Mariazellerbahn
Encyclopedia
The Mariazell Railway is an electrically operated
narrow-gauge railway (with a track gauge of ) which connects the Lower Austria
n capital Sankt Pölten
with the Styrian pilgrimage
centre of Mariazell
.
This 85-km-long stretch begins at the main railway station at St. Pölten. Right after leaving the station, the train passes through a tunnel
under the Leobersdorfer Bahn, another railway serving St. Pölten. The Alpenbahnhof that comes right after that is the railway's operational centre. Here are found rolling stock sheds, workshops, and the extensive freight facilities built later. Next, the railway quickly leaves the town and finds itself passing through hilly, farmed land for the first few kilometres, south of St. Pölten from the Traisen valley into the Pielach valley. The traveller quickly reaches the biggest station on the line at Ober-Grafendorf. Here is also where the unelectrified branchline begins.
The mainline follows the Pielach valley through Hofstetten-Grünau, Rabenstein an der Pielach and the main centre in the valley, Kirchberg an der Pielach, on to the station at Loich, which was once of special importance to freight operations. The tunnel further along was built with only the railway's own loading gauge
in mind, making freight transport by transporter wagon
s impossible. From here, the valley narrows considerably, and shortly before the next station, Schwarzenbach an der Pielach, the line passes through the Weißenburgtunnel, thereby leaving the Pielach valley and coming out into the Nattersbach valley, which narrows rather like a gorge. The line reaches first Frankenfels, and then the station at Laubenbachmühle. The line after this point is known as the "Mountain Line" (Bergstrecke).
A long stretched double horseshoe curve
in the line brings it to a much greater height in the Nattersbach valley. After passing by stations at Winterbach and Puchenstuben, the line reaches the longest tunnel, the 2-km-long Gösingtunnel, which with an altitude of 891.6 m above sea level
is the line's highest point. Here also, the line switches to the Erlauf valley, which it then follows until just before the end. After the tunnel comes Gösing station, about 350 m above the settlement of Erlaufboden. Here the traveller gets his first view of the 1 893 m-high Ötscher
. This panorama and the ease of reaching the spot on the newly built railway led even at the time when the railway was first opened to the building of a hotel
just across from the station.
From there, the railway follows a wooded, steep mountain ridge on a slight downhill gradient. It passes over the Saugrabenviadukt, the railway's highest viaduct
, and reaches Annaberg station on the saddle
. Just beyond the Lassing Reservoir, which feeds the Wienerbruck power station
, lies Wienerbruck-Josefsberg station, a favourite starting point for hikes
into the Ötschergräben, steep-sided, wooded gorges. After a loop around the lake, the line meets the river Erlauf. This stretch of the line is said to be the railway's greatest highlight for those with great romanticism for the wild: In between, along a row of short tunnels, the traveller gets a look into the Zinken ("tines"), as the craggy Erlauf gorge is called here. After the halt at Erlaufklause, the last stop in Lower Austria, Mitterbach am Erlaufsee, is reached, shortly after which the narrow-gauge railway reaches its terminus at the pilgrimage centre of Mariazell in Styria.
A further stretch of seven kilometres to Gußwerk, which was used mostly for freight traffic to a large sawmill
, has been out of service since 1988, and in 2003 the tracks were torn up. The standard-gauge Museumstramway Mariazell-Erlaufsee is planning to take over a short part of the right-of-way
for a project to build a tram
line from the railway station into town.
form of the word krumm, meaning "crooked" in German
). It is an unelectrified branch which leads through the foothills of the Alps
in a roughly westerly direction by way of Kilb, Mank, Sankt Leonhard am Forst and Ruprechtshofen to Wieselburg an der Erlauf, where it meets the standard-gauge
railway line running through the Erlauf valley between Scheibbs and Kienberg-Gaming.
The formerly narrow-gauge extension from Wieselburg to Gresten was converted to standard gauge in 1998 owing to extensive freight operations, and passenger operations were discontinued. Until then, the standard-gauge goods wagons were loaded onto transporter wagons in Wieselburg for the trip along this stretch of line. In connection with this gauge conversion, the stretch of line lying east of Wieselburg leading to Ruprechtshofen was discontinued in 2001; since 2003, there has only been regular service between Ober-Grafendorf and Mank.
The Mariazell Railway network is a part of the Verkehrsverbund Niederösterreich-Burgenland (Lower Austria and Burgenland Transport Association)
's most visited places by foreigners in the 19th century. Much thought was already being given to building a railway from St. Pölten to Mariazell even at the time when the West railway opened in 1858. Many variations on the idea of extending the standard-gauge line through the Lower Austrian foothills of the Alps were considered. Only after the Lower Austrian State Railway Law was passed in 1895 did work begin on the project, and owing to the difficult terrain that the railway would have to cross, it was decided to build it to a narrow gauge. The gauge of 760 mm, as with all narrow-gauge railway undertakings in the "Danube Monarchy", was made necessary by the military administration, as rolling stock used in military service on railways in Bosnia and Hercegovina – which used the 760 mm gauge – would need to be brought in. The railway's alignment would be built to a minimum curve radius of 80 m. In 1896, building work by the Lower Austrian State Railway Office began with acting director Engineer Josef Fogowitz in charge.
The mainline from St. Pölten to Kirchberg and the branch to Mank were opened on 4 July 1898; the operators were the state's own Lower Austrian State Railways. As of 1902, building was continued and in 1905, the stretch through the Pielach valley as far as Laubenbachmühle and the branchline extension to Ruprechtshofen were completed. In 1906, the Mountain Line was pushed through far enough for freight traffic to be taken through to Mariazell. On 2 May 1907, passenger service to Mariazell began running, and that same summer, the stretch through to Gußwerk was brought into service.
The "Lower Austrian-Styrian Alp Railway" (Niederösterreichisch-Steirische Alpenbahn) as the railway was known in Austro-Hungarian officialese, was thereby complete. Far-reaching plans for an extension over the Styrian Seeberg
and a connection with the likewise narrow-gauge Thörlerbahn, and thereby with the Styrian railway network, had no work done on them owing to the outbreak of the First World War. Likewise, a connection to the Ybbstalbahn was never built.
On the Mountain Line, the service was for the time being run with steam locomotive
s specially designed for the line of series Mh and Mv, which very quickly turned out not to be up to the job. The rush of passengers was so great that for a time, the railway, which had become enormously popular overnight, did not even bother with advertising
. Among the various kinds of freight carried on the railway were agricultural products, ore
s from local mines
, and above all wood from the heavily forested mountain region. Wood remained the most important kind of goods on the railway right up until freight operations were discontinued on the Mariazell Railway. As early as 1909, standard-gauge goods wagons were being transported along the Mariazellerbahn on transporter wagons, insofar as the railway's narrow loading gauge would allow it.
, brought forth the suggestion that the Mariazell Railway be electrified using single-phase alternating current
.
This suggestion was said to be revolutionary. There had never been a railway line of such length, meant to handle mainline traffic, that had been electrically operated. The only electric traction at this time was to be found on tramways and light, local railways, which used only direct current (DC) throughout. Only the more tramlike Stubaitalbahn in Tyrol, built in 1904, was even actually run using alternating current
(AC). Despite great opposition, Engelmann managed to implement his vision. So, the Mariazell Railway was electrified between 1907 and 1911, making use of the mountainous region's vast hydroelectric
resources. At that time, the locomotive series E (now ÖBB 1099), still used now, were acquired.
By implementing their intentions, many concepts were realized for which until then there had been no precedents. The experience garnered from the electrification proved to be the benchmark for later projects of the same kind. Unlike tramway electrification, the wires were hung using massive wire gantries and steel masts. Also, the design of the locomotive
s with two separate powered bogie
s conformed even then to the customary design still seen today. The power stations, necessary for a power supply, and built under the most difficult conditions in the mountainous landscape were also used to supply the region with electricity, thereby laying the groundwork for the Lower Austrian state energy company NEWAG, now known as EVN.
only in 1920.
The Krumpe branchline from Ober-Grafendorf to Ruprechtshofen, after building had been interrupted by the war, was only extended to Gresten in 1927, but not electrified. All other expansion projects, even though some were still being discussed even after 1945, were never realized.
In 1922, the old Österreichische Bundesbahnen took over the Mariazell Railway from the Lower Austrian State Railways, which had fallen into financial difficulties. After Anschluss
in 1938, the narrow-gauge railway, like all Austrian railways, became part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn
. During the wartime years 1944 and 1945, there was wartime destruction and damage in many places, especially around St. Pölten.
After the Second World War, the former State Railway lines remained with ÖBB. The rolling stock
was given a new number scheme as of 1953. In the following years, there were some alignment corrections on the line. That, and the rebuilding of the rolling stock in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the changeover to diesel
working on the branchline were the furthest-reaching modernization measures undertaken on the railway. In 1984, the last Rollböcke, the more primitive type of transporter wagon using forks to hold the standard-gauge wagon's axles, were replaced with Rollwagen, the more advanced type resembling a wagon with a short stretch of standard-gauge track onto which the standard-gauge wagon is fastened.
In the wave of secondary-railway abandonments in Lower Austria, even the Mariazell Railway was affected. Freight traffic using narrow-gauge wagons on the Mountain Line was completely given up, and the short stretch of line between Mariazell and Gußwerk was abandoned in 1988. Freight service still continued for a few years as far as Schwarzenbach an der Pielach after it had been discontinued to Mariazell, but it was limited to wood, borne in narrow-gauge wagons.
On 31 December 1998, ÖBB also ended transporter wagon service on the Valley Line and the remaining section of the branchline, thereby ending all freight service on the Mariazell Railway.
As of about 2000, ÖBB was considering selling or abandoning the Mariazellerbahn. At present, the railway is still being run by state order, and at the state's expense. Since autumn 2003, one of the many future scenarios being considered is conversion to standard gauge for the Valley Line between St. Pölten and Kirchberg an der Pielach, a stretch of line important for commuters and schoolchildren, and furthermore for the rest of the line, more strongly tourist-oriented marketing.
. The railway is now operated by NÖVOG
, which is owned by the provincial government. There are plans to buy new rolling stock.
For the opening of the first stretch of line in 1898, the Lower Austrian State Railways bought four locomotives of Series U, already proven on the Murtalbahn, which along with the two-axled passenger coaches and goods wagons customary at the time formed the railway network's basic equipment. The fleet was filled out in 1903 by two-axled light steam-powered railcar
s, which took over less-used trains. For the opening of the next stretch of line between Kirchberg and Laubenbachmühle in 1905, and in view of the Mountain Line through to Mariazell, a compound steam engine and a superheated steam engine were acquired as further developments of the U series.
For the extension to Mariazell, an especially high-performance engine was needed. The Krauss
locomotive works in Linz
brought forth a proposal to build a locomotive with four powered axles and a tender
, four of which were built by 1906 and which used superheated steam. They were designated Mh (nowadays ÖBB 399). In 1907 followed two locomotives with compound steam working. These were designated Mv. The "h" stood for "Heißdampf" (superheated steam), and the "v" for "Verbundantrieb" (compound working). Since the latter locomotives did not very well prove their worth, the next order was for two further locomotives, this time of the Mh variety. Since many passengers were expected, a great number of four-axled passenger coaches were bought, which were comparable in comfort and appointments with contemporary standard-gauge coaches. Also in 1906, three bigger and stronger steam railcars were delivered.
Once electrification began in 1911, all together 16 locomotives of series E were delivered between 1911 and 1914. Thereafter, steam trains disappeared from the mainline after only five years. All steam railcars were sold, and most of the steam locomotives remained on the unelectrified branchline. A few were sent to the Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnen.
With the extension of the branchline to Gresten came new steam locomotives of the P and Uh series (ÖBB 199 and 498 respectively). In the 1930s, the first diesel locomotive was tested on the line. This type, later described as ÖBB 2190, was however only suited for light passenger trains. The self-powered luggage railcars (series 2041 or ÖBB 2091) were slightly better in performance.
As of 1960, the electric locomotives, now known as series 1099, were given new bodies. The passenger coaches were likewise provided with matching steel bodies. As of 1962, the steam engines were replaced by the new diesel locomotives (ÖBB 2095). The series 399 locomotives went to the Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnen. The others were withdrawn from service.
Service on the mainline is today still mainly done using the now nearly 100-year-old series 1099 electric locomotives together with passenger coaches not much less old than the locomotives. The class 1099 can therefore claim to be the world's oldest electric locomotive still running on the line for which it was originally built.
Since 1994, two newly developed electric multiple unit trains (ÖBB 4090) have come into service. For lighter runs diesel multiple unit trains (ÖBB 5090) are used, as well as on the Krumpe, where series 2095 diesel locomotives are also used.
For nostalgic runs, the Mh.6 steam engine stationed in Ober-Grafendorf is brought in. This was a private initiative in the 1990s by several Mariazell Railway railway employees, who managed to fetch back the Mountain Line's original locomotive.
The Mariazell Railway is the ÖBB's only electrified narrow-gauge railway and is historically run on a power supply of 6.5 kV with a frequency of 25 Hz. Since this kind of power supply is available from neither the Federal Railways' network nor the public network, the Mariazell Railway has at its disposal its very own electric supply, for which the ÖBB itself is not responsible (even though the railway has belonged to them since 1922), but rather the EVN power company.
For the power supply of the whole Mariazell Railway and the region along the line, three 25 Hz multi-phase generators at the Wienerbruck power station were used with an apparent power of 6 600 kVA. This accounts for the single-phase railway supply's apparent power of 4 500 kVA. The equipment was, and is, driven hydroelectrically by water from the Lassing and the Erlauf. The railway current generated at the Wienerbruck power station at 6.5 kV was partly fed directly into the power lines near the power station, and also partly stepped up to 27 kV to be transmitted to the substations at Kirchberg and Ober-Grafendorf. As insurance against power outages, a power station consisting of two diesel generators, each producing 420 kVA single-phase apparent power, was built at the Alpenbahnhof in St. Pölten.
Right from the beginning, the power cables for public supply and those for the railway supply were mounted on crossbars above the catenary on the wire gantries. Even today – although the public supply has been changed to three-phase at 50 Hz – about 21 km of community power lines are still in service. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, a separate 20-kV line was built between Loich and Frankenfels by the power supplier EVN, which is responsible for public power supply in the area, leaving only the 27-kV line for the railway and the catenary itself on the wire gantries.
In 1923, below the Wienerbruck power station, the Stierwaschboden Reservoir and the Erlaufboden power station were built with three generators. In the second half of the 1960s, the ageing power generation and distribution system was renewed. The railway power is now usually generated by the 2.8-MVA equipment at Erlaufboden power station. It consists of a synchronous machine for 25 Hz single-phase AC, 50 Hz multiphase, and a Francis turbine
.
An old, smaller inverter set in Erlaufboden and two old 25 Hz machines in Wienerbruck power station serve as reserves for the railway. Two further generators in Wienerbruck and three in Erlaufboden with all together 11.5 MVA generate 50 Hz multiphase current.
The railway network's backbone nowadays is formed by the 27-kV loop between the two power stations and the newly built Gösing substation as well as the transmission lines from there to the newly built Rabenstein substation. After these facilities went into operation, the direct catenary feed at Wienerbruck and the substations at Kirchberg and Ober-Grafendorf were taken out of service. This improved the power supply on the mountainous section of the line considerably.
Nowadays, the switch room at Erlaufboden power station controls, along with its own equipment, also that at Wienerbruck power station. The substations at Gösing and Rabenstein are run and overseen remotely by the EVN system operator in Maria-Enzersdorf near Vienna.
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
narrow-gauge railway (with a track gauge of ) which connects the Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
n capital Sankt Pölten
Sankt Pölten
Sankt Pölten is the capital city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria. With inhabitants , it is Lower Austria's largest city...
with the Styrian pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
centre of Mariazell
Mariazell
Mariazell is a small city in Austria, in Styria, well known for winter sports, 143 km N. of Graz. It is picturesquely situated in the valley of the Salza, amid the north Styrian Alps....
.
Valley Line (Talstrecke)
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
under the Leobersdorfer Bahn, another railway serving St. Pölten. The Alpenbahnhof that comes right after that is the railway's operational centre. Here are found rolling stock sheds, workshops, and the extensive freight facilities built later. Next, the railway quickly leaves the town and finds itself passing through hilly, farmed land for the first few kilometres, south of St. Pölten from the Traisen valley into the Pielach valley. The traveller quickly reaches the biggest station on the line at Ober-Grafendorf. Here is also where the unelectrified branchline begins.
The mainline follows the Pielach valley through Hofstetten-Grünau, Rabenstein an der Pielach and the main centre in the valley, Kirchberg an der Pielach, on to the station at Loich, which was once of special importance to freight operations. The tunnel further along was built with only the railway's own loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
in mind, making freight transport by transporter wagon
Transporter wagon
A transporter wagon, in railway terminology, is a wagon or railroad car designed to carry other railway equipment. Normally, it is used to transport equipment of a different rail gauge...
s impossible. From here, the valley narrows considerably, and shortly before the next station, Schwarzenbach an der Pielach, the line passes through the Weißenburgtunnel, thereby leaving the Pielach valley and coming out into the Nattersbach valley, which narrows rather like a gorge. The line reaches first Frankenfels, and then the station at Laubenbachmühle. The line after this point is known as the "Mountain Line" (Bergstrecke).
Mountain Line
Horseshoe curve (railway)
A horseshoe curve is a tight curve in a railway or a road, through an angle in excess of 180 degrees. A horseshoe curve is a means to lengthen the passage of an ascending or descending grade, so as to reduce the maximum gradient of ascent or descent. The horseshoe refers to the U shaped bypass of...
in the line brings it to a much greater height in the Nattersbach valley. After passing by stations at Winterbach and Puchenstuben, the line reaches the longest tunnel, the 2-km-long Gösingtunnel, which with an altitude of 891.6 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
is the line's highest point. Here also, the line switches to the Erlauf valley, which it then follows until just before the end. After the tunnel comes Gösing station, about 350 m above the settlement of Erlaufboden. Here the traveller gets his first view of the 1 893 m-high Ötscher
Ötscher
The Ötscher, at 1893 metres, is a prominent peak in south-western Lower Austria. Its name has slavic roots and translates approximately as a diminutive of "father". The Ötscher area belongs to the Ybbstal Alps, which are part of the Northern Limestone Alps. The boundary between the districts of...
. This panorama and the ease of reaching the spot on the newly built railway led even at the time when the railway was first opened to the building of a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
just across from the station.
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
, and reaches Annaberg station on the saddle
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
. Just beyond the Lassing Reservoir, which feeds the Wienerbruck power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
, lies Wienerbruck-Josefsberg station, a favourite starting point for hikes
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
into the Ötschergräben, steep-sided, wooded gorges. After a loop around the lake, the line meets the river Erlauf. This stretch of the line is said to be the railway's greatest highlight for those with great romanticism for the wild: In between, along a row of short tunnels, the traveller gets a look into the Zinken ("tines"), as the craggy Erlauf gorge is called here. After the halt at Erlaufklause, the last stop in Lower Austria, Mitterbach am Erlaufsee, is reached, shortly after which the narrow-gauge railway reaches its terminus at the pilgrimage centre of Mariazell in Styria.
A further stretch of seven kilometres to Gußwerk, which was used mostly for freight traffic to a large sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
, has been out of service since 1988, and in 2003 the tracks were torn up. The standard-gauge Museumstramway Mariazell-Erlaufsee is planning to take over a short part of the right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
for a project to build a tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
line from the railway station into town.
The branchline
In Ober-Grafendorf begins the branchline, known to locals as the Krumpe (Lower Austrian dialectDialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
form of the word krumm, meaning "crooked" in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
). It is an unelectrified branch which leads through the foothills of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
in a roughly westerly direction by way of Kilb, Mank, Sankt Leonhard am Forst and Ruprechtshofen to Wieselburg an der Erlauf, where it meets the standard-gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railway line running through the Erlauf valley between Scheibbs and Kienberg-Gaming.
The formerly narrow-gauge extension from Wieselburg to Gresten was converted to standard gauge in 1998 owing to extensive freight operations, and passenger operations were discontinued. Until then, the standard-gauge goods wagons were loaded onto transporter wagons in Wieselburg for the trip along this stretch of line. In connection with this gauge conversion, the stretch of line lying east of Wieselburg leading to Ruprechtshofen was discontinued in 2001; since 2003, there has only been regular service between Ober-Grafendorf and Mank.
The Mariazell Railway network is a part of the Verkehrsverbund Niederösterreich-Burgenland (Lower Austria and Burgenland Transport Association)
Building and steam operation
The pilgrimage centre of Mariazell was one of Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
's most visited places by foreigners in the 19th century. Much thought was already being given to building a railway from St. Pölten to Mariazell even at the time when the West railway opened in 1858. Many variations on the idea of extending the standard-gauge line through the Lower Austrian foothills of the Alps were considered. Only after the Lower Austrian State Railway Law was passed in 1895 did work begin on the project, and owing to the difficult terrain that the railway would have to cross, it was decided to build it to a narrow gauge. The gauge of 760 mm, as with all narrow-gauge railway undertakings in the "Danube Monarchy", was made necessary by the military administration, as rolling stock used in military service on railways in Bosnia and Hercegovina – which used the 760 mm gauge – would need to be brought in. The railway's alignment would be built to a minimum curve radius of 80 m. In 1896, building work by the Lower Austrian State Railway Office began with acting director Engineer Josef Fogowitz in charge.
The mainline from St. Pölten to Kirchberg and the branch to Mank were opened on 4 July 1898; the operators were the state's own Lower Austrian State Railways. As of 1902, building was continued and in 1905, the stretch through the Pielach valley as far as Laubenbachmühle and the branchline extension to Ruprechtshofen were completed. In 1906, the Mountain Line was pushed through far enough for freight traffic to be taken through to Mariazell. On 2 May 1907, passenger service to Mariazell began running, and that same summer, the stretch through to Gußwerk was brought into service.
The "Lower Austrian-Styrian Alp Railway" (Niederösterreichisch-Steirische Alpenbahn) as the railway was known in Austro-Hungarian officialese, was thereby complete. Far-reaching plans for an extension over the Styrian Seeberg
Styrian Seeberg
Styrian Seeberg Pass is a high mountain pass in the Austrian Alps, located in the Bundesland of Styria, east of the Hochschwab Mountains. The pass forms the most important connection between the Mürz Valley at Kapfenberg and the pilgrimage destination of Mariazell...
and a connection with the likewise narrow-gauge Thörlerbahn, and thereby with the Styrian railway network, had no work done on them owing to the outbreak of the First World War. Likewise, a connection to the Ybbstalbahn was never built.
On the Mountain Line, the service was for the time being run with steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s specially designed for the line of series Mh and Mv, which very quickly turned out not to be up to the job. The rush of passengers was so great that for a time, the railway, which had become enormously popular overnight, did not even bother with advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. Among the various kinds of freight carried on the railway were agricultural products, ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
s from local mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, and above all wood from the heavily forested mountain region. Wood remained the most important kind of goods on the railway right up until freight operations were discontinued on the Mariazell Railway. As early as 1909, standard-gauge goods wagons were being transported along the Mariazellerbahn on transporter wagons, insofar as the railway's narrow loading gauge would allow it.
Electrification
Several scenarios having to do with raising the railway's performance were considered, among them double-tracking and the acquisition of an even stronger type of steam locomotive. At this time, the acting director of the State Railway Office, Engineer Eduard Engelmann jr.Eduard Engelmann Jr.
Eduard Engelmann Jr. was an Austrian figure skater, engineer, and cyclist. He was a three-time gold medallist at the European Figure Skating Championships...
, brought forth the suggestion that the Mariazell Railway be electrified using single-phase alternating current
Single-phase electric power
In electrical engineering, single-phase electric power refers to the distribution of alternating current electric power using a system in which all the voltages of the supply vary in unison. Single-phase distribution is used when loads are mostly lighting and heating, with few large electric motors...
.
This suggestion was said to be revolutionary. There had never been a railway line of such length, meant to handle mainline traffic, that had been electrically operated. The only electric traction at this time was to be found on tramways and light, local railways, which used only direct current (DC) throughout. Only the more tramlike Stubaitalbahn in Tyrol, built in 1904, was even actually run using alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
(AC). Despite great opposition, Engelmann managed to implement his vision. So, the Mariazell Railway was electrified between 1907 and 1911, making use of the mountainous region's vast hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
resources. At that time, the locomotive series E (now ÖBB 1099), still used now, were acquired.
By implementing their intentions, many concepts were realized for which until then there had been no precedents. The experience garnered from the electrification proved to be the benchmark for later projects of the same kind. Unlike tramway electrification, the wires were hung using massive wire gantries and steel masts. Also, the design of the locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s with two separate powered bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s conformed even then to the customary design still seen today. The power stations, necessary for a power supply, and built under the most difficult conditions in the mountainous landscape were also used to supply the region with electricity, thereby laying the groundwork for the Lower Austrian state energy company NEWAG, now known as EVN.
From the First World War until 1945
During the First World War, quite a number of steam locomotives and a great number of wagons were temporarily confiscated for wartime duty, among them the locomotives Mh.1 to Mh.5. The last one was returned from SarajevoSarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
only in 1920.
The Krumpe branchline from Ober-Grafendorf to Ruprechtshofen, after building had been interrupted by the war, was only extended to Gresten in 1927, but not electrified. All other expansion projects, even though some were still being discussed even after 1945, were never realized.
In 1922, the old Österreichische Bundesbahnen took over the Mariazell Railway from the Lower Austrian State Railways, which had fallen into financial difficulties. After Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
in 1938, the narrow-gauge railway, like all Austrian railways, became part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
. During the wartime years 1944 and 1945, there was wartime destruction and damage in many places, especially around St. Pölten.
After 1945
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
was given a new number scheme as of 1953. In the following years, there were some alignment corrections on the line. That, and the rebuilding of the rolling stock in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the changeover to diesel
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
working on the branchline were the furthest-reaching modernization measures undertaken on the railway. In 1984, the last Rollböcke, the more primitive type of transporter wagon using forks to hold the standard-gauge wagon's axles, were replaced with Rollwagen, the more advanced type resembling a wagon with a short stretch of standard-gauge track onto which the standard-gauge wagon is fastened.
In the wave of secondary-railway abandonments in Lower Austria, even the Mariazell Railway was affected. Freight traffic using narrow-gauge wagons on the Mountain Line was completely given up, and the short stretch of line between Mariazell and Gußwerk was abandoned in 1988. Freight service still continued for a few years as far as Schwarzenbach an der Pielach after it had been discontinued to Mariazell, but it was limited to wood, borne in narrow-gauge wagons.
On 31 December 1998, ÖBB also ended transporter wagon service on the Valley Line and the remaining section of the branchline, thereby ending all freight service on the Mariazell Railway.
As of about 2000, ÖBB was considering selling or abandoning the Mariazellerbahn. At present, the railway is still being run by state order, and at the state's expense. Since autumn 2003, one of the many future scenarios being considered is conversion to standard gauge for the Valley Line between St. Pölten and Kirchberg an der Pielach, a stretch of line important for commuters and schoolchildren, and furthermore for the rest of the line, more strongly tourist-oriented marketing.
Handover
In 2010, ÖBB handed the railway over to the provincial government of Lower AustriaLower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
. The railway is now operated by NÖVOG
NÖVOG
NÖVOG is a public transport operator, owned by the provincial government of Lower Austria. It holds concessions for a number of regional and heritage railways.-Operations:NÖVOG's transport concessions include:...
, which is owned by the provincial government. There are plans to buy new rolling stock.
Locomotives
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
s, which took over less-used trains. For the opening of the next stretch of line between Kirchberg and Laubenbachmühle in 1905, and in view of the Mountain Line through to Mariazell, a compound steam engine and a superheated steam engine were acquired as further developments of the U series.
Krauss-Maffei
The Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co KG or simply Krauss-Maffei is an injection molding machine manufacturer and defence company based in Munich, Germany...
locomotive works in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
brought forth a proposal to build a locomotive with four powered axles and a tender
Tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
, four of which were built by 1906 and which used superheated steam. They were designated Mh (nowadays ÖBB 399). In 1907 followed two locomotives with compound steam working. These were designated Mv. The "h" stood for "Heißdampf" (superheated steam), and the "v" for "Verbundantrieb" (compound working). Since the latter locomotives did not very well prove their worth, the next order was for two further locomotives, this time of the Mh variety. Since many passengers were expected, a great number of four-axled passenger coaches were bought, which were comparable in comfort and appointments with contemporary standard-gauge coaches. Also in 1906, three bigger and stronger steam railcars were delivered.
Once electrification began in 1911, all together 16 locomotives of series E were delivered between 1911 and 1914. Thereafter, steam trains disappeared from the mainline after only five years. All steam railcars were sold, and most of the steam locomotives remained on the unelectrified branchline. A few were sent to the Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnen.
With the extension of the branchline to Gresten came new steam locomotives of the P and Uh series (ÖBB 199 and 498 respectively). In the 1930s, the first diesel locomotive was tested on the line. This type, later described as ÖBB 2190, was however only suited for light passenger trains. The self-powered luggage railcars (series 2041 or ÖBB 2091) were slightly better in performance.
As of 1960, the electric locomotives, now known as series 1099, were given new bodies. The passenger coaches were likewise provided with matching steel bodies. As of 1962, the steam engines were replaced by the new diesel locomotives (ÖBB 2095). The series 399 locomotives went to the Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnen. The others were withdrawn from service.
Service on the mainline is today still mainly done using the now nearly 100-year-old series 1099 electric locomotives together with passenger coaches not much less old than the locomotives. The class 1099 can therefore claim to be the world's oldest electric locomotive still running on the line for which it was originally built.
Since 1994, two newly developed electric multiple unit trains (ÖBB 4090) have come into service. For lighter runs diesel multiple unit trains (ÖBB 5090) are used, as well as on the Krumpe, where series 2095 diesel locomotives are also used.
For nostalgic runs, the Mh.6 steam engine stationed in Ober-Grafendorf is brought in. This was a private initiative in the 1990s by several Mariazell Railway railway employees, who managed to fetch back the Mountain Line's original locomotive.
Power supply
For the power supply of the whole Mariazell Railway and the region along the line, three 25 Hz multi-phase generators at the Wienerbruck power station were used with an apparent power of 6 600 kVA. This accounts for the single-phase railway supply's apparent power of 4 500 kVA. The equipment was, and is, driven hydroelectrically by water from the Lassing and the Erlauf. The railway current generated at the Wienerbruck power station at 6.5 kV was partly fed directly into the power lines near the power station, and also partly stepped up to 27 kV to be transmitted to the substations at Kirchberg and Ober-Grafendorf. As insurance against power outages, a power station consisting of two diesel generators, each producing 420 kVA single-phase apparent power, was built at the Alpenbahnhof in St. Pölten.
Right from the beginning, the power cables for public supply and those for the railway supply were mounted on crossbars above the catenary on the wire gantries. Even today – although the public supply has been changed to three-phase at 50 Hz – about 21 km of community power lines are still in service. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, a separate 20-kV line was built between Loich and Frankenfels by the power supplier EVN, which is responsible for public power supply in the area, leaving only the 27-kV line for the railway and the catenary itself on the wire gantries.
In 1923, below the Wienerbruck power station, the Stierwaschboden Reservoir and the Erlaufboden power station were built with three generators. In the second half of the 1960s, the ageing power generation and distribution system was renewed. The railway power is now usually generated by the 2.8-MVA equipment at Erlaufboden power station. It consists of a synchronous machine for 25 Hz single-phase AC, 50 Hz multiphase, and a Francis turbine
Francis turbine
The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts....
.
An old, smaller inverter set in Erlaufboden and two old 25 Hz machines in Wienerbruck power station serve as reserves for the railway. Two further generators in Wienerbruck and three in Erlaufboden with all together 11.5 MVA generate 50 Hz multiphase current.
The railway network's backbone nowadays is formed by the 27-kV loop between the two power stations and the newly built Gösing substation as well as the transmission lines from there to the newly built Rabenstein substation. After these facilities went into operation, the direct catenary feed at Wienerbruck and the substations at Kirchberg and Ober-Grafendorf were taken out of service. This improved the power supply on the mountainous section of the line considerably.
Nowadays, the switch room at Erlaufboden power station controls, along with its own equipment, also that at Wienerbruck power station. The substations at Gösing and Rabenstein are run and overseen remotely by the EVN system operator in Maria-Enzersdorf near Vienna.
Railway Substations
| Facility | Position |
|---|---|
| Gösing | 47°53′24"N 15°16′49"E |
| Kirchberg (decommissioned) | 48°01′29"N 15°26′02"E |
| Ober-Grafendorf (decommissioned) | |
| Rabenstein | 48°04′06"N 15°28′05"E |
| Wienerbruck (decommissioned) | 47°51′18"N 15°18′41"E |
Converter Plants
| Facility | Year of inaugauration | Power | Kind of Facility | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erlaufboden | 1924 | 2,8 MW | Rotary Converter | 47°52′49"N 15°15′55"E |
Power Plants
| Facility | Year of inaugauration | Power | Kind of Facility | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erlaufboden | 1924 | 2,8 MW | Hydroelectric Power Plant | 47°52′49"N 15°15′55"E |
| Wienerbruck | 1908 | 4,5 MW | Hydroelectric Power Plant | 47°51′17"N 15°18′35"E |
Literature
- Felsinger/Schober: Die Mariazellerbahn, Verlag Pospischil, Wien (no ISBN), weblink
- Hans P. Pawlik: Technik der Mariazellerbahn, Verlag Slezak, 2001, ISBN 3-85416-189-1
- Hans P. Pawlik: Mariazellerbahn in der Landschaft, Verlag Slezak, 2000, ISBN 3-85416-188-3
- Kroboth, Slezak, Sternhart - Schmalspurig durch Österreich, 4. Auflage, Verlag Slezak, 1991, ISBN 3-85416-095-X
- Slezak, Sternhart - Renaissance der Schmalspurbahn in Österreich, Verlag Slezak, 1986, ISBN 3-85416-097-6
- Strässle - Schmalspurbahn-Aktivitäten in Österreich, Verlag Slezak, 1997, ISBN 3-85416-184-0