Mountain railway

A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountain region. It may operate through the mountains, for example by following mountain valleys and tunneling beneath mountain passes. Or it may climb mountains, in order to provide transport to and from their summits.

Mountain railways often, but by no means always, use narrow gauge to allow for tight curves in the track and reduce tunnel size and structure gauge, and hence construction cost and effort. Where a mountain railway needs to climb steep gradients, it may use steep grade railway technology, or even operate as a funicular railway.

List of mountain railways

See also list of cog and rack railways

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Argentina

• Mendoza to Los Andes, Chile, see Chile below

Australia

• Glenreagh Mountain Railway
• Mt Morgan Rack Railway - abandoned in 1955.
• Skitube Alpine Railway
• West Coast Wilderness Railway

Austria

• Achensee Railway
• Arlberg Railway
• Mariazell Railway
• Pöstlingberg Railway ^[1]
• Semmering Railway - A world Heritage Site
• Schafberg Railway
• Schneeberg Railway

Bolivia

• Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia
• Ferrocarril de Arica a La Paz, Arica–La Paz
• Rio Mulatos-Potosí line

Brazil

• Corcovado Rack Railway
• São Paulo Railway

Canada

• BC Rail, crosses the Pacific Coast Range of the Coast Mountains (Garibaldi & Lillooet Ranges)
• White Pass and Yukon Route

Chile

• Ferrocarill Arica La Paz, Arica–La Paz
• Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia
• El Ferrocarril Trasandino Los Andes - Mendoza, Los Andes - Mendoza. The rebuild will be adhesion only.^[2]

China

• Gebishi Railway
• Kunming–Hai Phong Railway
• Qingzang railway

Colombia

• Colombian Railways

Croatia

• Lika line
• Rijeka line

Eritrea

• Eritrean Railway

France

• Artouste (Petit train d')
• La Rhune (Petit train de)
• Mont Blanc Tramway
• Montenvers Railway
• Saint Gervais-Vallorcine (Ligne de)

Germany

• Berchtesgaden Mountain Railway
• Drachenfels Railway (Drachenfelsbahn)
• Harz Railway (Harzbahn)
  • Rübeland Railway (Rübelandbahn)
  • Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (Harzer Schmalspurbahnen)
    • Harz Railway (Harzquerbahn)
    • Brocken Railway (Brockenbahn)
    • Selke Valley Railway(Selketalbahn)
• Murg Valley Railway (Murgtalbahn)
• Schwarza Valley Railway (Schwarzatalbahn)
• Wendelstein Railway (Wendelsteinbahn)
• Bavarian Zugspitze Railway (Bayerische Zugspitzbahn)

Georgia

• Borjomi-Bakuriani railway "Kukushka" (ბაკურიანი-ბორჯომი რკინიგზა) ^[3]

Greece

• Diakofto Kalavrita Railway

Hong Kong

• Peak Tramways

India

• Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - A world Heritage Site
• Nilgiri Mountain Railway - A world Heritage Site
• Kalka-Shimla Railway - A world Heritage Site
• Matheran Hill Railway
• Kangra Valley Railway
• Kashmir Railway

Isle of Man

• Snaefell Mountain Railway

Italy

• Superga Rack Railway

Japan

• Hakone Tozan Railway
• Ikawa Line, Oigawa Railway

Mexico

• Ferrocarril de Córdoba a Huatusco

New Zealand

• Rimutaka Incline Commenced operation in 1878 and ceased operation in 1955.

Norway

• Flåmsbana

Peru

• Empresa nacional de ferrocarriles del Peru
• Ferrocarril Central Andino (Standard gauge)
• Ferrocarril Huancayo - Huancavelica,^[4] (built to narrow gauge 3 ft (914 mm))
• Ferrocarril del sur de Peru Arequipa - Puno, (Standard gauge)
• Cusco - Machu Picchu, Cusco - Machu Picchu (3 ft (914 mm) gauge)

Romania

• Ploiești - Braşov railway
• Braşov - Sibiu - Arad railway
• Râmnicu Vâlcea - Sibiu railway
• Târgu Jiu - Simeria railway
• Drobeta Turnu Severin - Caransebeş railway
• Oraviţa - Anina railway
• Cluj Napoca - Oradea railway
• Braşov - Miercurea Ciuc - Deda railway, and Braşov - Întorsura Buzăului
• Salva - Sighetul Marmatiei railway
• Adjud - Siculeni railway
• Suceava - Ilva Mică railway, and Vama - Moldovita
• Arad - Ineu - Brad
• Buzău - Nehoiaşu.

Russia

• Apsheronsk narrow-gauge railway - located in the Krasnodar Krai, gauge of 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in).^[5][6]

Spain

• Montserrat Rack Railway
• Vall de Núria Rack Railway

Switzerland

• Appenzeller Bahnen,
• Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren
• Bergbahn Rheineck-Walzenhausen,
• Lötschberg railway line
• Berner Oberland Bahn
• Brienz Rothorn Bahn
• Chemin de fer Aigle-Leysin, , ,
• Chemin de fer Aigle-Ollon-Monthey-Champéry, ,
• Chemin de fer Aigle-Sépey-Diablerets, ,
• Chemin de fer Bex-Villars-Bretaye, ,
• Chemins de fer electriques Veveysans,
• Chemin de fer Montreux-Glion-Rochers-de-Naye
• Chemin de fer Nyon-St-Cergue-Morez
• Emmental-Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn,
• Gornergratbahn
• Gotthardbahn
• Jungfraubahn
• Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn (formerly Brig-Visp-Zermatt-Bahn, Furka-Oberalp-Bahn) ^[7]
• Monte Generoso Railway
• Montreux-Oberland-Bahn
• Pilatus Railway
• Rhaetian Railway
• Rigi-Bahnen (Arth-Rigi-Bahn, Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn)
• Rorschach-Heiden-Bahn
• Schynige Platte Railway
• Transports de Martigny et Régions (Martigny–Châtelard and Martigny–Orsières railways)
• Trogenerbahn,
• Uetlibergbahn,
• Wädenswil-Einsiedeln-Bahn,
• Wengernalpbahn
• Waldenburgerbahn ^[8]
• Zentralbahn (former Luzern-Stans-Engelberg-Bahn, Brünigbahn)

Taiwan (Republic of China)

• Alishan Forest Railway

United Kingdom

• Cairngorm Mountain Railway
• Snowdon Mountain Railway

United States

• Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway
• Cascade Tunnel
• Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
• Central Pacific Railroad
• Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
• Denver and Salt Lake Railway
• Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Feather River Route
• Georgetown Loop Railroad
• Gilpin Railroad
• Lookout Mountain Incline Railway in Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway
• Mount Lowe Railway
• Mount Washington Cog Railway
• Mountain Division
• Otis Elevating Railway
• Rio Grande Southern Railroad
• Silver City, Pinos Altos and Mogollon Railroad
• White Pass and Yukon Route

Venezuela

• Gran Ferrocarril de Venezuela

Vietnam

• Đà Lạt–Tháp Chàm Railway - Abandoned after the Vietnam War.

Mountain railways in fiction

The Culdee Fell Railway is featured in the book Mountain Engines, part of The Railway Series by Rev.W.Awdry.

See also

References

1. ↑ Described by the operator, Linz AG Linien In German
2. ↑ Se construye
3. ↑ "Georgian Railway". 
4. ↑ Map of Huancayo - Huancavelica
5. ↑ Apsheronsk railway
6. ↑ Tourist Railway
7. ↑ Homepage of the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn (in English, German, French)
8. ↑ Waldenburgerbahn

External links

• Homepage of the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn (in English, German, French)
• Narrow gauge railways of Switzerland (in English and German)
• El Ferrocarril Trasandino Los Andes – Mendoza, Argentina (Trans-Andean Railways) (All others in Spanish only)
• seconstruye.com el tren Los Andes – Mendoza
• Museo Ferrocarril Transandino
• Ferrocarril Central Andina S.A.
• Ferrocarril Central Andino S.A.
• Map of central Peru Callao – Huancayo
• Map of south Peru/Bolivia Machu Picchu – Lake Titicaca – west coast pacific ocean
• Route Arequipa – Puno (Lake Titicaca)
• Route Cusco – Puno (Lake Titicaca)
• Route Cusco – Machu Picchu