Montaña Suiza ("The Swiss Mountain" in English) is a
steel scenic railway Scenic railroad (American English) or Scenic railway (British English) may refer to:
* Heritage railways operating leisurely train tours of sights such as mountain scenery, historic areas, and foliage tours
*Scenic gravity railroad, early termin ...
roller coaster located at Monte Igueldo Amusement Park, on the coast at
San Sebastián,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. It was designed and built by German engineer Erich Heidrich and opened at the site in 1928. It is the oldest steel roller coaster still operating in the world.
The ride was built with wooden running rails in a trough, like usual scenic railways. The trough is partially set into the landscape and is of
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
construction. The ride lacks the traditional supporting trestles of scenic railways. Instead, the track runs in depressions set into the ground and along the top of a coastal wall at one point. The running rails were changed to steel at a later unknown date
The roller coaster operates with two trains, each of which are composed of two 2x5 person cars. The cars are wooden in construction and ride on steel bogies, like the scenic railways at
Margate, UK,
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, UK and
Luna Park, Melbourne
Luna Park Melbourne is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. It opened on 13 December 1912, with a formal opening a week later, and has been operating almost continuously ever ...
. A
brakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...
rides on board each train to control its speed.
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