To the Top of Europe by Rail
By Awake! correspondent in Switzerland
NINETEENTH-CENTURY man was in a mood to conquer nature. The Swiss Alps were a prime candidate. For centuries their forbidding peaks of jagged ice and rock had kept man at a respectful distance—but no more. Early in the 1800’s, mountaineers managed to climb the 13,642-foot [4,158 m] Jungfrau. While not the tallest, it is certainly among the most spectacular of the Alps.
By the late 1800’s, several enterprising men began to wonder how to make this peak accessible to more than just a handful of daring mountain climbers. Soon the idea of building a railway to the peak was born.
A Courageous Undertaking
Building a railway to such a lofty place was a colossal task, especially with the limited technology then available. The Swiss government considered several proposals on how it could be done and chose the plans of Adolphe Guyer-Zeller, a Zurich industrialist. He first had to organize a scientific expedition into the high Alps to prove that workmen and tourists could survive at those altitudes.
His plans made use of the Wengernalp railway, which already linked the alpine valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald below the Jungfrau. To extend the tracks up to the peak, Guyer-Zeller proposed building a 4.4-mile [7 km] tunnel upward through the inside of the Eiger and Mönch, the Jungfrau’s famous neighbor peaks. Thus, the tracks would be safe from the ferocious weather outside.
Work began in July 1896. It took two years to complete the first stage in the open air from Kleine Scheidegg to Eigergletscher Station, a distance of only 1.2 miles [2 km]. The next task was to start drilling through the Eiger. As the winter of 1898/99 approached, several hundred tunnel workers prepared to be completely cut off from the rest of the world by masses of snow.
The sleeping quarters for the workers and storage space for provisions formed quite a village. Thousands of pounds of foodstuffs, building materials, and fuel had to be stocked. The provisions had to last until the Wengernalp railway could run again, late in spring.
The workers drilled around the clock in three eight-hour shifts. But cutting through the rock had its price. Six workers were killed in a terrible mine accident. Still, the tunnelers reached the second stage, Eigerwand Station, on March 7, 1899. From the station windows, they could see Kleine Scheidegg, now 2.7 miles [4.3 km] behind them and, far below, the Lake of Thun.
Unexpected Obstacles
On April 3, 1899, the project was hit hard by the sudden death of Adolphe Guyer-Zeller. But under the direction of his sons, the next stage was completed, Eismeer Station, at an elevation of 10,367 feet [3,160 m]. It opened in July 1905.
Progress in the following years was slow. The grueling life in those inhospitable surroundings grated on the nerves and sapped the strength of the workers. Nevertheless, on February 21, 1912, the last hole was blasted through the rock on the Jungfraujoch (meaning “Yoke of the Jungfrau,” the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau). A breathtaking panorama opened up—snow peaks and glaciers spanned by a deep blue sky, all bathed in glittering sunshine!
Europe’s highest railway station, Jungfraujoch, at 11,332 feet [3,454 m] and 5.8 miles [9.3 km] from the start of the line, was inaugurated on August 1, 1912. The original idea of reaching the very top of the Jungfrau (2,300 feet [700 m] higher) had to be dropped—mainly because of the expense and the lack of space up there for the throngs of visitors expected. Already, the project was five million Swiss francs over its budget of ten million. Instead of the projected 7 years, the project had taken 16.
If You Visit the Jungfraujoch
Do you plan to visit the Jungfraujoch? From Kleine Scheidegg, the Jungfrau railway can take you, in less than an hour, to the top of Europe. Short stops permit you to look from the windows at Eigerwand and Eismeer stations. Once you reach the top, the thin air at that altitude may oblige you to move about slowly at first as you visit the exhibition hall of the scientific research station or view the sculptures in the Ice Palace. By elevator, you reach the Sphinx Terrace overlooking the Aletsch Glacier. You may even try a ride on a dogsled!
If you get hungry or thirsty, you will find a restaurant to suit every pocketbook and taste. But the best is offered free: the glorious view of the Creator’s handiwork, provided neither fog nor clouds make a sudden appearance. The scenery truly is a masterpiece of creation. We tiny observers can only contemplate it with awe and admiration.
[Picture on page 24]
Jungfraubahn (Jungfrau railway)
[Diagram/Picture on page 25]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
Course taken by the Jungfrau railway:
1. Kleine Scheidegg (open air);
2. Eigergletscher (open air);
3. Eigerwand (in tunnel);
4. Eismeer (in tunnel);
5. Jungfraujoch (in tunnel)