The Brienz Rothorn Railway (, BRB) is a tourist

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, which climbs from

Brienz Brienz ( , , ) is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality on the northern shore of Lake Brienz, at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain, and in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Besides the village of Brienz, th ...

, at the eastern end of

Lake Brienz Lake Brienz () is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It has a length of about , a width of and a maximum depth of . Its area is ; the surface is above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, by the upper reaches ...

, to the summit of the

Brienzer Rothorn The Brienzer Rothorn is a mountain of the Emmental Alps, in Switzerland. With an elevation of above sea level, the Brienzer Rothorn is the highest summit of the range. To its west lies the Tannhorn, whilst to its east are Arnihaaggen, Höch G ...

. The railway is 7.6 kilometres (4.7 mi) long, is built to 800 mm gauge ( gauge), and uses the Abt double lamella rack system. Unusually for Switzerland, the line is not electrified, and most trains are operated by

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s. The Brienz Rothorn Railway reaches a height of above sea level and is the fourth-highest railway in Switzerland.After the

Jungfrau The Jungfrau (, , , "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönc ...

Gornergrat The Gornergrat (; ) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south-east of Zermatt in Switzerland. It can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway (GGB), the highest open-air railway in Europe. Betwee ...

, and

Bernina railway The Bernina railway line (; ; ) is a Single track (rail), single-track railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the tow ...

History

The railway was opened on 17 June 1892, after a two years construction period. The two designers, engineer Alexander Lindner and contractor Theo Bertschinger were supported by the mountain railway pioneer Roman Abt, who had responsibility for equipping the line with his newly developed Abt double lamella rack system. The line connected at Brienz with the

Brünig railway line The Brünig steam railway line () is a Switzerland, Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes over ...

, which had been opened in 1888 from Brienz eastwards towards

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. However, the Brünig railway was not extended westward to Interlaken until 1916, so many early travelers to the Rothorn had to arrive by boat service on Lake Brienz. The line was quickly in financial difficulties. The line was designed to carry 25,000 passengers per year, but only managed 5,000 passengers in the first year. Tourist traffic was further affected by the opening of Schynige Platte Railway in 1895 and the

Jungfraubahn The Jungfrau Railway (, , JB) is a mountain rack railway in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, connecting Kleine Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland to the Jungfraujoch, across the Valais border. It is the highest railway in Switzerland and Europe, run ...

in 1898. Train service was suspended on 1 August 1914 as a result of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but did not resume when the war ended. Essential maintenance was carried out and a small amount of timber traffic was carried from Planalp in 1918. Carriages were hired to the Schynige Platte Railway in 1924 and 1925, providing funds for the maintenance work. The line was finally re-opened on 13 June 1931, the first train to reach the summit in 17 years having run four days earlier. The railway was in good condition because of the continued maintenance. Unlike other Swiss mountain lines, the BRB was not electrified and this made the railway a special attraction as from 1953 to 1990 it was the only steam-operated line in Switzerland. Although other Swiss mountain railways offer special "steam" trips, this is the only line to offer a full steam service, the Diesel locomotive only being used for additional trains and for light traffic periods.

Route

The BRB is long with a maximum gradient of 1 in 4 (25%) and includes five tunnels. It begins in Brienz at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, from a terminus opposite the Brienz station of the

Zentralbahn The Zentralbahn is a Swiss railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luzern–Sta ...

company's Brünig line. Also nearby is the quay used by the

BLS AG BLS AG is a Swiss railway company created by the 2006 merger of BLS Lötschbergbahn and Regionalverkehr Mittelland AG. Its ownership is divided, with 55.8% of it owned by the canton of Berne, and 21.7% by the Swiss Confederation. It has two ma ...

shipping services on

. The railway is single track with three passing loops. The first passing loop is at Geldried, above sea level. The halfway passing loop of the line is at Planalp station at above sea level (the only stop on the line). The older steam locomotives stop to take water. The third passing loop is at Oberstafel, above sea level. The upper terminus of the line is at Rothorn Kulm station at above sea level, a little below the summit of the mountain. A popular hiking trail runs between the summit station, and the Brünig-Hasliberg station at the point where the Brünig line crosses the

Brünig Pass The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of , connects the Bernese Oberland and central Switzerland, linking Meiringen in the canton of Bern and Lungern in the canton of Obwalden. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the Aare, which flow ...

Locomotives and rolling stock

All steam locomotives are Class H2/3, indicating that two of the three axles are driven, giving a wheel arrangement (Whyte System) of 0-4-2. The older locomotives are a side tank, "kneeling cow" design of a standard SLM product. The modern steam locomotives use an efficient "light oil" fired steam technology and were built by SLM (former

Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (German Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik; French Société Suisse pour la Construction de Locomotives et de Machines; or for both, SLM) was a railway equipment manufacturer based in Winterthur in Swi ...

) of

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

. A prototype Diesel locomotive, class Hm2/2, number 8, was delivered in 1973, but sold to the Chemin de fer Montreux-Glion-Rochers-de-Naye in 1995 as their Number 4. New Diesel locomotives were constructed by Ferdinand Steck Maschinenfabrik and are of (Whyte System) 0-4-0 wheel arrangement to a "kneeling cow" design.

Timetable

The Brienz Rothorn Railway operated 7 days per week from June 4 to October 23, 2016, all the way up to the Rothorn. They tried to ensure that all their services are steam-powered.

References

External links