In 1889, Switzerland opened the Pilatusbahn, a mountain railway designed to climb Mount Pilatus using an unusual rack-and-cogwheel system. Engineer Eduard Locher developed the system after an earlier proposal using conventional rack technology was considered unsuitable for the mountain’s terrain and economic requirements. The railway opened on 4 June 1889 after construction began in April 1886, with steam-powered cars carrying passengers up gradients reaching 48%. Its original cars combined the engine, boiler, fuel and water storage with the passenger compartment on a single chassis. The railway was electrified in 1937, while its basic driving-gear principle remained unchanged.
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