Up till now the steepest funicular in Switzerland, The Gelmer Funicular in Canton Bern, was also the steepest in Europe, with a gradient of 106%. This one, like other funiculars, runs on a fairly consistent slope, so the wagons are built with separate compartments or rows of seats with the floors slightly staggered but always parallel to the ground.
But in the case of the Stoos bahn, the access to the high plateau requires varied gradients, so this engineering marvel consists of four cylinders which rotate as the train moves, keeping the floors of each individual cylinder parallel to the ground while the sled they are in moves what seems like almost vertically up the cliff face. Leave it to the Swiss to come up with crazy ideas to get up their mountains....
Unfortunately for us, the day changed quickly from sunshine in the morning to dark clouds and fog as we got up the mountain, plus it had rained and frozen recently, so all the snow was hard and very slippery. There were still many skiiers on the slopes, but when you have vacation, I guess you take what you can get.
We had expected snow and planned a winter hike through snowy forests, but it was simply cold and slippery, so after a short 3 km loop, we headed back home. But watching the new funicular was worth the trip.
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| From below at the base station of the Stoos Funicular, the new funicular rises at an angle of 48 degrees 750 altitude meters to the village of Stoos on the upper plateau. |
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| The funicular bridge crosses the reservoir of the Muota River before rising up the steep cliff-face. |
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| At the summit station of the railway, it looks like the tracks disappear right into the two Mythen Peaks. |
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| Large Mythen and Small Mythen, Canton Schwyz, Switzerland |
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| We were lucky, we had some views before the clouds and fog moved in. The dark sky gives a special quality to the photos. |
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| Watching the funicular arrive at the summit station |
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| Watching the funicular arrive at the summit station |
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| There is only a slight incline at the summit, but you can see the slight rotation in the cylinders, so that the floor stays horizontal. |
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| Each cylinder holds 34 people, but in winter they carry fewer people because of skis and sleds. |
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| Advertising the funicular "the steepest funicular in the world". |
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| There was no sun, it was cold and windy, so we cut our walking plans short and did a 3-km loop. Then the fog moved in and it was a good time to descend anyway. |
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| Back at the bottom at the Muota River, we watched the funicular for a bit as it did a couple more of its 4-minute, 1700-m trips. |
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| A few of the many Swiss Funiculars we have been on (my photos) |
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