Locomotive 7 of the Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn, one of the last operational locomotives with a vertical boilerThe Pikes Peak Cog Railway is the highest rack railway in the world, at 14,115 ft (4,302 m).The Pilatus Railway is the steepest rack railway in the world, with a maximum gradient of 48% and an average gradient of 35%.The Mount Washington Cog Railway is the oldest mountain-climbing rack railway in the world, opening in 1868.Functioning of the rack and pinion on the Strub system
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 this rack rail. This allows the trains to operate on steep grades above 10%, which is the maximum for friction-based rail. Most rack railways are mountain railways, although a few are transit railways or tramways built to overcome a steep gradient in an urban environment.
The first cog railway was the Middleton Railway between Middleton and Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, where the first commercially successful steam locomotive, Salamanca, ran in 1812. This used a rack and pinion system designed and patented in 1811 by John Blenkinsop.[1]
The first mountain cog railway was the Mount Washington Cog Railway in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, which carried its first fare-paying passengers in 1868. The track was completed to reach the summit of Mount Washington in 1869. The first mountain rack railway in continental Europe was the Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn on Mount Rigi in Switzerland, which opened in 1871. Both lines are still running.
^Jehan, David (2003). Rack Railways of Australia (2nd ed.). Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society. ISBN 0-9750452-0-2.
A rackrailway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the...
pinion. For example, in a rackrailway, the rotation of a pinion mounted on a locomotive or a railroad car engages a rack, usually placed between the...
1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway and is the only rackrailway in India. The railway relies on its fleet of steam locomotives. NMR...
The Montserrat RackRailway (Spanish and Catalan: Cremallera de Montserrat, IPA: [kɾəməˈʎeɾə ðə munsəˈrat]) is a mountain railway line north-west of Barcelona...
The Corcovado RackRailway (Portuguese: Trem do Corcovado) is a mountain rackrailway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Cosme Velho to the summit of Corcovado...
list of rackrailways, both operating and closed. Lengue gorge. on Benguela railway – 1906. 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge. Transandine Railway between Mendoza...
The Pilatus Railway (German: Pilatusbahn, PB) is a mountain railway in Switzerland and the steepest rackrailway in the world, with a maximum gradient...
Washington Cog Railway, also known as the Cog, is the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway (rack-and-pinion railway). The railway climbs Mount Washington...
Railway (SMR; Welsh: Rheilffordd yr Wyddfa) is a narrow gauge rack-and-pinion mountain railway in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a tourist railway that...
The Jungfrau Railway (German: Jungfraubahn, pronounced [ˈjʊŋfʁaʊ̯ˌbaːn] , JB) is a mountain rackrailway in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, connecting...
Look up rack or racks in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Rack or racks may refer to: Amp rack, short for amplifier rack, a piece of furniture in which...
operation. Monorails operate on a single rail, while funiculars and rackrailways are uniquely designed to traverse steep slopes. Experimental trains...
traction on the rails at grades steeper than 10%, so the railway would need to use a cog and rack system to help pull trains up the mountain and control...
The Brienz Rothorn Railway (German: Brienz Rothorn Bahn, BRB) is a tourist rackrailway in Switzerland, which climbs from Brienz, at the eastern end of...
metre gauge rackrailway in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu was opened in 1908 and is the only operational rackrailway in India. These railways operate with...
Qingzang railway in China and Tibet, opened in 2006, is at 5,068 m (16,627 feet). In Switzerland, the Jungfraubahn (JB) is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) rack railway...
Wendelstein RackRailway (German: Wendelsteinbahn), sometimes just referred to as the Wendelstein Railway, is an electrically-driven metre gauge rackrailway (with...
rely on adhesion for climbing, a rackrailway may be used, in which a toothed cog wheel engages with a toothed rack rail laid between the tracks. A now...
mounted vehicles up or down inclines. These include simple rail adhesion, rackrailways and cable inclines (including rail mounted water tanks to carry barges)...
The Drachenfels Railway (German: Drachenfelsbahn) is a rackrailway line in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. The line runs from Königswinter...
one side to a central position. Rack-railway switches are as varied as rack-railway technologies. Where use of the rack is optional, as on the Zentralbahn...
arms of Lake Lucerne, in Switzerland. They include two standard gauge rackrailways, the Vitznau–Rigi Bahn (VRB) and the Arth–Rigi Bahn (ARB), along with...
niche products, such as being one of the last European manufacturers of rackrailway rolling stock. Stadler Rail is headquartered at its place of origin in...
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