The Lotschberg Or Bernese Alpine Railway Modern Engineering for the Benefit of the Tourist

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 452 May 17, 1913

View toward the village of Gampel and the Rhone valley.

The Lotschberg or Bernese Alpine Railway Modern Engineering for the Benefit of the Tourist

By Dr. Alfred Gradenwitz

IKCI,] the granite wall of the Alps was locomotives more powerful than any S first pierced thirty years ago, in order steam locomotives in Europe, and the first Switzerland's great industry is to catm' to thc tourist, arut in this to lay through the St. Gotthard range a section from Spiez to E'rutigen has been endeavor all modern resources arc stra·incd. The current month sces the railway on which Italy, the land of poetH con vel'ted into a trial line for these new ,pening of another most picturesque railway line, connecting' Dake Thun and artists, could be reached more com engines. The speed of the trains, in spite with the Simplon tunnel. Interest in Swiss travel is so gcneral that we fortably, numerous railways and tunnels of the high gradients of the line, which feel B'urc our H'adcrs will welcome an account of the ncw line. Thosc who ve been created by the art of engineers are e(lUal to those of the St. Gotthard, Arl 1m seek more detailed information 'will find it in this week's issue of the and the enterprise of capitalists. The St. berg and Mont Cenis routes, exceeds the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT.-EDITOR. Gotthard tunnel, kilometers in length, figures reached on these lines. In order 14 has long been outdone by the Simplon tun to illustrate the power of the new elec nel, and the most gradiose schemes in tric locomotives, it may be said that each bridge and viaduct construction have been of them can draw a train weighing 310 realized in connection with thc new Berne tOllS on a gradient of 27 per mile, which LiitHchberg-Simplon Hailway, to be inaug is the international standard fixed as a

II l"a during the current month, which maximulll, whereas in the case of steam t ('d the most daring technical traction two powerful engines are re combines \I'ith structures all alJUndance of �mrpm-;singly quired for the same performance. The heautiful scenery, to an extent never ap Bernese Alpine Hailway comprises the proximately afforded any othcr railway lines of 'r liun-Spiez-E'rutigen-Kandersteg by Iiue. The LiH,.;chberg lille leads through Brigue and Spiez-Illterlaken-Biinigen ; the the Bernese Alps from E'rutigen to Brigue, company also rum; :,;teamships on the in the HllOne valley, and. links up, on one lakes of Thun and Brienz. The Simplon halld, the country round the Lake of tunnel, which has been open to traffic Thun, Berne and Interlaken ; in fact, the since is also operated by electricity. mOG, BerlH�sP Oberland, with Upper Valais, the The starting point of the Vitschberg or Upper ' Hhone valley-especially with the Bernese Alpine Railway is at Spiez, on magnificPllt mountain and tourist center the Lake of Thun, where it connects with of Zermutt and Saas-Fee-and on the the Lake Thun Hailway. After passing a other hand, through the directly-connected short tunnel through the Hondrich, it en Simlliou tUlmel, with the splendid Lago ters the Kandel' valley beyond Spiez. At Maggiore, the Borromean Islands and the Miilenen is effected he transfer to the t industrial and traffic center of Upper electric cableway leading to the wonder

Italy, Milan, 'l'urin and Genoa. ful Belvedere of Mont Kiesen (7,755 feet ) , But the Bernese Alpine Railway is also After Reichenbach, the intermediate sta of international importance, offering as it tion for the Kien valley, with its wealth does to travelers from Gprmany to Italy of Alps, E'rutigen, until now the terminus a route in every way equh'alent to the St. of the line, is reached. Gotthard line, which affords the addi 'rhe new line of E'rutigen-Brigue, after tional advantage of a lIerfpct absence of crossing the Kamler, rises slowly up the

�llloke, due to the adoption of electric mountain siolle on 11 high viaduct, and at Blau See describetl a large double loop, traInct ion. fact, this the first Alpine railway partly in a loop tunnel. Travelers thus h; more than local importance for which see the romantic ruim; of the E' elsenburg of electric traction been planned at the ca:,;tle at first above, then beside, and 1mB outset. 'l'he daring spirit in which it was finally below themselves. Before reach conceiY!�d is the more to be admired as ing Kandersteg, the railway runs along a t the time of its incpption no technical side the Kander lc alls. Throughout the appliances a hIe to comllly with thp extra .iourney the traveler',; eye is fascinated by ordinary demaud" of the occasiou had yet the iceclad mOllntain gia nts, Altels and been evolved. 'l'hallks to the initiative BalmtlOl'n, Hinderhorn, the Doldenhorn, of the rail way company. theHe means have Ileaks of BHimlisalp, the bold colossi Birre \lOW been created by the construction of Luegelkinn viaduct, 123 meters long ; five 20-meter spans ; height, meters. and E'bistOcke, all of which encompass the 50

lovely health resort of Kandersteg. The much public misconception, were encoun Lotschberg tunnel, 14,605 meters in length, tered before Mr. Langley achieved his pur pierces the E'isistocke, passing below the pose and demonstrated to the world the Gastern valley and the Lotschen pass, in practicability of mechanical flight. The order again to emerge at Goppenstein. success attending his experiments with Farther uphill, the Lotschen valley, dom steam models in 1896 led him to continue inated by the huge Bietschhorn, opens out his work in perfecting his gasoline models, into a gorge of delightfully genuine Alpine known as the quarter-sized models, which character, which, like few others, has also flew successfully, and he then under been so far left practically untouched by took, for the War Department, the con the tourist traffic. The Bietsch gorge is struction of a steel man-carrying machine, crossed on a most picturesque iron bridge, which although practically perfect in comprising a main span o 317" feet and every point, failed to fly during the two � two side openings, each of 149 feet. trials held in 1903, due to a defect in thl'! At Hohten, the railway enters the launching apparatus. This excited the Rhone valley, where the marvellng eye ridicule of the press and the public, which of the traveler enjoys an incomparably neither understood the real cause of the beautiful view of the valley reaching to accident in the launching apparatus nor 1,400 feet below, the wonderful mouutain appreciated that such a Government ex outline on the south of the valley and the periment must be conducted in secret ; numberless brown villages and cottages and what was an accident was termed a with here and there the white church failure. Mr. Langley was discouraged steeples. Somewhat gradually it then and nearly heart-broken, and never again makes its way down to Brigue, crossing attempted to fly the large machine, which on numerous grandiose viaducts the north Bridge above Mittholz. is even to-day the peer of its kind, both ern affluents of the Rhone, and piercing in its lines and construction, and its re in twenty-one tunnels the projecting rocky markably light and powerful gasoline en rib of the mountains. The view enjoyed gine. This machine and the various in the vicinity of Ausserberg, on Visp, models that preceded it are safely housed lying far down in the valley, and the in the Institution, where they were built. mountains of the Nicolai valley, the When the Wright brothers had made Nadelhorn and Taschhoru, of surpass their successful experiments they re hl ing beauty. From Brigue the Federal marked that the inspiration of many Railway trains take the traveler in a few their early studies and much of their enof minutes to Visp, where the cars of the thusiasm emanated from the work Mr. Visp-Zermatt Railway bound for the Langley. People then began to studyof his grand glacier and peak regions of Zer researches seriously and were not long in matt and Saas-Fee are waiting for him, realizing the great importance of the prin whereas in a northeastern direction the ciples which he had discovered and the mail road passes through the Goms and data which he had assembled. They re the quaint villages of Upper Valais, in called with regret the disparagement they order, at Gletsch on the !thone glacier, had offered by untimely criticism. to connect with the Grimsel and Furlm In 1911 the Aero Club of Washington passes. Straight on, in a southeasterly planned to celebrate the event of the first direction, the electric locomotive, how flight of a machine heavier than air by ever, takes him through the longest tuu exercises held annually on the 6th of May, nel in the world, the Simplon tunnel, which was to be known as Langley day. 19,803 meters in length, to Domodossola, The third celebration of this event wa;; to the wonderful shores of Lago Maggiore, a fitting tribute to Mr. Langley and his and farther on, to the flourishing cities of The Baltschieder Gorge viaduct. sincere efforts toward establishing a new Upper Italy, Milan, Turin, and Genoa. science. The line from Spiez to Brigue is 48.48 In commemoration of Mr. Langley's re miles in length and reaches its highest searches in aeronautics, the Board of Re point (4,100 feet ) in the middle of the gents of the Smithsonian Institution Lotschberg tunnel. It ollens new dis caused to be prepared an oblong tablet of tricts of Switzerland to humanUll traffic and bronze, measuring four feet six inches gi ves access to countless jewels of the high by two feet five inches wide, cast Alpine world. from a design by Mr. John Flanagan. represents the late secretary seated on anIt The Smithsonian Institution and open terrace watching the flight of birds, while at the same time he sees in hi;; the Aero Club of Washington mind's eye his aerodrome soaring high Celebrate Langley Day above them. The tablet bears the follow N commemoration of the work of the ing inscription : eminent pioneer of the air, the late I Samuel Pierpont Langley Samuel Pierpont Langley, secretary of 1834-1906 the Smithsonian Institution, 1887 to Secretary of the Smithsonian Inlltitution 1906, the Institution and the Aero Club 1887-1906 of Washington united on May 6th, 1913, in celebrating the seventeenth anniver Discovered the relations of speed and sary of the first aeroplane flight, that of angle of inclination to the lifting vower Mr. Langley's model steam aerodrome of surfaces moving in air. No. 5, which twice flew successfully over the Potomac River at Quantico, Va., May "I have brought to a ·close the portion 6th, 1896. Bridge over the Bietsch Gorge. of the work which seemed to be svecially The first part of the exercises took mine, the demonstration of the" practica place in the main hall of the Smithsonian bility of mechanical flight. Building at 2 :30 P. M., when the Langley "The great universal highway overhead tablet was unveiled, and the Langley is now soon to be opened."-Langley, medals awarded to Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss 1901. and Monsieur Gustave Eiffel for experi The Langley medal was established by mentation and progress in the science of the Board of Regents on December 15th, aerodynamics. Addresses were delivered 1908, in memory of Secretary Langley by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell and Dr. and his contributions to the science of John Alfred Brashear of Allegheny, I'a. aerodromics, "to be a warded for specially Owing to the absence of M. Eiffel, his Ex meritorious investigations in the science cellency the E' rench ambassador reeeived of aerodromics and its application to the medal in his behalf. aviation." The Wright brothers were the The second part of the celebration was first to receive this medal in 1910, when it held at 4 o'clock on the grounds of the was awarded to them "for advanCing the Army War College, and consisted of a re .l>Cience of aerodromics in its application to ception by the Aero Club, followed by viation by their successful investigations ·it hydro-aeroplane maneuvers. and by their successful demonstrations of Although Mr. Langley's first successful the practicability of mechanical flight by aerodrome was only a model, it has been man." As already mentioned, the medal accor:ded the place of the first ship of the was conferred this year upon two other air, since it was without doubt the first investigators, Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss, the hea vier-than-air machine to propelled well-known American a viator, and Mon fly, by its own power. Many years of ince:; sieur Gustave Eiffel, the eminent l1' rench sant labor, repeated discouragements, and View showing three railway lines above one another. student of aerodynamic:; and aviation.