The morning call., 1892-07-27
UP THE R0THHoRN.
some Peculiar Features of the Swiss
Inclined Railway.
GaIfrnani Maoaztna

Gaifgnani Magazine.
Herr Linder. the engineer who has con-
structed the line. is our pilot. Naturally. he
is proud OF his handiwork. We sit on the
end OF wagon filed with iron-sleepers.
toothed racks and other material for the
stretch of railway just being completed at
the summit. The rails are laid upon a
solid bed of stone, and are of narrow gauge
like those up Pilatus and Monte Generoso.
The rack is like that of the later line, and
the gradient is about the same, or a little
sleeper. The average of the Rothhorn balm
Is % per cent, Generoso % per cent, while
the Pllatus often reaches AZ per cent.
Tor this reason the oscillation on the latter
line is much greater.
we are astoniShed at the smoothuess with
wnich We travel up the Rothhorn. but the
ann anpen,or tno Oh the special engine. Herr A BIT,
works at Wintherthur, whose managar
herr y. weber. accompanied us upDn fins
Trip. nave naturally been making imnrovs
nehts during the past few years so that now
rmey nave got TINS wonderful little iron
houhtalneer almost perfect 1t attacks the
cOgS directly ana powerfully vet onIfe
steadily, and one gets much less shaking
than upon even the Rigi railway. where the
gradient Is much less. The speed also has
peeu accelerated. we traverse more than
seven kilometres In one hour and 2Ominutes
including four stops of four or five minutes
10 Take in water, for mUuntain-elmbing il
thirsty work, even for a brass-hearte1.
steel-Sklnned monster like a railway engine
This reduces the actual time occupied hv
the Journey to one hour We, in fact. de-
scend when there is but one stop in that
time.
The engineer claims that the brake power
is absolutely perfect; that the engine and
carriages are practically fixed TO the rails:
mat the train cannot run away. and that it
a rolls lea
without tearing out the whole fabric. One
needs some such assurance in undertaking
thls perllous Journey up the Rothhorn. Let
me briefly sketch it:
Ihe train mounts at first gently; then at
at gradient of % per cent which is main
tanned throughout the greater part of the
Journey. Brienz begins to look small
as the whole Of the lake, to which
the village has given its name, un-
folds itself. Then. getting higher. the
famous Falls OF Geissbach come into
view, and this splashng cascade soon
seems but a thread of white against the
dark face OF the mountain. Now the Lake
oil Ihun comes into view with Interlaken
nesting on the strip of land which separates
IL from the Lake OF BrienZ. Then we turn
round the mountain and get view of the
other slde-up the valley TO Meiringen and
over the Brunig. Still mounting, the pano-
rama extends, and we begin to take in the
higher peaks.
The Jungfrau stands opposite. her square
mead In hood of spOteSs white; the rocky
Eger, the Faulhorn and the Wetterhorn.
1nen we lose the view for time in a series
of tunnels, though the engineer has hit upon
the happy idea Of both lie ting and ventiiat
Ing them with windows" SO that one gets
lnomeniary suatches of landscape even
among the smoke Of these holes in the
mountain.
As we reached the last stretch the air
grows colder, for the snow is not yet quite
gone, and something like three meters have
had 10 be cut through to clear the way for
the engine. We creep along ledge out of
The side OF the mountain and look down
some thousands of feet. 1t is no comfort
Ing feeling that we have now, with our feet
dangling over the side of the wagon One
sudden jerk of the engine would send rs All
to eternity. 1t freezes ones blood to look
down. Better look upward to the goal we
are laborng TO reach. We get there in due
course, and feel sense of relief The upper
station IS placed In sheltered position. lust
seIow the summit. Another 10 minutes on
RothhOrn " ''0