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Wengernalp Railway
46°34′34″N 7°56′38″E / 46.57611°N 7.94389°E
The Wengernalp Railway (German: Wengernalpbahn, WAB) is a 19.11 kilometres (11.87 mi) long rack railway line in Switzerland. It runs from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald via Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg, making it the world's longest continuous rack and pinion railway. The name refers to the alpine meadow of Wengernalp, above Wengen.
The line is normally operated in two sections, with trains from either direction terminating at Kleine Scheidegg. At the latter station, most passengers transfer to the Jungfrau Railway for the continuation of the journey to the highest railway station in Europe at Jungfraujoch. There are generally no roads to Wengen and Mürren, and the train is the principal means of access.
The line is owned by the Wengernalpbahn AG, a subsidiary of the Jungfraubahn Holding AG, a holding company that also owns the Jungfraubahn and Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen–Mürren, Harderbahn, and Firstbahn. Through that holding company it is part of the Allianz - Jungfrau Top of Europe marketing alliance, which also includes the separately owned Berner Oberland-Bahn and Schynige Platte-Bahn.
In 1875, the first plans for a railway on the route later taken by the Wengernalp line were drawn up, but the high projected costs meant that the concession expired. Fifteen years later on 27 June 1890, Leo Heer-Bétrix gained a new 80-year concession to build and operate the railway. The Wengernalpbahn was founded.
Construction work commenced on 20 April 1891 and the following year the first steam locomotive reached Wengen on 18 April and Kleine Scheidegg on 10 August. The full length of the line, from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald, opened on 20 June 1893 as a summer only service. The construction budget for the entire project amounted to CHF 4,272,394. At the opening, the railway had eight steam locomotives, nine passenger coaches and three freight cars. In the first year of operation 37,742 passengers were transported.
Between 1 October 1898 and 1 June 1899, sections of the route between Wengen and Wengernalp of approximately 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) which had a maximum gradient of 25% were rebuilt on new alignments to reduce the gradient to 18%. As a result, the Wengernalpbahn company introduced a new innovation to improve efficiency. After the arrival of the six or seven single trains from Lauterbrunnen in Wengen (one engine and one carriage each), some of the locomotives were uncoupled from these trains and the carriages connected to the other trains. The continuation of the journey to Kleine Scheidegg took place with two carriages but only one engine. The freed engines returned to Lauterbrunnen to be put into service for the next train.
Due to the severe gradient between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen of 25%, the company planned a new longer line. This was in conjunction with planned improvements to electrify the service and would also allow them to operate two carriages with each engine. The company delayed their final decision on this new line pending a decision for a rival cable car service from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen which was eventually rejected. In 1907 the company received approval to construct their new line. The new line began construction in 1908 and reduced the maximum gradient to 18%.
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Wengernalp Railway
46°34′34″N 7°56′38″E / 46.57611°N 7.94389°E
The Wengernalp Railway (German: Wengernalpbahn, WAB) is a 19.11 kilometres (11.87 mi) long rack railway line in Switzerland. It runs from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald via Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg, making it the world's longest continuous rack and pinion railway. The name refers to the alpine meadow of Wengernalp, above Wengen.
The line is normally operated in two sections, with trains from either direction terminating at Kleine Scheidegg. At the latter station, most passengers transfer to the Jungfrau Railway for the continuation of the journey to the highest railway station in Europe at Jungfraujoch. There are generally no roads to Wengen and Mürren, and the train is the principal means of access.
The line is owned by the Wengernalpbahn AG, a subsidiary of the Jungfraubahn Holding AG, a holding company that also owns the Jungfraubahn and Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen–Mürren, Harderbahn, and Firstbahn. Through that holding company it is part of the Allianz - Jungfrau Top of Europe marketing alliance, which also includes the separately owned Berner Oberland-Bahn and Schynige Platte-Bahn.
In 1875, the first plans for a railway on the route later taken by the Wengernalp line were drawn up, but the high projected costs meant that the concession expired. Fifteen years later on 27 June 1890, Leo Heer-Bétrix gained a new 80-year concession to build and operate the railway. The Wengernalpbahn was founded.
Construction work commenced on 20 April 1891 and the following year the first steam locomotive reached Wengen on 18 April and Kleine Scheidegg on 10 August. The full length of the line, from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald, opened on 20 June 1893 as a summer only service. The construction budget for the entire project amounted to CHF 4,272,394. At the opening, the railway had eight steam locomotives, nine passenger coaches and three freight cars. In the first year of operation 37,742 passengers were transported.
Between 1 October 1898 and 1 June 1899, sections of the route between Wengen and Wengernalp of approximately 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) which had a maximum gradient of 25% were rebuilt on new alignments to reduce the gradient to 18%. As a result, the Wengernalpbahn company introduced a new innovation to improve efficiency. After the arrival of the six or seven single trains from Lauterbrunnen in Wengen (one engine and one carriage each), some of the locomotives were uncoupled from these trains and the carriages connected to the other trains. The continuation of the journey to Kleine Scheidegg took place with two carriages but only one engine. The freed engines returned to Lauterbrunnen to be put into service for the next train.
Due to the severe gradient between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen of 25%, the company planned a new longer line. This was in conjunction with planned improvements to electrify the service and would also allow them to operate two carriages with each engine. The company delayed their final decision on this new line pending a decision for a rival cable car service from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen which was eventually rejected. In 1907 the company received approval to construct their new line. The new line began construction in 1908 and reduced the maximum gradient to 18%.