Zahnradbahnen#

Cog Railways, serve as mountain railways to make Austrian regions and lookouts at high altitudes accessible for tourists. The tractive power generated by the locomotive is transmitted onto a rack laid between the rails by means of a cogwheel. Various systems were already developed in the 19th century. In Austria the one-metre-gauge lines Jenbach - Achensee (1889, Riggenbach system, steam traction), St. Wolfgang - Schafbergspitze (1893, Abt system, steam and diesel traction) and Puchberg am Schneeberg - Hochschneeberg (1897, Abt system, steam traction) are currently in operation. In former times cog railways also ran up Kahlenberg Hill in Vienna (1874-1920) and Gaisberg Mountain in Salzburg (1887-1928). The standard-gauge Erzbergbahn railway, mainly used for the transport of iron ore, was opened in 1891; from 1978 on it was operated as an adhesion railway, since 1988 it has been run as a museum railway.

Literature#