of Achenkirch, Maurach and Eben in 1979. Carriage of freight ceased in 1973. The railway was remodelled with support from TIWAG, the Federal Government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
and State Government.[
On 16 May 2008, the engine shed at Jenbach railway station was destroyed in a fire. Locomotive No. 1 was damaged, but will be restored, as will the engine shed.][ In 2009, the shed has been completed and the No. 1 was rebuilt.
On 25 March 2020, the railway company went bankrupt. Action is underway to salvage the railway.
From 2022, the ''Achenseebahn Infrastruktur- und Betriebs- GmbH'' , founded on March 2, 2021 as the successor company, is to be in ''charge of'' operations.]
Rolling stock
Steam locomotives
All steam locomotives are 0-4-0RT engines.
Passenger stock
The Achensee Railway has four open and two closed four-wheeled coaches. The open coaches were built in Graz in 1889. The closed coaches were built in Esslingen in 1903 and 1907.[
]
Freight stock
The Achenseebahn had four lowside open wagons, one highside open wagon and one van on opening. Three more lowsides were acquired new in 1926. These three vehicles were in service until 1973; the others were withdrawn in 1955.[
]
Infrastructure
The 6.78 km route has a track gauge of . It runs between Jenbach and Achensee Schiffstation. The Riggenbach rack system is installed between Jenbach and Eben, from which point the line descends gently to Achensee Schiffstation.[Karl Arne Richter (editor), ''Europäische Bahnen '11'', Eurailpress, Hamburg, 2010, ;] Upwards trains propel to Eben, where the engine runs round and hauls the coaches to the Achensee terminal. The engine leads throughout on the downward journey.
References
External links
Homepage of the Achensee Railway
{{Authority control
Metre gauge railways in Austria
Railway lines opened in 1889
Rack railways in Austria