The sun., 1895-02-03

FIRST, and still most famous. uf swiss mountain
railway. was ths, up the Rigi. above Lax" l. H.
eerne. n was opened in INA. and for fifteen
years us CLAIM rs one of Europc's greatest o:
Thought Of going to SWITZERLAND without ascend
ing The ligI by railway. ana IL was considered
arenturesome undertaking and u thrilling ex-
periehce. IL seems even yet n trlfie risky. and
the experience of being pushed up an incline OF
thirty feet in hundred, in a conveyance of the
tracks, Is At least highly interesting. But as a
matter OF TACT the construction or the Rigl rail-
way WIS very easy and its seeming danger Is
very small compared with other mountain rail-
ways IN the Alps The Rigl is more of a rounded
sat sat point Is only o.'+l ieet above the sea level.
The summit station OF the Jungirau road will
bc inlly 1900 feet In the mir.
There are now two railways I'D the Rigi con-
siructrd Ip opposite sides OF the mountain.
lhey are OF usual gauge. and have but one track,
toothed rail! formed of two ordinary rails Joined
{ogelhtr with bolts about an inch apart, Tho
locomotives, liEn all on such roads, are curious
ilttls affairs that when seen a. the stations, on
M nst Track, appear to he trying TO stand on their
aiteT wheels OF the truck on which the locomo-
uVe Is built are much larger than those in front
In order that the machinery may be on a hori..
zontal plane when the locomotive is climbing
the mOuntain. The driving wheel is in The
srn're centre undernssatl,' and is cogged to II the
pulsion. aud also tho main brake There
are Other safeguards against a runaway
down the mountain side into the lake but there
eas never been an accident on either OF the
Soads The trains are made up OF two cars and
W,
tpeen Us from Tour Ia six miles an hour, the
same down az uD. The fare on this aad ali other
mountain railways Is twicr as much for the up.
ward hs Tor the downward journey.
Fltt.en years ERfter the Rigi Railway was
opened. cogwheel railway 10 the ton OF Pilatus
a grim, Prtelptous giant directly facing the
hiEl across Lake Lucernc, was constructed.
ihls was much more dtfCult undertaking
~ mas IN some places the astounding gradient
ui lort(-elght tect in hundred, and IL IN many
places bult INTO tho face of the prucpCr. Ii
nus tour tunnels, varying from twelve % sixty
{aNs IN length. The summit of the puhtus
hAlIWaY ls Al an altitude Of U.1S1 feet almost "A
'ipusRhu ieet higher than the Rgi.
4, ne eu'tes-tul completion OF the piRtus
hhlWay se'ttcd many problems engineers had
peeh discussing for years, and was tho signal
iprlhs projection o. mountain railways all over
SNi1erlahd. The MnrTen Railway. finished in
Soi was TIE first to follow the pilHtus road
LNt hhll dozen CtheIs were then under CON
HIuelun ahd have been completed at intervals
Nantt, willie many others are now being built.
Le MarTen hallway is perhaps the most re- |
mhfkAble Ia switzerland of MS tyne and Is A /
ko1d illustration of It's kind. The up.h hiI part Of
~ n water-bglanCe cable road. and the tracks
sem almost 10 stand up On end against tie !
prtriplce. The actual gradient is sixty feet In |
Scs nuhhHred and travelling n the road |
acs w IN an elevator of big Of !
tererunntn ard runs straight up 95SO |
ss1 ss g Ggatsoh. Tho ears are built |
, 'A''ass s'Sle' aRd the station PLATFORM Is !