After taking a boat from Lucerne, we arrived at Vitznau and enjoyed a tour of the Rigi-Kulm Railway’s shop. It was fun to watch the crew use the turntable to move their equipment around. The shop also stored supplies for the shops and restaurants at the top of the mountain as the trains take everything from beer to teddy bears to the top. They had spools of catenary for a project to replace it in some spots. They had two 1920s steam engines resting in the shop, too, among other pieces of equipment for snow removal and passenger cars ranging in in age from 50-80 years old or so. We boarded the Rigi-Kulm cog railway at Vitznau for a ride up in an open-air car behind a newer electric car. It is Europe’s first cog railway, starting in 1869 by Nicholas Riggenbach. There are several stops en route with the summit station at 5,748 feet. This cog railway is special because it climbs the mountain from two different directions, from Vitznau and Arth. After a couple of magical hours at the top, we went back down by way of two gondolas.
At the Arth-Goldau station, we had a special treat. We rode on vintage passenger cars behind an electric Crocodile locomotive built in 1922. It is SBB Be 6/8 III No. 13302. Special Interest Tours arranged for this exclusive ride. Check out video (that’s the best way to take in the Croc) at https://m.facebook.com/TrainsMagazine/ or https://www.instagram.com/trains_magazine/?hl=en.
You’ll find more photos there too.
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