Pilatus ~ The Dragon Mountain is 125 years old

This year Pilatus is 125yrs old!

The railway that goes to the top of Mount Pilatus is one of the main attractions in the Lucerne region and central Switzerland. This year it is 125 years old. swissinfo.ch got aboard to discover the secrets of the steepest rack railway in the world.



The train makes its ascent from the station at Alpnachstad, on Lake Lucerne. It’s a steep climb at a brisk pace that takes the visitor up one of the most spectacular mountains in Switzerland – and also one of the most mysterious.

For centuries, Mount Pilatus was shunned and feared as a haunt of ghosts, gnomes and dragons. It is still the stuff of fairy tales for children.

A particularly forbidding presence that discouraged climbers was Pontius Pilate himself, after whom the mountain is named. According to legend, the soul of the Roman governor who condemned Christ to be crucified haunted one of the lakes in the area. In 1387, fear of the ghost – which was thought capable of causing violent storms when disturbed – prompted the then governing council of Lucerne to forbid climbing of the mountain. This prohibition was in force for several centuries.

It was only in the latter part of the 19th century that the genius of a Zurich industrialist finally opened up Mount Pilatus to mass tourism. It was the time of the first Alpine railways, and Eduard Locher had the idea – for many it was a crazy idea – of building a line to the Pilatus summit. He designed a system for steep grades using a new approach – toothed wheels rotating horizontally – which was so revolutionary that it was showcased at the Paris World Exhibition of 1889.

 

 Usually, the wheels of a rack and pinion railway are vertical like on other vehicles, as Werner Kramer, manager of the Pilatus railway, points out. “Ours is the only train in the world that has them horizontal. This maintains traction and a close fit with the rail. The system ensures stability, and can handle a very steep climb.”

Building the 4.6 km line, which reaches a record gradient of 48%, involved about 600 workmen. Many of them were Italians who had already worked on the Gotthard railway tunnel. The work was completed in only 400 working days, and on June 4, 1889, the train made its first trip with passengers aboard.



It was an immediate success. In spite of the steep price for the ascent – 10 francs, a week’s wages for the average worker – tickets sold briskly. In the first six months of operation 37,000 passengers were carried, four times more than the projected number.

Welcoming the world

Unlike a century ago, it is not just the rich who can now afford the panoramic journey. “Chinese, Japanese, Americans, Indians, Europeans – the tourists come from all over the world. Half of passengers are foreign, the other half are Swiss.

 

Half-way up, the section that goes through an Alpine pasture seems to have flattened out to a 'mere' 19%. It doesn’t look like much but doing it on foot and you’ll notice it!

 

 

Still the same equipment

When the journey goes beyond the tree limit, the traveller realises just how bold the vision of Eduard Locher was. In front is a grey wall of rock that would discourage the most intrepid mountain climber. And yet, cog after cog, the little train advances effortlessly, just like it has since the beginning.

 

A large part of the railway infrastructure is the same as it was 125 years ago, and the carriages date from 1937, the year the line was electrified. The original manufacturer no longer exists, so Pilatus produce a lot of their own spare parts right there.



About 30 minutes after leaving Alpnachstad you reach the summit. The tourists all head for the panoramic lookout. “The dragon  is portrayed on the cement ceiling of the station, and is also part of the railway’s logo. If you spend the night in one of the two hotels here on the summit you can hear the dragons call, rumour has it!

 

When the doors of the railcar have closed again, the locomotive driver says goodbye and takes off towards the other little train.

Mount Pilatus by numbers
Length of the line: 4.6 km
Steepest gradient: 48%
Altitude differential: 1,635 metres
Speed: between 9 and 12 km/h
Maximum capacity: 340 persons per hour
Passengers carried: 357,162 in 2013
Cost: CHF 1.9 million ($2.07 million)

www.swisspasses.com are official ticket suppliers for Pilatus and one of the best ways of seeing the Dragon Mountain is the Golden Round Trip ~ a scenic paddle steamer ride from Luzern to Alpnachstad before ascending on the cog train ~ the steepest in the world.



You can either then descend on the train or on the cable car down to Kriens - all included.

 

Mount Pilatus is in central Switzerland by Luzern, and easily accessible from all parts - so enjoy a day up on the Dragon Mountain with SwissPasses.com!

 

See you soon :)