The Montserrat Rack Railway or Cremallera de Montserrat is a mountain railway line north of Barcelona in the Catalonia region of Spain. The line runs from Monistrol to the mountain-top monastery of Montserrat. A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. ... Barcelona within Barcelonès Population (2003) 1,582,738 Area 1004 Km2 Population density (2001) 15,764/Km2 Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, and the countrys second-largest city (after Madrid). ... Capital Barcelona Official languages Spanish and Catalan In Val dAran, also Aranese. ...

A line on this route was originally opened in 1892. After poor financial results and an accident in 1953, this line was closed on the 12th May 1957. A aerial cable car was constructed to carry passengers to the monastery in its place, however this became unable to handle the increasing number of visitors to the monastery. 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cable car at Zell am See in the Austrian Alps. ...

After many years of planning, a program began to rebuild the rack railway in 2001, and the line re-opened in its modern form on the 6th June 2003. The line is 5km (3.1mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1m (3ft3in). The first 1km (0.6mi) of the line, between Monistrol and the only intermediate station at Monistrol Vila, is operated by conventional adhesion. The remainder of the line is operated as a rack railway using the Abt system, overcoming a height difference of 550m (1804ft) with a maximum gradient of 15.6%. The line is electrified with an overhead supply at 1500 volts dc. 2001: A Space Odyssey Dr. Dre 2001 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 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. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 100 m and 1 km. ... 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. ... The rack rail on a cog railway. ... 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). ... Direct current (DC or continuous current) is the continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential. ...

The line is operated by five low-floor electric motor coaches of type Stadler GTW, built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland, and numbered AM1-AM5. These cars are equipped for adhesion and rack propulsion and can each carry up to 200 passengers. They are air-conditioned and have panorama windows offering a good view over the environment. Trains run at up to 30km/h on the rack section and 45km/h on the adhesion section. The line also has a 1930 built electric locomotive, E4, transferred from the Vall de Núria Rack Railway for use on works trains. 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Vall de Núria Rack Railway is a mountain railway line in the Pyrenees mountains in the north of the Catalonia region of Spain. ...

The lines most important engineering work is the Pont del Centenari bridge, which is 480m (1574ft) long and 5m (16ft) wide, crossing the River Llobregat. Its 9 sections are between 35m (114ft) and 55m (180ft) long and it was designed as a lattice of steel tubes to give it a light appearance and minimise its visual impact. It is supported by eight pillars with maximum height of 37m (121ft). To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 100 m and 1 km. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between one metre and ten metres. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 m and 100 m. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 m and 100 m. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 m and 100 m. ...

The line is operated by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), who also operate the railway from Barcelona Plaça d'Espanya station to Manresa with which the rack line connects at Monistrol. An hourly service is operated between Monistrol-Enllaç (junction) and the summit, connecting with FGC trains to and from Barcelona and Manresa. Slightly confusingly, the station's building in the valley has a great 'Monistrol Central' sign, whereas the trains display 'Monistrol-Enllaç' on their return from Montserrat. Additional trains operate from Monistrol Vila, where the line has a car park with 1000 spaces, and the summit. A track connection is also provided at Monistrol to allow rack railway cars to run to and from their depot, which is in nearby Martorell. FGC Logo Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya or FGC is a railway company, which operates several unconnected systems of lines in Catalonia. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Parking lot is the American English term that refers to a cleared area that is more or less level and is intended for parking vehicles. ... Martorell is a town near Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, mostly known for an ancient Roman bridge, and as one of the most notorious knot of toll autoroutes in Catalonia. ...

The FGC also operates two funicular railways from the summit station of the rack railway. One of these ascends to the mountain top, the other descends to a shrine lower down the mountain. Angels Flight, Los Angeles, California with gantlet track configuration A funicular, also called funicular railway or inclined railway, inclined plane, or in the United Kingdom a cliff railway, consists of a system of transport in which cables attach to a tram-like vehicle on rails to move it up and...

In its first 12 months of operation, the Montserrat Rack Railway carried 462,964 passengers. The heaviest traffic was in August 2003 with 63,692 passengers, and the lightest in February 2004 with 22,996 passengers. Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Montserrat Rack Railway website

Sources

• Wikipedia article de:Cremallera de Montserrat, last updated on the 24th February 2005 at 15:03.
• Web page http://www.cremallerademontserrat.com/ and descendents, retrieved on the 11th March 2005 at 17:00 GMT.