View of the train and the Mer de Glace

The Montenvers Railway or Chemin de fer du Montenvers is a mountain railway line in the Haute-Savoie region of France. The line runs from a connection with the SNCF, in Chamonix, to the Hotel de Montenvers station, at the Mer de Glace, at an altitude of 1913m (6276ft). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 920 KB) Chemin de fer du Montenvers, Haute-Savoie, France, 2003-07 Copyright Brice Rothschild File links The following pages link to this file: Montenvers Railway ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 920 KB) Chemin de fer du Montenvers, Haute-Savoie, France, 2003-07 Copyright Brice Rothschild File links The following pages link to this file: Montenvers Railway ... A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. ... Haute-Savoie is a French département, named after the Alps mountain range. ... An SNCF train. ... Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, or more commonly, Chamonix is a town and commune in eastern France, in the Haute-Savoie département, at the foot of Mont Blanc. ... Mer de Glace The Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) is a glacier on Mont Blanc in the Alps. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 km and 10 km (103 and 104 m). ...

The line is 5.1km (3.2mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1m (3ft3in). It is a rack and adhesion railway, using the Strub design to overcome a height difference of 871m (2858ft). Except for the terminal stations, which are operated in adhesion mode, the line has a gradient varying from 11% to 22% and is equipped with rack rail. The line is electrified using an overhead line at 11000 volts and 50 Hz ac, and service is provided by 6 electric railcars and 3 diesel locomotives. Trains run at 14 to 20 kilometers per hour and take 20 minutes for the journey. 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 two rails of a railroad. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between one metre and ten metres. ... The rack rail on a cog railway. ... The term adhesion railway or adhesion traction describes the most common type of railway, where power is applied by driving some or all of the wheels of the train and thus it relies on the friction between a steel wheel and a steel rail. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 100 m and 1 km. ... The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential and voltage (derived from the ampere and watt). ... The hertz (symbol Hz) is the SI unit of frequency. ... An alternating current (AC) is an electrical current where the magnitude and direction of the current varies cyclically, as opposed to direct current, where the direction of the current stays constant. ...

The line is operated by the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc which also manages the Mont Blanc Tramway and many ski lifts in the Mont Blanc region. The first section of the line opened in 1908 and the line was completed in 1909. The line was worked by steam locomotives until it was electrified in 1953. The Mont Blanc Tramway or Tramway du Mont-Blanc is a mountain railway line in the Haute-Savoie region of France. ... A chairlift A chairlift is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a constantly moving loop of steel cable strung between two end terminals and generally over intermediate towers. ... This article is about the Alpine mountain. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1909 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Great Western Railway No. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

External links

• Montenvers Railway web site

Sources

• Wikipedia article fr:Chemin de fer du Montenvers, last updated on the 28th November 2004 at 17:43 GMT.
• Web page http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/en/montenvers/index.html and descendants, retrieved on the 15th March 2004 at 17:45 GMT.