The Pilatus Railway (german: Pilatusbahn, links=no, PB) is a

mountain railway A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountainous region. It may operate through the mountains by following mountain valleys and tunneling beneath mountain passes, or it may climb a mountain to provide transport to and from the sum ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the steepest

rack railway 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 ...

in the world, with a maximum gradient of 48% and an average gradient of 35%. The line runs from

Alpnach Alpnach is a village in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It comprises the villages of Alpnach Dorf, Alpnachstad and Schoried. History Alpnach is first mentioned about 870 as ''Alpenacho''. Geography Alpnach has an area, , of . Of this ar ...

stad, on

Lake Alpnach A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

, to a terminus near the Esel summit of Pilatus at an elevation of 2,073 m (6,801 ft), which makes it the highest railway in the

canton of Obwalden Obwalden, also Obwald (german: Kanton Obwalden, rm, Chantun Sursilvania; french: Canton d'Obwald; it, Canton Obvaldo), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the govern ...

and the second highest in

Central Switzerland Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug. Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 Statist ...

after the Furka line. At Alpnachstad, the Pilatus Railway connects with steamers on Lake Lucerne and with trains on the Brünigbahn line of

Zentralbahn The Zentralbahn is a Swiss railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luzern–Stans� ...

History

The first project to build the line was proposed in 1873, suggesting a and 25% maximal

gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gradi ...

. It was concluded that the project was not economically viable. Eduard Locher, an engineer with great practical experience, then proposed an alternative project with the maximum grade increased to 48%, cutting the distance in half. Conventional systems at the time could not negotiate such gradients because the cogwheel that is pressed to the rack from above may, under higher gradients, jump out of engagement with the rack, eliminating the train's driving and braking power. Instead, Locher placed a horizontal double rack between the two rails with the rack teeth facing each side. This was engaged by two flanged cogwheels mounted on vertical shafts underneath the car. This design eliminated the possibility of the cogwheels climbing out of the rack, and prevented the car from toppling over, even under severe crosswinds common in the area. The system was also capable of guiding the car without the need for flanges on the wheels. Indeed, the first cars on Pilatus had no flanges on running wheels, but they were later added to allow cars to be moved through tracks without rack rails during maintenance. Construction began in March 1886, and it took four hundred working days during the summer months of three years to accomplish the feat. Six hundred laborers, mostly Italians were employed. The line was opened on 4 June 1889, and was electrified in 1937, using an overhead electric supply of 1,650 V DC. The line is still operated with the 1937 carriages. The first year the line counted 35,000 passengers, by 1901 a million had travelled on top of the Pilatus by rail. The government provided no subsidy for the construction of the line. Instead, Locher established his own company "Locher Systems" to build the railway. The railway was built entirely with private capital and has remained financially viable throughout its life. The Pilatus Railway was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

in 2001.

Gallery

Pilatus-Bahn-Gesellschaft 1888.jpg, Share of the Pilatus Railway Company, issued 1. July 1888; founder's share Mont Pilate train 1889.jpg, The train ready to leave, 4 June 1889 Grafischer Fahrplan Alpnach Stad - Pilatus Kulm 1905.jpg, Pilatus Railway Time Table from 1905 File:Trains_du_Pilate_(Suisse)_(4444425461).jpg, Railcar in 1981 File:Pilatus_Cogwheel_Railway.jpg, Railcar approaching the summit station Pilatus1.jpg, A railcar at the summit station Pilatusbahn Talstation.jpg, Alpnachstad station; note the inclination of the platform behind the building Pilatus Rack.jpg, The Locher system

rack and pinion A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the '' pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven ...

File:Pilatus railway track.jpg, The tracks are laid without

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

. Pilatus2.jpg, A turnout consisting of a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that rotates about its lengthwise

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

Pilatus Railway Rotary Switch.jpg, Pilatus Railway Sliding Switch File:Pilatusbahn_%C3%84msigen_upper_traverser_2021-08-15.jpg, Railcars at the midpoint switch File:Railcars_at_midpoint_of_Pilatus_Railway.jpg, Final railcar of a group approaches the midpoint File:Pilatus transfer table.jpg, The two row

transfer table A transfer table or traverser is a piece of railway equipment. It functions similarly to a turntable, although it cannot be used to turn vehicles around. Overview A transfer table, also known as a traverser, consists of a single length of track th ...

in Pilatus Railway, one edge also serving as a passenger platform

Operation

The line is long, climbs a vertical distance of , and is of gauge. Because of the rack-system, there are no conventional points or

switches In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

on the line, only rotary switches (see photograph) and traversers. All rails are laid on solid rock, securing rails by high-strength iron ties attached to the rock, without using any

. The line still uses original rack rails that are now over 100 years old. While they have worn down, it was discovered that this can be fixed by simply turning the rails over, providing a new wearing surface that would be sufficient for the next century as well. The cars' electric motors are used as generators to brake the car during descent, but this electricity is not reused — it is just dissipated as heat through resistance grids. Originally, the steam engines were used as compressors to provide

dynamic braking Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid r ...

, since the use of friction brakes alone is not practical on such steep slopes. The line is operated seasonally: May to October. The cable car, which approaches from the other side, runs all year except for a short maintenance period.

References

Sources

*Book ''Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria'', , by R.J.Buckley, published by the

Light Rail Transit Association The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/street ...

, 1984.

External links