The Reichenbachfall Funicular (german: Reichenbachfall-Bahn; RfB) is a
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...
in the
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
region of the
Swiss canton of Berne
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
. It links
Willigen, near
Meiringen
Meiringen () is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, ...
, with the uppermost of the
Reichenbach Falls
The Reichenbach Falls (german: Reichenbachfälle) are a waterfall cascade of seven steps on the stream called Rychenbach in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They drop over a total height of about . At , the upper falls, known as th ...
, famous as the site of the apparent death of
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's fictional hero,
Sherlock Holmes. On its route the line follows and crosses the lower falls of the Reichenbach.
[Richard Green (2007). ''Railways in the Berner Oberland - Part 3''. ''Today's Railways Europe: Issue 134: February 2007''. Platform 5 Publishing Ltd.]
The funicular was opened in 1899, and was rebuilt in 1999 to the original design. Between 1912 and 1956, it was linked to Meiringen by the
Meiringen–Reichenbach–Aareschlucht tramway
The Meiringen–Reichenbach–Aareschlucht tramway (german: Trambahn Meiringen–Reichenbach–Aareschlucht, MRA) was a metre gauge electric tramway in the Swiss canton of Bern. It linked the town of Meiringen with the tourist attractions of t ...
. Today it is owned by the
EWR Energie
Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Cou ...
company, which operates the adjacent
hydroelectric power plant, but is maintained by the neighbouring
Kraftwerke Oberhasli company, which also operates several other lines in the area. It has the following parameters:
Brünig railway line
The Brünig railway line (german: Brünigbahn) is a Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes ...
.
Gallery
File:The bottom station of the Reichenbachfall-Bahn.jpg, Car in lower station
File:110807 Reichenbachfall-Bahn.JPG, At the passing loop
File:Looking down on the Reichenbachfall-Bahn.jpg, Looking down on the upper station
File:Ans 05092-090.jpg, The line's longest bridge, circa 1910
References
External links
*
Reichenbachfall Bahn page from FunimagReichenbachfall-Bahn page on Grimselwelt web site
Funicular railways in Switzerland
Bernese Oberland
Oberhasli
Metre gauge railways in Switzerland
Transport in the canton of Bern
Railway lines opened in 1899
1899 establishments in Switzerland
Heritage railways in Switzerland
{{Europe-rail-transport-stub