Built by some 20,000 workers between 1848 and 1854, the 41km (25.5 mi) Semmering Railway connects the Austrian towns of Mürzzuschlag and Gloggnitz whilst traversing the heavily mountainous terrain of Semmering Pass. It was the first standard gauge mountain railway ever constructed and is considered the first ‘true’ mountain railway due to the immense change in altitude and the very difficult terrain across the route.
The line itself sees a 460m altitude difference in the space of 41km, 60% of the track is on a 2-2.5% (around 1:40) gradient with as much as 16% featuring very tight radius curves at only 190m. These feats of engineering combined together to make one of the most picturesque rail journeys in Europe, with tourism booming following the completion of the line.
The Semmering Railway features many structures along the line to aid in crossing some of the deep valleys and getting past the mountains, there are over 100 stone bridges, 11 iron bridges, 16 viaducts of which some are two storeys high and 14 tunnels that add up to 1477m long, ironically the 16 viaducts also add up to the exact same length of 1477m.
The incredible grades and tight curves along the Semmering Railway resulted in the need for new locomotives that could more easily handle the task, to decide which locomotives these would be, a competition was held. The new locos had to be able to traverse the grades and curves while maintaining a minimum speed of 11.5 km/h. 4 companies submitted their locos and even though they were all successful in trial runs, they weren’t reliable enough in running.
Eventually the railway settled for the Engerth locomotive, a unique articulated tender loco that had a top speed of 19 km/h up the steepest gradients thanks to the weight of the fuel and water being spread across all the axels, providing more traction.
The increased accessibility to the mountains set the path for purpose built Alpine resorts, with parts of the railway becoming known for their summer orientated architecture such as hotels and villas. It also lead to the construction of residential areas, this created a new form of landscape not usually seen on mountainous terrain. The line was electrified with the 15 kV overhead catenary system between 1957 and 1959, this vastly changed the appearance of the route, but didn’t have much of an effect on the overall view.
Today the line is owned and operated by the Austrian Federal Railways some 160 years after its construction and plays a key role in connecting Vienna and Graz as part of the ÖBB Southern Railway. The Semmering Railway was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998. Despite the fantastic scenery, towering bridges and challenging grades, a new 27.3km tunnel is being constructed under the mountains to bypass the Semmering Railway, this will be known as the Semmering Base Tunnel and is expected to open in 2024.
EuroSprinter ES 64 U2: ÖBB Class 1116 ‘Taurus’
The EuroSprinter is a family of electric locomotives built by Siemens primarily for the European market. The product name for the EuroSprinters is ES 64, ES meaning EuroSprinter and 64 representing the 6400 kW power output from the locos. Different variants are indicated by a letter following the product name, some examples are ES 64 P would mean Prototype or ES 64 F would mean freight. Additional classification may be required to designate how many power types the locomotive houses, for example one that could operate on both the 15 kV and 25 kV catenary would be an ES 64 U2.
The original ES 64 P was constructed in 1992 as a potential replacement for all the old Standard Electric Locomotives, it heavily resembled the RENFE Class 252 built be Siemens the previous year and housed three phase asynchronous equipment made popular by the DB BR 120. The ES 64 P was tested extensively throughout mainland Europe, the results being positive, it was classified as the DB BR 127 and is operating today under Dispolok.
The next 2 iterations of the EuroSprinter family were the ES 64 F and F4, Classified as the DB BR 152, the ES 64 F entered service in 1996 as an exclusive freight locomotive however the provisions for passenger hauling were included. The ES 64 F replaced the ageing DB BR 150/151 with 170 being built in total. Although powerful, the ES 64 F is known for its slippery nature when starting a heavy train, this was due to the lightweight construction of the locomotive. The ES 64 F4 is practically identical in terms of construction to the F, but the 4 indicates it is able to run on 4 different power systems, 15, 25 kV (AC) and 1.5, 3 kV (DC) catenary.
The ES 64 U was built as the first high speed variant of the EuroSprinter sporting a top speed of 140mph, the design differed significantly from the previous EuroSprinters with more rounded and streamlined edges designed for high speed efficiency. The U designation means this locomotive is universal, being able to handle both passenger and freight operations, to aid in reducing the forces on the track at higher speeds, the U houses a Quill drive.
ÖBB ordered ES 64 U and U2 locomotives for their passenger and freight needs, they classified their locomotives as the Class 1016 (U) and Class 1116 (U2), they also officially named their locomotives the ‘Taurus’. While the name only applies to the Austrian locomotives, the entire ES 64 U+ Class is now nicknamed Taurus by many people. One variant of the EuroSprinter, an ES 64 U4 holds the record for the fastest conventional electric locomotive in the world at an impressive 357 km/h (222mph).
FEATURES
The Semmeringbahn for Train Simulator features:
- 41km route from Mürzzuschlag to Gloggnitz
- Passenger and Freight Orientated Scenarios
- Railfan Mode
- EuroSprinter ES 64 U2: Class 1116 ‘Taurus’ in ÖBB Livery
- Bmz Eurofima Coach in ÖBB Livery
- Habbins Bogie Van Wagon
- Zags Bogie Tanker Wagon
- Sggrss Container Wagons
- Tdrs 2-Axle Hopper Wagons
The Semmeringbahn: Mürzzuschlag to Gloggnitz is available now on Steam.
