Geislinger Steige

The Geislinger Steige ("Geislingen climb") is an old trade route over the low mountain range of the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. It links Geislingen an der Steige with Amstetten and is one of the most famous ascents in the Jura. The name "Geislinger Steige" refers both to:

The ramp is 5.6 km long and climbs a height of 112 m. It has an incline of 1:44.5, which is 22.5 ‰ or 2.25%. The curve radius in places is less than 300 m, with a minimum of 278 m. This section of the line is therefore built in accordance with the standards for mountain railways.

With the passing of the law affecting the construction of railways in 1843, the decision was effectively made to build a line from Heilbronn – at that time the final destination for shipping on the river Neckar - to Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, the first railway line in Württemberg. The biggest difficulty to the construction was the unfavourable topography, because the Swabian Jura had to be crossed between Geislingen and Ulm. After various options had been investigated and discarded, it was finally decided to build a short, steep ramp at Geislingen: the Geislinger Steige.

The construction of the railway ramp was entrusted to senior engineer (Oberingenieur) Michael Knoll and master builder (Oberbaurat) Karl von Etzel, who had gained experience on the Brennerbahn through (South) Tyrol. Construction began in 1847 and the ramp was opened in 1850, around 3,000 workers having been employed. Closely linked to the building of the ramp is the firm of WMF (Württemberg Metal Factory) at Geislingen an der Steige.

Its operation was a challenge for the Royal Württemberg State Railways (K.W.St.E.) as well as the Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Bundesbahn. In the steam locomotive age every train, even the Orient-Express, had to be assisted. As a result, the railway stations at Geislingen (Steige) and Amstetten are correspondingly large.

...
Wikipedia