The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 3 (July 1, 1932)
Mountain Railways
Mountain Railways
In parts of Europe, notably in Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany, mountain railways are a feature of transportation. Of the many clever systems of movement favoured, cable railways rank as the most important alternative to the ordinary conventional railway in districts where normal methods of transport would be impossible.
A cable railway which promises to prove of the greatest utility in opening up the Swiss winter sports district of Davos is now being constructed from Davos Dorf to Parsenn-Weissfluhjoch. This will be the highest funicular railway in Europe, and it is to be built in two sections. The first, 2,070 yards long, will have a rise of about 2,100 feet, and the second, 2,300 yards long, a rise of approximately 1,500 feet. The first section is practically complete, and with the passing of the heavy snows the second section will be tackled. Intermediate and upper stations on the line will be provided with electric equipment for the haulage of cars up and down the cable. The track, upon which the cars will run, is of 2ft. 7 ½in. gauge, and most of the track is embedded in concrete. Travel in these quaint cable railways of Central Europe affords a convenient and comfortable means of scaling what would otherwise to most people prove quite unclimbable heights.
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