CHUGGING UP THE MOUNTAIN...I THINK I CAN!!! - Phil & Jill

Did you know that in German 'schaf' means sheep and so the cog mountain train that chugs up to 1710m to the peak towering over St Wolfgang is called Schafbergbahn. In former times sheep with their small padded feet could graze the meadows on the high. From mid-May until the end of September, both the modern and vintage cog locomotives chug up and down giving the passenger an unforgetable experience. What a feat to conquer a mountain peak for tourists but not just today's travellers, those adventurous souls of the late 1800's. They were mostly the aristocratic classes from Vienna who were travelling to St Wolfgang by coach and were originally literally carried up the mountain by 'litter bearers'. At the same time plans were in the making to build a cog railway. After a lot of negotiation building finally started in April 1892. Materials and supplies had to be transported up the mountain by mule power.

At the beginning of 1893, the first locomotive for the SchafbergBahn arrived in Ischl, the Z1, in a disassembled state and was transported to St Wolfgang by sleigh, where it was reassembled by the Krauss company. On 31st July, 1893 the first train finally reached the summit of the Schafbergspitze and on the very next day, 1 August, the SchafbergBahn was officially opened.

It is now under the control of OBB ( Austrian Railways). Although the fleet has been modernised, the origonal rolling stock from the end the 19th century represents some of the oldest cog railway locomotives still in operation anywhere in the world. They are used exclusively at the head of the so called 'nostalgia trains', which run from the beginning of July until the end of September. I know one big boy David, and one smaller boy named Joel in Melbourne who would be fascinated by this cog railway because of their passionate love of trains.

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During the ride up, at about 472 metres above sea level, the cog railway leaves Upper Austria, crosses the Dittelbach (the border river) and enters Salzburg. After 2.7 kms , having passed through meadows and by dense forests with their cypress trees straight in a line, the train reaches the Dorneralm siding at 1,015 m. Here passengers enjoy the view of the emerald green, the old-time engines need their water tanks topped up.

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After an approximately 30 minute journey the train reaches the stop at Schafbergalps (elevation of 1,363 m) having completed 4.2 kms of its journey. This stop also marks the tree line of the Schafberg. From here it is another ten minutes to the terminal at the Schafbergspitze (1,732 m) or an hour on foot for those people who prefer to hike at this point.

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For the last stage, the locomotives drive tight up against a rock face, then through two tunnels before finally reaching the mountain station. Then what a panorama - mountain range, after mountain range as far as the eye can see. Many of the higher ones snow covered. It was such a sunny, clear day that it seemed like we could see forever. We hadn't climbed as high as we did on the cable cars at Neukirchen but the infinity scale of the mountains was longer. It was super! (As the Austrians say)

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An outstanding experience which we both enjoyed immensely.

Facts and figures for those who are interested:

Total length: 5.25 kms
Elevation gain: 1,190 metres
Maximum gradient: 26 per cent
Gauge: 1,000m

Type of construction: double cog (" Abt" ) system
Time: ca. 35 minutes with modern steam locomotives
ca. 60 minutes with vintage locomotives
Braking system: counter pressure brake, handbrake and electropneumatic brake.