Opened in 1891, the Seilbahn Lauterbrunnen–Grütschalp was a 1.4 km long

funicular railway 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 ends ...

between

Lauterbrunnen Lauterbrunnen () is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Swi ...

and Grütschalp in the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. From Grütschalp, the

Lauterbrunnen–Mürren mountain railway The Lauterbrunnen–Mürren Mountain Railway (, BLM, also known as Mürrenbahn) is a hybrid transport system in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland, which connects the villages of Lauterbrunnen and Mürren. The system consists of a connected ...

continues to

Mürren Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in the Bernese Highlands of Switzerland, at an elevation of above sea level. It cannot be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spots in Switzerland, and summer and winte ...

. The line had a difference of elevation of 674m at an incline of 41-60%. The longest viaduct on the line was 220m. The funicular closed on 23 April 2006, and was replaced by an aerial cablecar in December 2006.

Water-counterbalanced line (1891 - 1902)

From line's opening in 1891 until 1902, the line was water powered. The downward car on each trip would be filled with 7 m³ of water, sourced from the Staubbach, which counterbalanced the weight of the upward car. During this period, the track had three rails except at the upper station where there were four. The rope, manufactured by Felten & Guillaume, had a diameter of 32.6mm and consisted of 125 wires of 26.3mm diameter externally and 72 wires of 1.3mm diameter internally. It had a breaking strength of 62,000 kg and a weight of 3.5 kg/m. By 1892 it had run approximately 5000 km and stretched by 15m in length.

Electrified line (1902 - 2006)

In 1902,

Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (German Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik; French Société Suisse pour la Construction de Locomotives et de Machines; or for both, SLM) was a railway equipment manufacturer based in Winterthur in Swi ...

and Joh. Jakob Rieter electrified the line and replaced the cars and cable. A power plant was built at Staubbach, 1.35 km from the upper station. The new cars had 6 compartments for 62 passengers including 54 seats, floor set to be horizontal at 52% incline, 2 axles and total weight of 7950 kg. In 1949, the Riggenbach rack was removed and the track changed from 3 to 2 rails. The rope, also manufactured by Felten & Guillaume, had a diameter of 33.6mm and consisted of 6 stands of 16 wires each (7 wires 1.85mm in diameter, and 9 of 2.65mm diameter) around a fiber core. It had a breaking strength of 63,000 kg and a weight of 3.75 kg/m.

Gallery

SBB Historic - F VARIA 00002 045 Mürrenbahn mit Talstation.tiff, Lauterbrunnen station and tracks File:Mh blm lauterbr.jpeg, Funicular at Lauterbrunnen in its final years

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seilbahn Lauterbrunnen-Grütschalp Lauterbrunnen-Grutschalp Lauterbrunnen-Grutschalp Bernese Oberland Former water-powered funicular railways converted to electricity Transport in the canton of Bern Railway lines opened in 1891 Railway lines closed in 2016