Schneeberg Railway (cog railway)
The Schneeberg Railway is one of three rack railways in Austria still operating, and runs from the small town of Puchberg am Schneeberg in Lower Austria up to a plateau beneath the Schneeberg summit. At 2,076 metres (6,811 ft), the Schneeberg is the highest mountain in Lower Austria. The other two working cog railways in Austria are the Schafberg Railway and the Achensee Railway.
Steam train and view to the summit
Salamander diesel locomotive at station Baumgartner
A rack 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.
Locomotive 7 of the Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn, one of the last operational locomotives with a vertical boiler
The 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.
