Pilatus Railway train at the summit station

The Locher system rack and pinion

Rotary switch in operation

The Pilatus Railway or Pilatusbahn (PB) is a mountain railway in Switzerland and is the steepest cog railway in the world, with a maximum gradient of 48%. The line runs from Alpnachstad, on Lake Lucerne, to a terminus near the summit of Mount Pilatus at an altitude of 2132 m (6994ft). At Alpnachstad, the Pilatus Railway connects with steamers on Lake Lucerne and with trains on the Brünigbahn line of Zentralbahn. Image File history File links A car of the Pilatus Railway at the summit station. ... Image File history File links A car of the Pilatus Railway at the summit station. ... Image File history File links A Pilatus Railway cog wheel and rack line Licensing This image copied from the German Wikipedia site (de:Bild:Pilatus Zahnrad. ... Image File history File links A Pilatus Railway cog wheel and rack line Licensing This image copied from the German Wikipedia site (de:Bild:Pilatus Zahnrad. ... Rack and pinion animation A rack and pinion is a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion. ... Image File history File links A rotary switch in operation at the summit station of the Pilatus Railway Licensing This image copied from the German Wikipedia site (de:Bild:Pilatus2. ... Image File history File links A rotary switch in operation at the summit station of the Pilatus Railway Licensing This image copied from the German Wikipedia site (de:Bild:Pilatus2. ... A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. ... Rack railway track using Von Roll system rack. ... Lake Lucerne (German: Vierwaldstättersee, lit. ... Mount Pilatus is a mountain near Lucerne, Switzerland. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 km and 10 km (103 and 104 m). ... The Brünigbahn (SBB Brünig) was the only narrow gauge railway of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and passes through Interlaken over Brienz, Meiringen, the Brünigpass, Giswil, Alpnachstad after Lucerne. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

The line is 4.6 km (2.9 mi) long, climbs a vertical distance of 1629 m (5344ft), and has a rail gauge of 800 mm (2 ft 7½ in). The line was opened using steam traction in 1889. The maximum gradient of 48% meant that none of the then available rack designs were up to the job, and the line's engineer, Eduard Locher, developed a rack design specifically for this line. In the Locher system, the cog wheels on the train are mounted on vertical axles and their teeth engage with gear teeth cut in the sides, rather than the top, of the rack rail. Because of this system, there are no conventional points or switches on the line, only rotary switches (see photograph) and traversers. To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 km and 10 km (103 and 104 m). ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 km and 10 km (103 and 104 m). ... The dominant rail gauge in each country shown Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Eduard Locher (born January 15th 1840 in Zurich, died June 2nd 1910 in Zurich) was a Swiss engineer, inventor and independent contractor who received a doctorate honoris causa for his work. ... Rack railway track using Von Roll system rack. ... Illustration of a Gear train with a pinion shown. ... Fig. ... An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. ... A railroad switch is a mechanical installation enabling trains to be guided from one set of rail tracks (or tramway tracks) to another. ... A steam locomotive rides the transfer table between buildings in Santa Fes San Bernardino, California, shops in March 1943. ...

The line was electrified in 1937, using an overhead electric supply of 1550 V volts dc. 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Josephson junction array chip developed by NIST as a standard volt. ... Direct current (DC or continuous current) is the continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential. ...

See also

• 800 mm (2 ft 7½ in)
• Rail transport in Switzerland

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 railroads of Switzerland include standard gauge (1. ...

External links

• Pilatus Railway website
• Video: With the rack railway on the Pilatus, Switzerland

Sources

• Wikipedia article de:Pilatusbahn, last updated on the 6th February 2005 at 21:11.
• Book Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria, ISBN 0-900433-96-5, by R.J.Buckley, published by the Light Rail Transit Association, 1984.

Coordinates: 46°57′20″N, 8°16′37″E The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA) was formed in 1937. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...