121-683: The Brig–Zermatt railway line is a metre gauge railway line in the canton of Valais in Switzerland . Its 44-kilometre-long (27 mi) line links the communities of Brig and Visp in the Rhone Valley with Täsch and the car free holiday resort of Zermatt in the Mattertal . The line also forms part of the much travelled and admired route of the Glacier Express between St. Moritz and Zermatt . The Gornergratbahn (which
242-401: A diesel locomotive or electric locomotive , the steam locomotive only works when its powerplant (the boiler, in this case) is fairly level. The locomotive boiler requires water to cover the boiler tubes and firebox sheets at all times, particularly the crown sheet , the metal top of the firebox. If this is not covered with water, the heat of the fire will soften it enough to give way under
363-477: A 20- tooth , 3-foot (914 mm) diameter cog wheel (pinion) on the left side that engaged in rack teeth (two teeth per foot) on the outer side of the rail, the metal "fishbelly" edge rail with its side rack being cast all in one piece, in 3-foot (1 yd; 914 mm) lengths. Blenkinsop's system remained in use for 25 years on the Middleton Railway, but it became a curiosity because simple friction
484-440: A continuous rack. So long as the breaks in the rack were shorter than the distance between the drive pinions on the locomotive, the rack rail could be interrupted wherever there was need to cross over a running rail. Turnouts are far more complex when the rack is at or below the level of the running rails. Marsh's first rack patent shows such an arrangement, and the original Mount Washington Cog Railway he built had no turnouts. It
605-404: A goods train heading for Zermatt was left standing a few hundred metres north of the incident site, after its traction failed due to damage to the overhead line and the resulting short circuit. Passenger and goods traffic was temporarily moved to the road, which was left undamaged. Between Herbriggen and Randa, omnibuses operated bustitution services, and between Randa and Zermatt the trains ran in
726-445: A gradient. This is one of the reasons why rack railways were among the first to be electrified and most of today's rack railways are electrically powered. In some cases, a vertical boiler can be used that is less sensitive for the track gradient. On a rack-only railroad, locomotives are always downward of their passenger cars for safety reasons: the locomotive is fitted with powerful brakes, often including hooks or clamps that grip
847-487: A heavy thunderstorm on 8 August led to a blockage of the newly excavated river channel of the Vispa by washed up glacial rubble, which meant a second flooding of the station. After the water had flowed away to a sufficient extent, the rail traffic could once again be resumed on 10 August. The total damage to the railway was valued at 16.5 Million francs, of which 13.59 Million could be alleviated by natural disaster relief under
968-495: A ladder between two L-shaped wrought-iron rails. The first public trial of the Marsh rack on Mount Washington was made on August 29, 1866, when only one quarter of a mile (402 meters) of track had been completed. The Mount Washington railway opened to the public on August 14, 1868. The pinion wheels on the locomotives have deep teeth that ensure that at least two teeth are engaged with the rack at all times; this measure helps reduce
1089-478: A metre gauge railway line from Visp to Brig had already been proposed. Most of them also envisaged a continuation in the direction of Furka or Grimsel , but in the end the only continuation to be realised was the later Furka Oberalp Bahn, with its starting point in Brig. In 1919, the hotelier Alexander Seiler applied for a concession for a metre gauge tramway from Visp to Brig, which, if built, would serve to open up
1210-508: A mixture of adhesion and rack railway line. At the insistence of the Bundesrat, the gauge was finally altered to metre gauge . The railway was at the outset to be operated from the start of June to the end of September, as the promoters did not wish to take on the risks of operating the line in an alpine winter. Additionally, it was only in summer that there were prospects of significant numbers of passengers, as in those days winter tourism
1331-652: A rack and pinion system designed and patented in 1811 by John Blenkinsop . The first mountain cog railway was the Mount Washington Cog Railway in the U.S. state of New Hampshire , which carried its first fare-paying passengers in 1868. The track was completed to reach the summit of Mount Washington in 1869. The first mountain rack railway in continental Europe was the Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn on Mount Rigi in Switzerland , which opened in 1871. Both lines are still running. As well as
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#17327731976801452-527: A regulated winter traffic without shelters was really not feasible. In 1932, the Canton of Valais and the VZ therefore entered into a contract relating to winter traffic. The contract provided, on the one hand, for continuous winter traffic on the VZ, and, on the other hand, obliged the Canton to subsidise the erection of shelters to the extent of 50%. The shelters were completed on time in the autumn of 1933. Thus, in
1573-410: A remote controlled block signalling system was installed along the complete line from Brig between 1965 and 1966. The avalanche shelters along the whole line were similarly continuously extended. The devastation of Zermatt station on 4 January 1966 presented the opportunity for a complete rebuild of the whole station, and the installation of avalanche proof roofing. The same year, an avalanche gallery
1694-448: A section through Naters that was equipped with many level crossings. Currently, the town of Brig is seeking the complete removal of the narrow gauge system from the station forecourt, and its incorporation into the standard gauge station. Along the line to Visp there were, in earlier times, an FO depot and a train shed also used by the BVZ. These facilities were closed down in 2001. Nearby,
1815-471: A shuttle service. As from 22 April, it was again possible to operate through goods trains, for which a diesel locomotive of type HGm 4/4 was hired from the Furka Oberalp Bahn. Passenger traffic initially remained suspended, as further landslides could not be ruled out. On 9 May, large rocks fell into the valley once again, burying the railway tracks for 250 metres and also making the road along
1936-468: A simplified but compatible rack, where the teeth on the engine pinions engaged square holes punched in a bar-shaped center rail. J. H. Morgan patented several alternative turnout designs for use with this rack system. Curiously, Morgan recommended an off-center rack in order to allow clear passage for pedestrians and animals walking along the tracks. Some photos of early Morgan installations show this. A simplified rack mounting system could be used when
2057-438: A stance that in any event Zermatt was not suited to being a winter resort. The Valais Council of State, which viewed the prospect of winter traffic positively, therefore considered the possibility of extending the obligation to operate the VZ to the winter months, at least for the section from Visp to St. Niklaus. As the concession text was limited to stipulating running times, and as, in the absence of any precedent, an amendment to
2178-455: A total of 327 m in altitude have been climbed. The St. Niklaus station extends along the western edge of the town, and has two platform tracks and a siding with a loading dock. The station building represents a standard type, which can also be found in similar form in Täsch. St Niklaus station is the terminus of the post bus line to the holiday resort of Grächen , which extends on a plateau along
2299-602: A total of 7450 m of rack railway . Construction began on 27 November 1888 in Visp. The work was entrusted to the western Swiss contractors Julius Chappuis, while the SOS undertook the purchase of land and the procurement of rolling stock. Acquisition of the necessary land turned out to be difficult, particularly in the municipalities of Stalden and St. Niklaus , as the local population was not interested in selling. Tedious expropriation procedures therefore became necessary. Also, land in
2420-517: A voltage of 15,000 volts. This energy supply was then transformed down to the required voltage. For the haulage of trains, five electric locomotives of Type HGe 4/4 were procured from SLM , SIG and MFO . As from 1 October 1929, all scheduled VZ trains could finally be operated by electricity. Of the total of eight existing steam locos of Type HG 2/3, the five oldest examples could be withdrawn. The rest remained further in service as reserves, and for snow removal. As early as 1907, there were calls from
2541-409: 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 this rack rail. This allows the trains to operate on steep gradients of 100% (45 degrees) or more, well above the 10% maximum for friction-based rail . The rack and pinion mechanism also provides more controlled braking and reduces
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#17327731976802662-464: Is located immediately adjacent to the new standard gauge track 4. The station building and the entire BVZ depot area were demolished in parallel. All subsequent maintenance of railway vehicles has been carried out exclusively in the Glisergrund workshop. The ceremonial opening of the new junction station took place on 16 and 17 May 2008. The track exits Visp station in a tight left hand curve, and
2783-490: Is the Gamsensand passing loop, which also has freight sidings for the loading of tank wagons. The former Gamsen station was about 300 metres east of the passing loop. This station was abandoned at the beginning of the 1990s, after the cable car to Mund , which started from there, was shut down. The next stop, Eyholz , is already in the municipal area of Visp. This stop was created in 1999 and serves primarily to connect
2904-603: Is the crossing station Mattsand, which was built in 1956 for the construction of the power station, and has been used since 1964 for train crossings. The nearby Herbriggen station has, apart from two platform tracks, a connecting track for a substation associated with the power station. The original station building no longer exists; it was replaced in 1966 by a new structure. Metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US : meter-gauge railways ) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) or 1 metre . Metre gauge
3025-516: Is the most recent in the history of the railway, gave the SBB a reason not to renew the expiring management contracts, and to return the management of the railway to the VZ from 1 January 1921. The railway's management was then allocated to a collective directorate also responsible for managing the Gornergratbahn. At the same time, in collaboration with Zermatt hoteliers, an office was set up to run
3146-558: Is used in around 95,000 kilometres (59,000 mi) of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and Germany in their colonies. In Europe, large metre-gauge networks remain in use in Switzerland, Spain and many European towns with urban trams , but most metre-gauge local railways in France , Germany and Belgium closed down in the mid-20th century, although some still remain. With
3267-577: Is very low, generally from 9 to 25 kilometres per hour (5.6 to 15.5 mph) depending on gradient and propulsion method. Because the Skitube has gentler gradients than typical, its speeds are higher than typical. The Culdee Fell Railway is a fictional cog railway on the Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry . Its operation, locomotives and history are based on those of
3388-607: The Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Viège à Zermatt SA emerged as the operating company. The exact route and mode of operation was initially the subject of intense debate. The Suisse Occidentale-Simplon proposed a pure adhesion line, with a maximum gradient of 4.5%, while the engineer Ernest von Stockalper , who was working on the construction of the Gotthardbahn , proposed a combined adhesion and rack railway, as originally planned. A Special Commission established to investigate
3509-548: The Engadine Line , stressed the benefits of using lower voltage than the SBB voltage. Whereas light weight air cooled transformers could be used on the Engadine Line, a heavy oil cooling system would be necessary for 15,000 volt operations, and that would greatly have increased the weight of the VZ locomotives. Additionally, the use of a single phase current system would make problem free through traffic possible in
3630-473: The Lötschberg base tunnel , a large portion of the travellers changing for Zermatt now make the change at Visp. Brig's metre gauge station is now a through station . Its previous configuration as a terminal station came to an end with the opening of new tracks leading from the metre gauge station directly to the east towards Goms . The new track formation, which was first used on 1 December 2007, replaced
3751-631: The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn . At the same time, the business of the two railways was split into the group companies Matterhorn Gotthard Verkehrs AG (passenger concession, rolling stock, maintenance, road traffic), Matterhorn Gotthard Infrastruktur AG (infrastructure concession, formations, buildings) and the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn AG responsible for management of personnel and group management. All group companies belong to BVZ Holding, which has its origins in
Brig–Zermatt railway line - Misplaced Pages Continue
3872-540: The Nilgiri Mountain Railway . The Agudio rack system was invented by Tommaso Agudio. Its only long-lived application was on the Sassi–Superga tramway which opened in 1884. It used a vertical rack with cog wheels on each side of the central rack. Its unique feature, however, was that the 'locomotive' was propelled by means of an endless cable driven from an engine house at the foot of the incline. It
3993-501: The Visp railway station was completely rebuilt. Beginning in 2005, the MGB lines were moved from the station forecourt to points adjacent to the existing standard gauge tracks so as to minimise the walking distances for transferring passengers. Since 1930, the starting point for the line to Zermatt has been Brig station. Until the merger of the two railways, the metre gauge part of this station
4114-510: The 1950s, as the departure point since then for the Postbus line has been Brig, not Stalden. Nevertheless, the buses still stop also at Stalden station, and form a connection there with the trains to Zermatt. Immediately adjacent to the railway tracks there is also the base station of the cable car to Staldenried . Since 1986, the two tracks at Stalden have been equipped with continuous rack rails, as there are inclines immediately before and after
4235-798: The Abt system was on the Harzbahn in Germany, which opened in 1885. The Abt system was also used for the construction of the Snowdon Mountain Railway in Wales from 1894 to 1896. The pinion wheels can be mounted on the same axle as the rail wheels, or driven separately. The steam locomotives on the West Coast Wilderness Railway have separate cylinders driving the pinion wheel, as do the "X"-class locomotives on
4356-586: The Abt system, but typically wider than a single Abt bar. The Lamella rack can be used by locomotives designed for use on the Riggenbach or the Strub systems, so long as the safety-jaws that were a feature of the original Strub system are not used. Some railways use racks from multiple systems; for example, the St. Gallen Gais Appenzell Railway in Switzerland has sections of Riggenbach, Strub, and Lamella rack. Most of
4477-588: The BVZ, and ultimately to the Swiss federation and the Cantons of Valais, Uri and Grisons. The merger of the two railways made possible the implementation of numerous development measures. By the end of 2006, the shuttle train terminal in Täsch had been fundamentally transformed, and the number of covered parking spaces increased to 1700. In connection with the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel ,
4598-875: The British market. Between 1903 and 1909, the McKell Coal and Coke company in Raleigh County, West Virginia, installed 35,000 feet (10,700 m) of Morgan rack/third-rail track in its mines. Between 1905 and 1906, the Mammoth Vein Coal Company installed 8,200 feet (2,500 m) of powered rack in two of its mines in Everist, Iowa , with a maximum grade of 16%. The Donohoe Coke Co. of Greenwald, Pennsylvania had 10,000 feet (3,050 m) of Goodman rack in its mine in 1906. The Morgan system saw limited use on one common carrier railroad in
4719-522: The Furka Oberalp Bahn revealed a disadvantage, namely the gap between the end point of the VZ in Visp, and that of the FO in Brig. Additionally, since the opening of the Lötschbergbahn in 1913 passengers arriving from the direction of Bern had had to change trains in Brig as well as in Visp; a circumstance that was perceived as cumbersome. Even as at the start of the 20th century, numerous projects for
4840-595: The Jura-Simplon (until 1889, the Suisse Occidentale-Simplon). A fundamental renovation of the station complex began in 2006. As it had been foreseen that, following the completion of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel , the majority of the passengers would change in Visp for trains to Zermatt, the narrow gauge and standard gauge tracks were relocated closer together. Ever since then, three platforms have been available to MGB trains. Narrow gauge track 3
4961-535: The Morgan rack was not used for third-rail power and the Morgan rack offered interesting possibilities for street railways. The Morgan rack was good for grades of up to 16 percent . The Goodman Equipment Company began marketing the Morgan system for mine railways , and it saw widespread use, particularly where steep grades were encountered underground. By 1907, Goodman had offices in Cardiff, Wales , to serve
Brig–Zermatt railway line - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-421: The SBB station building. South of the two metre gauge platform tracks there used to be a connection to the extensive depot and workshop facilities of the BVZ. For passenger traffic, the VZ had already erected a wooden shelter by the start of operations in 1890, and, even at that point, all of the other necessary facilities, such as toilets or a waiting hall, were provided within the standard gauge station building of
5203-547: The Strub system is on the Jungfraubahn in Switzerland. Strub is the simplest rack system to maintain and has become increasingly popular. In 1900, E. C. Morgan of Chicago received a patent on a rack railway system that was mechanically similar to the Riggenbach rack, but where the rack was also used as a third rail to power the electric locomotive. Morgan went on to develop heavier locomotives and with J. H. Morgan, turnouts for this system. In 1904, he patented
5324-699: The Swiss Federal Railway Law. Due to the break in the track, which was closed for 105 days, the Jubilee festivities originally scheduled for July 1991 had to be postponed until October. During the Jubilee, the Brig-Visp-Zermatt-Bahn was renamed as the BVZ Zermatt-Bahn , to highlight more strongly the most important town on the line. On 1 January 2003, the BVZ merged with the neighbouring Furka Oberalp Bahn to form
5445-565: The Swiss government. Eager to boost tourism in Switzerland, the government commissioned Riggenbach to build a rack railway up Mount Rigi . Following the construction of a prototype locomotive and test track in a quarry near Bern , the Vitznau–Rigi railway opened on 22 May 1871. The Riggenbach system is similar in design to the Marsh system. It uses a ladder rack, formed of steel plates or channels connected by round or square rods at regular intervals. The Riggenbach system suffers from
5566-716: The United States, the Chicago Tunnel Company , a narrow gauge freight carrier that had one steep grade in the line up to their surface disposal station on the Chicago lakefront. The Lamella system (also known as the Von Roll system) was developed by the Von Roll company after the rolled steel rails used in the Strub system became unavailable. It is formed from a single blade cut in a similar shape to
5687-479: The VZ had recognised the importance of Zermatt for winter sports, and became more co-operative. On 30 October 1928, the VZ operated timetabled winter traffic for the first time as far as St. Niklaus. In the following winter, a single train pair ran each day as far as Zermatt, weather permitting. This mode of operation could be maintained until the end of 1930. In January and February 1931, however, numerous avalanches made regular operations impossible. It became clear that
5808-403: The VZ, it was transformed into a connecting narrow gauge railway running parallel to the SBB line, was no longer equipped with any halting points, and was to serve only to link the VZ and the FO. In 1928, the committee presented a correspondingly modified concession application, which was approved on 28 September 1928, subject to a condition that one intermediate halting point be included. Following
5929-543: The Visp-Zermatt-Bahn, the Furka Oberalp Bahn and the Rhätische Bahn - took advantage of the opening of the new connection to introduce a through express train from St. Moritz to Zermatt. On 25 June 1930, the now world-famous Glacier Express departed from Zermatt station for the first time. Under pressure from the enormous increase in coal prices during World War I, there were discussions soon after
6050-544: The additional passenger numbers from Täsch, a commuter service was introduced in May 1972 between Täsch and Zermatt. This service has since transported around two thirds of all passengers arriving in Zermatt. With the commissioning of four baggage railcars Deh 4/4 in 1975 and 1976, and their matching driving cars, it was possible, for the first time, to introduce shuttle trains on this important connection. Since then, trains on
6171-518: The advantage of requiring only one electrical insertion point, near Visp, which would drastically reduce the costs of electrical systems in comparison with the original plans. Consideration was also given to adopting completely the SBB system of 15 kV AC railway electrification without alteration, but that idea quickly had to be abandoned. In particular, the Rhätische Bahn, which since 1913 had been operating electric traffic at 11,000 volts AC on
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#17327731976806292-541: The annual winter service interruption. This management agreement was approved by the SOS's successor company, the Jura-Simplon-Bahn (JS) and retained finally also by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) until 1920. From the opening of the line onwards, passenger numbers continually increased, and after a short while were already significantly exceeding the predictions established at the time of
6413-401: The boiler pressure, leading to a catastrophic failure. On rack systems with extreme gradients, the boiler, cab, and general superstructure of the locomotive are tilted forward relative to the wheels so that they are more or less horizontal when on the steeply graded track. These locomotives often cannot function on level track, and so the entire line, including maintenance shops, must be laid on
6534-501: The cable car linking the station to the mountain village of Embd . Behind the station, the railway line meets the Mattervispa again, and switches to the left side of the valley. The Kipfenbrücke located here has had to be rebuilt several times: the original 30 metre long steel truss structure was destroyed in 1945 by an avalanche. A subsequent temporary measure was replaced in 1947 by a steel fish belly girder bridge, which, in turn,
6655-595: The centre rail, as well as by means of the normal running wheels. The first successful rack railway in the United States was the Mount Washington Cog Railway, developed by Sylvester Marsh . Marsh was issued a U.S. patent for the general idea of a rack railway in September 1861, and in January 1867 for a practical rack where the rack teeth take the form of rollers arranged like the rungs of
6776-408: The completion of that project as approved, continuous operations from Brig to Zermatt were finally able to begin on 5 June 1930. Curiously, the opening of the new link did not lead directly to a name change for the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn. Only on 1 June 1962 was the name changed to Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Brigue-Viège-Zermatt (Brig-Visp-Zermatt-Bahn). The three narrow gauge lines now bound by rail -
6897-415: The concession against the wishes of the concession holder would not be feasible, further efforts were abandoned until 1914. With the outbreak of World War I, the demand for continuous operations became obsolete for the time being. Further efforts towards continuous operation gathered force only in the mid-1920s. Zermatt hotels remained open for the first time continuously for the winter in 1927/28. Meanwhile,
7018-403: The construction of turnouts. If the rack is elevated above the running rails, there is no need to interrupt the running rails to allow passage of the driving pinions of the engines. Strub explicitly documented this in his U.S. patent. Strub used a complex set of bell-cranks and push-rods linking the throw-rod for the points to the two throw-rods for the moving rack sections. One break in the rack
7139-403: The early 1880s, Abt worked to devise an improved rack system that overcame the limitations of the Riggenbach system. In particular, the Riggenbach rack was expensive to manufacture and maintain and the switches were complex. In 1882, Abt designed a new rack using solid bars with vertical teeth machined into them. Two or three of these bars are mounted centrally between the rails, with the teeth of
7260-559: The effects of snow or ice on the rails. Most rack railways are mountain railways , although a few are transit railways or tramways built to overcome a steep gradient in an urban environment. The first cog railway was the Middleton Railway between Middleton and Leeds in West Yorkshire , England, United Kingdom , where the first commercially successful steam locomotive , Salamanca , ran in 1812. This used
7381-581: The end of the 19th century, and the line formation protected by solid masonry. In the middle of the gorge, the fully automatic crossing point at Kipferwald was set up in 1999. The upper end of the Kipfenschlucht is marked by the Sellibrücke , on which the Vispa is crossed for the third time. Shortly thereafter, the racks and the formation travel along the right side of the widening valley to St. Niklaus , at 1126 metres above sea level. Since Stalden,
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#17327731976807502-413: The end of the war about electrification of the railway, to make it independent of expensive imported coal. A study commissioned in 1919 recommended the use of direct current , with a voltage of between 1500 and 3000 volts . To save costs, parts from steam locomotives would be used for the construction of electric locos, and at times consideration was given to purchasing railcars. As prices of copper and
7623-403: The entire line from Brig to Zermatt have been operated in increasing numbers as shuttle trains. The 1980s were marked by ever increasing numbers of passengers. In particular, there was the continuing success of the Glacier Express . Running from 1982 all year round, its passenger numbers increased from about 20,000 in 1982 to 269,830 in 2005, and contributed to the utilisation of the railway and
7744-453: The entire valley was divided into a myriad of tiny plots, and usually the actual owners of the plots were not recorded in official documents. The absence of a road made it necessary to transport the building materials almost exclusively over the already completed parts of the railway tracks to the construction sites. On 3 July 1890, rail traffic on the first part of the line, between Visp and Stalden, could finally be introduced. By 26 August of
7865-451: The event of electrification of the Furka Oberalp Bahn. These advantages led to the decision to use a voltage of 11,000 volts also on the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn. For the electrification of the railway facilities and the procurement of electric locomotives, a budget of 1.7 million francs was established. Responsibility for the supply of energy was transferred to the SBB, which was contractually obliged to make alternating current available in Visp, at
7986-483: The first international promotions for the Zermatt tourist resort. In 1927, passenger numbers once again reached pre war levels. In 1931, with 227,845 passengers, the line set a new record that was not surpassed until after World War II . The Visp-Zermatt-Bahn survived World War 1 unscathed. Totally different was the situation of the Brig-Furka-Disentis-Bahn (BFD), which was not yet completed as at
8107-442: The first still relatively short tunnels, as well as the largest bridge on the line. The 67-metre-long Mühlebachviadukt spans its eponymous waters at a height of 43 metres. Its original steel truss structure was replaced in 1959 by a reinforced concrete arch bridge. At 19.8 kilometres, the station at Kalpetran is finally reached. The actual site has only a few buildings, the main function of the station being to allow connections with
8228-496: The following winter continuous winter operations could be offered for the first time along the entire route. The outbreak of war in 1939 had a much less dramatic impact on rail traffic than had been the case in 1914. Although this time once again foreign tourists stayed away from the Mattertal, there were nevertheless Swiss excursioners who, thanks to the previously introduced income compensation, could afford to travel even during
8349-470: The formation along the western flank of the valley at the maximum gradient of 12.5 percent , and the line quickly reaches the station at Stalden-Saas . The station at Stalden, at around 799 metres above sea level, extends in an s-shape along the southwestern edge of the village. For a long time, the station itself was of great importance, as the departure point of the Postbus line into the Saastal . It
8470-460: The formation also passes into a steep decline, to pass under main road no 9. The underpass, erected between 1972 and 1975, also represents the lowest point of the entire line. The track then soon leaves the Rhone valley, and enters the Mattertal, leading through to the terminus at Zermatt. Here, the formation rises only slightly, in parallel to the valley road on the eastern side of the valley, as far as
8591-536: The history of the BVZ occurred in its jubilee year of 1991. On 18 April at 6.45 am, approximately 15 million cubic metres of rock broke away from the Wartfluh northwest of Randa and buried the Vispa and parts of the hamlet Lerc, along with 100 metres of railway track. No people were injured, as the hamlet Lerch was uninhabited and at the time of the landslide there was no train in the affected section of track. However,
8712-709: The ideal mode of operation visited, for the purpose of its investigations, numerous rack railways in Switzerland and Germany, including the Brünigbahn and the Rübelandbahn in the Harz, which was equipped with the Abt rack rail system . These visits led to a decision to equip the line with the system used on the Rübelandbahn, and using a maximum gradient of 12.5%. A total of six sections of track were to be laid out with
8833-500: The inaugural ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper in 1865. From then onwards, the number of overnight visitors rose steadily, even though the village itself was only reachable by a lengthy march on foot through the barren valley of Zermatt. Even the simple mule ride as far as St. Niklaus took a long time. Nevertheless, by the 1880s there were already as many as 12,000 tourist visits to Zermatt each year. To promote tourism in
8954-554: The left side of the valley, and is connected with the valley by meandering road. Shortly after St Niklaus station, the next rack section starts. This leads up to the Blattbachtunnel , a 130-metre-long avalanche protection structure erected in 1931. The original uncovered stretch of line at this point had to be abandoned, as the railway bridge over the Blattbach had been destroyed many times by avalanches and flooding since it
9075-404: The level of 1891. The timetable had to be substantially reduced, and fares strongly increased, but a cost covering operation was no longer possible. In the summer timetable for 1914, there were still six train pairs per day between Visp and Zermatt. After the outbreak of war there were only three, and from 1918 just two train pairs. In 1918, the total loss amounted to around 971,000 francs . After
9196-516: The line crosses the Saltina on an iron bridge dating from 1930. Thereafter, the metre gauge line runs largely parallel to the SBB's standard gauge Rhonetalstrecke, along the southern bank of the Rhone. West of the Brig suburb of Glis there is the (ex BVZ) Glisergrund Depot, erected between 1984 and 1998, and Glisergrund Workshops (ex FO), which together now accommodate a large portion of the MGB's rolling stock. Approximately four kilometres west of Brig
9317-471: The line with a nearby shopping centre. Soon after Eyholz, the line enters Visp, passes the sprawling industrial premises of the Lonza Group and after about nine kilometres reaches Visp station. The length of line just traversed passes through a shallow gap, and between Brig and Visp climbs about 21 metres in altitude. The metre gauge station at Visp was originally located, as at Brig, in the forecourt of
9438-686: The line's construction. Yet at the same time, the railway had to fight countless storms that again and again paralysed operations for days. The opening of the Gornergratbahn in 1898, the Simplon Tunnel in 1906 and the Lötschbergbahn in 1913 brought the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn further passengers. However, the upward trend met with an abrupt end at the outbreak of World War I . Foreign tourists stayed away from Switzerland, while coal prices massively increased. Passenger numbers fell back to
9559-572: The million mark for the first time, but took a short term hit in 1963, due to a typhoid epidemic in Zermatt. Also goods traffic increased, especially to serve the construction of power stations in the Saas Valley massive rises in demand in Zermatt. The VZ took advantage of the upturn to modernise rail operations gradually: between 1958 and 1989 all major bridges (apart from the Kipfenbrücke, which, after its destruction by an avalanche in 1947
9680-413: The most common rack system in Switzerland at the time – was limited to a maximum gradient of 1 in 4 (25%). Locher showed that on steeper grade, the Abt system was prone to the driving pinion over-riding the rack, causing potentially catastrophic derailments, as predicted by Dr. Abt. To overcome this problem and allow a rack line up the steep sides of Mt. Pilatus , Locher developed a rack system where
9801-430: The necessary electrical systems were still extremely high in the immediate aftermath of the war, the electrification plan had to be abandoned in view of the still ailing financial resources of the VZ. Not until 1927 were there once again plans for conversion to electric operations. Now, however, high tension alternating current , at a frequency of 16 2 ⁄ 3 Hz , was to be used. This offered, amongst other things,
9922-483: The outbreak of the war. The BFD was able, by 1915, only to complete the section between Brig and Gletsch , and in 1923 had to file for bankruptcy. VZ Director Auguste Marguerat then took the initiative to preserve the line as a whole, including the section not yet built. A syndicate was formed, with the support of the Swiss Federation and the Cantons of Valais , Uri , Grisons and Vaud . On 4 April 1925,
10043-414: The pinions rotationally offset from each other to match. The use of multiple bars with offset teeth ensures that the pinions on the locomotive driving wheels are constantly engaged with the rack. The Abt system is cheaper to build than the Riggenbach because it requires a lower weight of rack over a given length. However the Riggenbach system exhibits greater wear resistance than the Abt. The first use of
10164-515: The possibility of the pinions riding up and out of the rack. The Riggenbach rack system was invented by Niklaus Riggenbach working at about the same time as, but independently from Marsh. Riggenbach was granted a French patent in 1863 based on a working model which he used to interest potential Swiss backers. During this time, the Swiss Consul to the United States visited Marsh's Mount Washington Cog Railway and reported back with enthusiasm to
10285-724: The problem that its fixed ladder rack is more complex and expensive to build than the other systems. Following the success of the Vitznau–Rigi railway, Riggenbach established the Maschinenfabrik der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Bergbahnen (IGB) – a company that produced rack locomotives to his design. The Abt system was devised by Carl Roman Abt , a Swiss locomotive engineer. Abt worked for Riggenbach at his works in Olten and later at his IGB rack locomotive company. In 1885, he founded his own civil engineering company. During
10406-629: The rack for driving (with the conventional rail wheels undriven) such as the Dolderbahn in Zürich , Štrbské Pleso in Slovakia and the Schynige Platte rack railway instead must switch the rack rail. The Dolderbahn switch works by bending all three rails, an operation that is performed every trip as the two trains pass in the middle. The geometry of the rack system has a large impact on
10527-470: The rack is a flat bar with symmetrical, horizontal teeth. Horizontal pinions with flanges below the rack engage the centrally-mounted bar, both driving the locomotive and keeping it centered on the track. This system provides very stable attachment to the track, also protecting the car from toppling over even under the most severe crosswinds. Such gears are also capable of leading the car, so even flanges on running wheels are optional. The biggest shortcoming of
10648-401: The rack rail solidly. Some locomotives are fitted with automatic brakes that apply if the speed gets too high, preventing runaways. Often there is no coupler between locomotive and train since gravity will always push the passenger car down against the locomotive. Electrically powered vehicles often have electromagnetic track brakes as well. The maximum speed of trains operating on a cog railway
10769-581: The rack railways built from the late 20th century onwards have used the Lamella system. Rack railway switches are as varied as rack railway technologies, for optional rack lines such as the Zentralbahn in Switzerland and the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania it is convenient to only use switches on sections flat enough for adhesion (for example, on a pass summit). Other systems which rely on
10890-518: The rack system used, lines using rack systems fall into one of two categories depending on whether the rack rail is continuous or not. Lines where the rack rail is continuous, and the cog-drive is used throughout, are described as pure-rack lines. Other lines, which use the cog drive only on the steepest sections and elsewhere operate as a regular railway, are described as rack-and-adhesion lines. On rack-and-adhesion lines, trains are equipped with propulsion and braking systems capable of acting both through
11011-514: The railway facilities and rolling stock of the bankrupt line were purchased for 1.75 million francs. On 17 April 1925 came the founding of the Furka Oberalp Bahn AG (FO), with share capital of 3.3 million francs. As early as 4 July 1926, operations could commence on the whole FO line as far as Disentis . The FO was initially operated by the VZ, and only on 1 January 1961 spun off as a separate operation. The entry into operation of
11132-399: The reputation of Zermatt. To cope with the increase in traffic, the station at Zermatt was completely rebuilt between 1982 and 1989. All of the platform tracks were given an avalanche proof canopy, and the west side of the track layout has since been bordered by a massive 300 metre long avalanche wall. The Zermatt station building, which had been in place ever since the opening of the line,
11253-609: The revival of urban rail transport, metre-gauge light metros were built in some cities. The slightly-wider 1,009 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 23 ⁄ 32 in ) gauge is used in Sofia . Another similar gauge is 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ). Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano 23,489 km (14,595 mi) Mailani - Nanpara Railway (operating) 641 km (398 mi) Dakar–Niger Railway Rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway , cog railway , or cogwheel railway )
11374-445: The running rail wheels and the cog wheels, depending on whether the rack rail is present or not. Rack-and-adhesion lines also need to use a system for smoothing the transition from friction to rack traction, with a spring-mounted rack section to bring the pinion teeth gradually into engagement. This was invented by Roman Abt, who also invented the Abt rack system. On pure-rack lines, the train's running rail wheels are only used to carry
11495-523: The same year, the first trains reached St. Niklaus. In the following months, however, an unusually severe winter delayed the completion of the remaining sections. Only on 18 July 1891 could the entire line as far as Zermatt be handed over to traffic. The Visp-Zermatt-Bahn (VZ) transferred the management of the line to the Suisse Occidentale-Simplon, as under that arrangement there was the possibility of using its staff elsewhere during
11616-479: The second rack section begins. The next part of the route, through the Kipfenschlucht , is considered to be the most scenic portion of the entire line. The railway and the Vispa run here in a most confined space, adjacent to each other. This whole section has been repeatedly damaged by flooding and avalanches, sometimes severely. To avoid further damage, the Vispa has therefore been increasingly regulated since
11737-404: The small settlements between the two towns. That project was terminated after the SBB stated that it would insert two halting points into its standard gauge line. As the SBB did not follow up this announcement, the concession application was resubmitted in 1925. Shortly afterwards, a committee comprising the VZ, the FO and the Lonza Group works at Visp took over the project. Under the leadership of
11858-421: The station. In addition to the two platform tracks there is also a loading track for goods traffic. The rack section, which begins at Ackersand, extends for a few hundred metres past Stalden. The line continues from there over a relatively flat section, along the right side of the increasingly narrowing valley, while the Vispa flows about 150 metres lower down, through a narrow gorge. The following section displays
11979-542: The system is that the standard railway switch is not usable, and a transfer table or other complex device must be used where branching of the track is needed. Following tests, the Locher system was deployed on the Pilatus Railway, which opened in 1889. No other public railway uses the Locher system, although some European coal mines use a similar system on steeply graded underground lines. The Strub rack system
12100-424: The train and do not contribute to propulsion or braking, which is exclusively done through the cog wheels. Pure-rack lines have no need of transitioning systems, as the cog wheels remain engaged with the rack rail at all times, but all track, including sidings and depots, must be equipped with rack rail irrespective of gradient. A number of different designs of rack rail and matching cog wheel have been developed over
12221-403: The valley impassable. Moreover, the alluvial fan dammed up the Vispa, causing the lower part of the hamlet slowly to become flooded. After heavy rains on 18 Juny 1991, the station was similarly left under water. Planning immediately began for a new route for rail and road that would by pass the disaster area. The new rail alignment, totalling 2860 m, was ready to be opened on 1 August 1991. However,
12342-405: The valley population and Zermatt hoteliers for the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn to operate also in winter. The SBB and the VZ refused to conduct such operations, however, due to the high costs that would result, and the consequent lack of profitability. Also, the danger of accidents due to avalanches and flooding was regarded as an incalculable risk. In addition, for a long time there was, on the part of the VZ,
12463-666: The valley, and especially in Zermatt itself, plans soon emerged to build a railway line intended to connect the emerging spa with the Rhone Valley . On 21 September 1886, the Swiss Federal Council granted the banking house Masson, Chavannes & Co. in Lausanne and the Basler Handelsbank an initial concession . The original request was for a 750 mm ( 2 ft 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) narrow gauge railway from Visp to Zermatt, using
12584-406: The village of Ackersand. The local stop there no longer serves the public, but is still required for rail traffic as a passing point. For a long time, a neighbouring hydroelectric station was served by a siding from this local stop. Immediately afterwards, the railway crosses the Vispa by means of a concrete bridge erected in 1974. Shortly thereafter, the first rack section begins. This soon leads
12705-424: The war, along with military transport to secure the full utilisation of capacity. Thanks to electrification, the once again strongly increasing coal prices also had no further effect on rail traffic. During the war years, passenger numbers increased continuously, and in 1945, with 265,473 people transported, reached a new high point. After the war, passenger numbers continued to rise strongly. In 1961, they surpassed
12826-417: The war, passenger numbers initially increased again only slowly. In the midst of the emerging boom, a flood on 24 September 1920 destroyed about 300 metres of the formation between Visp and Ackersand. Even this event came after the Vispa had already been diverted during the winter of 1919/20 by avalanches and landslides onto the formation at Kin, causing serious damage. The resulting deficit, which to this day
12947-411: The years. With the exception of some early Morgan and Blenkinsop rack installations, rack systems place the rack rail halfway between the running rails, mounted on the same sleepers or ties as the running rails. John Blenkinsop thought that the friction would be too low from metal wheels on metal rails even on level ground, so he built his steam locomotives for the Middleton Railway in 1812 with
13068-548: Was converted to use the Strub rack system in 1934. The Locher rack system, invented by Eduard Locher , has gear teeth cut in the sides rather than the top of the rail, engaged by two cog wheels on the locomotive. This system allows use on steeper grades than the other systems, whose teeth could jump out of the rack. It is used on the Pilatus Railway . Locher set out to design a rack system that could be used on gradients as steep as 1 in 2 (50%). The Abt system –
13189-554: Was demolished and replaced by a larger new building. A second major construction project followed between 1983 and 1984, with the erection of the Glisergrund Depot near Brig. This depot partially replaced the space-constrained depot facility at Visp station. By 1998, the Furka Oberalp Bahn had extended the Glisergrund site, by adding a further workshop hall. The complete depot site now occupies an area of around 50,000 m (540,000 sq ft). The biggest disaster in
13310-471: Was erected on the northern part of the station. Construction of avalanche proof roofing began in 1982 and ended in 1989. The opening of the valley road as far as Täsch in 1971 resulted in a new focus of passenger volumes. Since then, many tourists have driven with their own cars to Täsch, where they have to change to the trains of the BVZ, as the road to Zermatt remains closed to car traffic to this day, and can only be used with special permission. To cope with
13431-426: Was first constructed. To circumvent the problem area, a tunnel vault was created in open cut form, and then covered with earth. At the same time, and by the same means, the exit of the third rack rail section could be protected from bad weather. In connection with that tunnel, the line moves once again into the valley, and passes the balancing reservoir of a hydroelectric power station at Herbriggen. In close proximity
13552-444: Was found to be sufficient for railroads operating on level ground. The Fell mountain railway system, developed in the 1860s, is not strictly speaking a rack railway, since there are no cogs with teeth. Rather, this system uses a smooth raised centre rail between the two running rails on steep sections of lines that is gripped on both sides to improve friction. Trains are propelled by wheels or braked by shoes pressed horizontally onto
13673-433: Was invented by Emil Strub in 1896. It uses a rolled flat-bottom rail with rack teeth machined into the head approximately 100 mm (3.9 inches) apart. Safety jaws fitted to the locomotive engage with the underside of the head to prevent derailments and serve as a brake. Strub's U.S. patent, granted in 1898, also includes details of how the rack rail is integrated with the mechanism of a turnout . The best-known use of
13794-412: Was itself destroyed by an avalanche in 1999. A steel girder bridge erected as a replacement was replaced in autumn 2007 by a 146-metre-long concrete bridge further downstream. The latest bridge also serves the road to Kalpetran. With the opening of a new rail section here totalling 1.2 km, the last 80 metre radius curves remaining on the open line were eliminated. A few metres behind the Kipfenbrücke
13915-742: Was not until 1941 that a turnout was constructed on this line. There were more turnouts built for the line but all were hand operated. In 2003, a new automatic hydraulic turnout was developed and built at the base as a prototype. With the success of the new turnout, more new automatic hydraulic turnouts were built to replace the hand-operated ones. The new turnouts installed on the Mount Washington line in 2007 are essentially transfer tables . The Locher rack also requires transfer tables. Originally almost all cog railways were powered by steam locomotives . The steam locomotive needs to be extensively modified to work effectively in this environment. Unlike
14036-770: Was opened in 1898) is connected with the line at Zermatt. The line was originally built by the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn (VZ), and opened between Visp and Zermatt in 1890–1891. The extension to Brig opened in 1930. The company was renamed the Brig-Visp-Zermatt-Bahn (BVZ) in 1961, and was later branded as BVZ Zermatt-Bahn. It merged with the Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) in 2003 to form the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB). The mountain village of Zermatt first gained major recognition in Europe in light of
14157-401: Was owned by the FO, and the BVZ therefore had to pay a fee for using it. Erected in 1915 by the then Brig-Furka-Disentis-Bahn, Brig's metre gauge station extends over three platform tracks and is located at the forecourt of Brig's standard gauge station, where there are connections with BLS and SBB trains heading towards the Lötschberg , Lake Geneva and Simplon Tunnel . With the opening of
14278-509: Was reerected as a steel bridge) were replaced by reinforced concrete structures, which enabled an increase in axle loadings . Rolling stock was also renewed. The passenger cars, mainly still dating from the steam era, and equipped with open platform ends, were replaced between 1955 and 1963 by passenger cars of modern light steel construction with centre entrances. The locomotives from the time of electrification were supplemented between 1960 and 1965 by five passenger railcars. To increase safety,
14399-466: Was required to select between the two routes, and a second break was required where the rack rails cross the running rails. Turnouts for the Morgan Rack system were similar, with the rack elevated above the running rails. Most of the Morgan turnout patents included movable rack sections to avoid breaks in the rack, but because all Morgan locomotives had two linked drive pinions, there was no need for
14520-428: Was still of no great importance. Nevertheless, the Bundesrat reserved the right to extend the operating season, and similarly stipulated that concessionary fares be offered to locals. Planning and construction of the line was entrusted by the participating banks to the railway company Suisse Occidentale-Simplon (SOS), which, in the summer of 1887, conducted extensive survey work in the Mattertal . On 10 October 1888,
14641-423: Was therefore equipped with a generously sized station building, the second largest on the line after the one in Zermatt. At the start of the 20th century, there were plans to build another railway line to Saas-Fee that would branch off here from the existing line; World War I, however, thwarted these plans. The importance of the station (which, since 1931, has had the official name Stalden-Saas ) has decreased since
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