| Steinhelle-Medebach Railway in Germany , Bo Justusson | ||
| Very few | There have been very few zigzags in Europe. Instead, one has used rack rails, serpentines or loops to overcome high grades. | |
|---|---|---|
| History | The Steinhelle-Medebach line was situated 60 km west of Kassel in Germany. It had one zigzag in Dittenbach valley, before the Wissinghausen station. Between track distance 18 km and 23 km the track went down 136 metres using a zigzag. The line was operating from 1903 to 1953 and had a total length of 36 km and had 750 mm gauge. |
Literature (in German) |
- Wolff, Gerd, Die Kleinbahn Steinhelle-Medebach in Eisenbahn Magazin 2/1974, 2 pages, 6 photos. - Wolff, Gerd et al, Klein- und Privatbahnen in Deutschland, Nordreihn-Westfalen Band 4: Südlicher Teil, 400 pages, 600 photos, ISBN 3-88255-660-9. |
| Lower switch | The lower switch, with a water post for the steam locos. Photo: From 1948, reproduced from Wolff's paper. |
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Zigzag Railways - Start Page | ||