Vertical boiler loco leaves museum to return to the Alps
THE only working vertical boiler rack locomotive in the world returned to passenger service in 2021, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first rack line in Switzerland, the Vitznau-RigiBahn which opened in 1871, just two years after the first rack line anywhere up Mount Washington in New Hampshire, USA.
Loco No. 7 was built by Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik (SLM) in 1873 and worked on the Rigi until 1937 when it was withdrawn following electrification of the line. Since 1959 it had been on show in the nearby national transport museum in Luzern.
The modern day Rigi Bahnen company runs both the original Vitznau-Rigi line and the route on the other side of the mountain to Arth Goldau which opened in 1875. Loco
No. 7 was used on both routes in 2021 and there are plans for this to be repeated in 2022 on several dates between May and September. Visit www.rigi.ch for information in English.