Summer mountain railway

Summer mountain railway
Car 2 of the summer mountain railway
Route length:	0.738 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Maximum slope :	520  ‰
Top speed:	25 km / h
Legend Mountain station 726 m Wildbader Hangweg Abt dodge Panoramic road Panorama station 500 m Bätznerstrasse Valley station 428 m

The Sommerbergbahn is a funicular in Baden-Württemberg that leads from Bad Wildbad ( 420  m above sea  level ) to the Sommerberg . The length of the route is 738 meters, the difference in altitude to the intermediate stop Panoramastation 80 meters, to the mountain station 291 meters. The gradient is between 37 and 53 percent. It run two carriages on a track width of 1000 millimeters ( meter gauge ) extending in the in the middle passing point encounter.

The Sommerberg is a popular excursion destination with a view of Bad Wildbad and the Enz Valley , as well as the starting point for hikes and bike tours. Is at the valley station at Uhlandplatz since the cancellation in 2003 of the extension Enztalbahn a direct interchange with line S6 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn . In addition to tourist purposes, the Sommerbergbahn also offers a regular public transport connection between the Sommerberg residential area and the city center. However, it is not integrated into the local public transport company, Bäderkreis Calw . Neither does the Pforzheim-Enzkreis transport association (VPE), but holders of VPE tickets receive a discount. Regular runs the Sommerbergbahn during the day in 30-minute clock , if necessary additional trips can be inserted.

history

The summer mountain railway was opened on May 23, 1908, construction began in April 1907. Construction was only made possible by private investors who founded a stock corporation to build the railway. The technical systems, such as rails and wagons, were supplied by the Esslingen machine factory. The accumulators came from the accumulator factory in Berlin, the wire rope from Felten & Guilleaume from Cologne. C. Baresel from Untertürkheim was responsible for the construction work . The total cost was around 483,000 marks.

In 1910 the railway became the property of the city, and has been run as a municipal company ever since . It was modernized in 1928 and 1968. In 1947 the waiting and viewing hall of the mountain station burned down and was replaced in 1954 by architect Rudolf Lempp with a three-story new building with a waiting room, café-restaurant and viewing terrace. 1978 to 1980 the new construction of the valley station followed. In 1981/1982 the track structure and track structure were refurbished, in 2003/2004 the escape route was expanded.

The modernization of 1928 was led by the technical director of the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB), Paul Loercher, who came from Calw , near Wildbad. Experience with the Wildbader Bahn was incorporated into the construction of the Stuttgart funicular railway operated by SSB. This was also built and put into operation by Maschinenfabrik Esslingen in 1929 as the first semi-automatic funicular in Germany.

From November 29, 2010, the summer mountain railway was completely renovated. The entire track structure and the rest of the operating technology including the wagons were renewed. This was necessary in order to maintain the sustainability of the railway. The revision lasted until autumn 2011 and was tantamount to a new building. On September 30, 2011, the new summer mountain railway undertook its maiden voyage and was inaugurated with a ceremony from October 1 to 3.

The new cars were named King Wilhelm II and Queen Charlotte in memory of the Württemberg royal couple who used the mountain railway to travel up the Sommerberg when they visited on July 1, 1910.

vehicles

The two carriages of the funicular are connected to each other by an approximately 800-meter-long pull rope, which is guided over a pulley in the mountain station and driven by an electric motor. The wagons have been renewed three times since the railway went into operation.

	First generation	Second generation	Third generation	Fourth generation
Operating time	1908 to 1928	1928 to 1968	1968 to 2010	2011 until today
length	8.4 m	10 m	over 13 m	12.4 m
width	2.5 m	2.6 m	2.6 m	2.6 m
height	3 m	3 m	3.2 m	3.4 m
Weight			12.5 t	12 t
Compartments	3 (+ 2 open platforms)	5	6th	4th
capacity	56 people	75 people	100 people	75 people
speed	1.25 to 1.5 m / s	2 m / s	2.4 to 4 m / s	3 to 7 m / s
Drive power	44 kW / 60 PS	88 kW / 120 PS	170 kW / 231 PS	320 kW / 435 PS
Rope diameter	28 mm	34 mm	41 mm	40 mm

The fourth generation cars are designed for driverless operation. An employee in the mountain station controls the operational process. The lower capacity of the new wagons can be compensated for by increasing the speed if necessary. Car 1 of the third generation was preserved and stands as a technical monument in front of the Bad Wildbad train station.

gallery

• 

  4th generation car put into service in 2011

• 

  Encounter at the Abt switch

• 

  3rd generation of cars from 1968 to 2010

• 

  2nd generation of cars from 1928 to 1968

• 

  1st generation of cars from 1908 to 1928

literature

• Festschrift 50 years of the mountain railway to the Sommerberg 1908–1958. , Eisele printing works, May 23, 1958.
• Götz Bechtle: 100 years of the summer mountain railway in Bad Wildbad. In: Landkreis Calw (Ed.): Ein Jahrbuch , Volume 26, 2008, ISBN 978-3-9812679-0-7 , pp. 75-90.
• Götz Bechtle: Festival brochure 100 years of Bad Wildbad Summer Mountain Railway 1908–2008 , published by Stadtwerke Wildbad 2008, available from Touristik Bad Wildbad GmbH

Web links

Commons : Sommerbergbahn  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Operator's website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On the opening of the mountain railway in Wildbad. In: Wildbader Badblatt. Volume 44, No. 7, May 23, 1908. Reprinted in: Wildbader advertising paper with Calmbacher Bote. 64th vol., No. 40, May 21, 2008, pp. 6-9.

Coordinates: 48 ° 45 '0.7 "  N , 8 ° 32' 39.1"  E