Steam railcar at the valley station (1883)

Electric railcar at the summit station

Preserved steam locomotive 2`` at the valley station

Electric railcar climbing the mountain

The Drachenfels Railway or Drachenfelsbahn is a mountain railway line in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. The line runs from Königswinter to the summit of the Drachenfels mountain at an altitude of 289m (948ft). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x672, 452 KB) Beschreibung Ursprünglich hochgeladen nach de. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x672, 452 KB) Beschreibung Ursprünglich hochgeladen nach de. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1383x963, 186 KB) Summary Electrical motor coach at the mountain station of the Drachenfels Railway. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1383x963, 186 KB) Summary Electrical motor coach at the mountain station of the Drachenfels Railway. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2219x1570, 473 KB) Summary Steam locomotive 2`` of the Drachenfels Railway at the valley station Image copied from Wikipedia German edition, where it was uploaded by de:Benutzer:Tohma with the following license text: selbst fotografiert am 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2219x1570, 473 KB) Summary Steam locomotive 2`` of the Drachenfels Railway at the valley station Image copied from Wikipedia German edition, where it was uploaded by de:Benutzer:Tohma with the following license text: selbst fotografiert am 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1388x1729, 462 KB) Summary Motor coach on uphill drive on Drachenfels Railway Image copied from Wikipedia German edition, where it was uploaded by de:Benutzer:Tohma with the following license text: selbst fotografiert am 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1388x1729, 462 KB) Summary Motor coach on uphill drive on Drachenfels Railway Image copied from Wikipedia German edition, where it was uploaded by de:Benutzer:Tohma with the following license text: selbst fotografiert am 1. ... A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. ... North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen, usually shortened to: NRW) is - in population and economic output - the largest Federal State of Germany. ... Königswinter is a town and summer resort of Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia, on the right bank of the Rhine, 24 m. ... Drachenfels in 1921. ... Orders of magnitude (length) 1 E-13 m 1 E-12 m 1 E-11 m 1 E-10 m 1 E-9 m 1 E-8 m 1 E-7 m 1 E-6 m 1 E-5 m 1 E-4 m 1 E-3 m 1 E...

The line is 1.5km (0.9mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1m (3ft3in). It is a rack railway, using the Riggenbach design to overcome a height difference of 220m (722ft) and a maximum gradient of 20%. The line is electrified, with overhead supply at 750 V DC. The service is operated with a fleet of four four-wheel electric railcars, built in Rastatt between 1955 and 1960, plus a fifth identical railcar built by the railway itself in 1979. The railcars were modernised by SLM in 1998-9 and can operate either singly or in pairs. To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 km and 10 km (103 and 104 m). ... Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails which make up a railway track. ... Orders of magnitude (length) 1 E-13 m 1 E-12 m 1 E-11 m 1 E-10 m 1 E-9 m 1 E-8 m 1 E-7 m 1 E-6 m 1 E-5 m 1 E-4 m 1 E-3 m 1 E... The rack rail on a cog railway. ... Orders of magnitude (length) 1 E-13 m 1 E-12 m 1 E-11 m 1 E-10 m 1 E-9 m 1 E-8 m 1 E-7 m 1 E-6 m 1 E-5 m 1 E-4 m 1 E-3 m 1 E... The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential and voltage (derived from the ampere and watt). ... Direct current (DC or continuous current) is the continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential. ... Map of Germany showing Rastatt Rastatt is a city in the District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works or SLM were a railway equipment manufacturer based in Winterthur in Switzerland. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

The line opened, with steam traction, on July 13, 1883. It was converted to electric traction in 1953, with steam trains retained for use in times of peak traffic. On September 14, 1958 the railway suffered a serious accident when a steam train derailed, resulting in 17 deaths and ending the use of steam on the line. July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In fiction

The Culdee Fell Mountain Railway's No. 17, Carl, is based on a steam engine from the Drachenfels Railway. A map of the Culdee Fell Mountain Railway A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ...

References

• Web page http://www.werkbahn.de/eisenbahn/zahnrad/drachenfels.htm, retrieved 4th March 2005, 19:00 GMT.
• Web page http://www.hochschulstellenmarkt.de/info/d/dr/drachenfelsbahn.html, retrieved 4th March 2005, 19:30 GMT.
• Wikipedia article Drachenfelsbahn (in German), last updated 15th February 2005, 12:19.
• Book Europe's Greatest Tramway Network, by F. Van Der Gragt, published (in English) by E. J. Brill of Leiden, Netherlands, 1968, no ISBN, page 120.

External links

• Drachenfelsbahn website