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Good Afternoon! It´s been a boring day today - dull outside, dull inside [sigh]. Had a number of useless telephone calls, but that was all. Our tour is slowly coming to an end. Tomorrow morning, we will had back to Innsbruck and make our way to Munich. The train ride will be one of the highlights of the trip, as we ride down the Arlberg mountain line. The Arlberg Railway, which connects the Austrian cities Innsbruck and Bludenz, is Austria's only east-westmountain railway. The 135.7 km line is considered one of Europe's most problematic mountain railways, in part because it is threatened by avalanches, mudslides, rockfalls and floods. It is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and frequented by international trains, including the Orient Express. As early as 1842 a railway over the Arlberg Pass was under discussion, as the British sought a rail connection for traffic from England to Egypt. Two years later, in 1847, Carl Ganahl - a textile industrialist from Feldkirch - decided to privately support construction of the railway, despite the many technical challenges involved. On the other hand, the opening of the Semmering Railway in 1854 showed that mountain railways were basically possible and feasible. Construction of the Arlberg Railway started in 1880 and proceeded at a faster pace than planned. Completion was originally not expected until the autumn of 1885, but already by May 29, 1883 the valley route from Innsbruck to Landeck in Tyrol was put into service. On September 21, 1884 the entire stretch of mountain railway was completed, including the then single-track, 10.25 km (6.37 mi) long Arlbergtunnel, the construction of which claimed 92 lives. The transalpine Arlberg Railway opened up a completely new connection between Lake Constance and the Adriatic Sea. Traffic increased so rapidly that already by July 15, 1885 a second track through the tunnel was opened, as had been planned since the beginning of the project. The most renowned train on the Arlberg route was the Orient Express, from London to Bucharest, which had only first-class compartments and parlors. Right from the beginning, the use of steam locomotives on the Arlberg led to serious problems: Passengers and crews were exposed to the unhealthy effects of sulfurous acid, which condensed from the steam in the tunnel. Grade slopes of up to 3.1% on the western ramp and 2.6% on the eastern ramp caused traction troubles for the locomotives. Finally, in 1924, this problem was eliminated with the completion of electrification of the tunnel, followed by the ramp sections in 1925. This electrification of the railway was carried out with a 15 kV, 16.7 Hertz system, allowing heavy trains to be pulled over the route once the tracks and supporting structures, including the Trisanna bridge in 1964, had been upgraded for the increased axle weights. Today, traffic through the Arlberg railway tunnel has increased considerably, despite competition from road transport through the Arlberg Road Tunnel. This has made it necessary to widen the approach ramps for double tracks. Many long-distance, high-speed EuroCity and Railjet trains ply the route from Vienna to Vorarlberg over the Arlberg. On the occasion of the World Ski Championships in 2001, the railway station of St. Anton on the eastern side of the Arlberg Tunnel was completely reconstructed and the tunnel itself extended by several hundred feet. <a href="http://www.bahnerlebnis-club.de/uploads/pics/Arlbergbahn_02.jpg"><img src="http://www.bahnerlebnis-club.de/uploads/pics/Arlbergbahn_02.jpg" alt=" " border="0" /></a> Our journey will finally take us to Munich, where we will stay at the Hotel Bayrischer Hof<a href="http://www.tropicalisland.de/germany/bavaria/munich/images/MUC%20Munich%20-%20Hotel%20Bayerischer%20Hof%20on%20Promenadeplatz%203008x2000.jpg"><img src="http://www.tropicalisland.de/germany/bavaria/munich/images/MUC%20Munich%20-%20Hotel%20Bayerischer%20Hof%20on%20Promenadeplatz%203008x2000.jpg" alt=" " border="0" /></a> Dinner is being served at the Hofbräuhaus, where !we will a traditional Bavarian meal, accompanied by [B][B][B]! <a href="http://www.ayashbasu.com/photoblog/images/20110728120953_hofbrauhaus.jpg"><img src="http://www.ayashbasu.com/photoblog/images/20110728120953_hofbrauhaus.jpg" alt=" " border="0" /></a> <a href="http://jkretzer3318.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/hofbrauhaus.jpg"><img src="http://jkretzer3318.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/hofbrauhaus.jpg" alt=" " border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.tagesspiegel.de/images/400-jahre-biertradition-im-hofbraeuhaus/1602330/2-format1.jpg"><img src="http://www.tagesspiegel.de/images/400-jahre-biertradition-im-hofbraeuhaus/1602330/2-format1.jpg" alt=" " border="0" /></a> Time to say good bye to good old Europe, as we head back to the States, Canada and Australia the following day. I hope you enjoyed our little tour!
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