It used to look like this ...
In 1904 the rack railway was electrified, delayed by "technical difficulties".
In 1920 the whole operation was transferred to the Stuttgart Stadtbahn company and improvements began, first to the rather primitive rolling stock.
... brought the somewhat spartan bus stop terminus into use. Road improvements meant that the girder bridge over Filderstrasse ...
... was rebuilt; as was a flyover near the top of the line.
Soon after the bridge, we can look back and see the old line which leads (right) to the depot ...
Soon after the bridge, we can look back and see the old line which leads (right) to the depot ...
... and look up the hill to realise why it needs a "rack" (cogs in the centre of the track and driven on the cars themselves.)
Mostly the tracks follow the Alte Weinsteige road with occasional departures from the roadside and swaps from one side to the other ...
... all traffic light controlled, of course.
After another viaduct ...
... the upper terminus is reached where, guess what?
It connects with the Stadtbahn which is, once agaain, underground.
The service is numbered 10 in the same series as the Stadtbahn but without the "U" prefix.
Service is every 15 minutes on the single track, with one passing place.
Service is every 15 minutes on the single track, with one passing place.
The line closes at 2100, but there is a replacement taxi service until the trams shut down at 0100.
Each car propels a little trailer ...
... for bicycles; used, mainly, for uphill!
In the early days, the trip was advertised as a tourist line ...
... extolling the delightful views back over the city.
As we have come to expect, this line's fares are fully integrated with the city-wide standard system, available on buses, stadtbahn and "big" train S-Bahn within the greater Stuttgart area.
Das EinzelTicket berechtigt Sie zu einer Fahrt mit Unterbrechungen und Umsteigen in Richtung auf das Fahrziel in den gewählten Tarifzonen. Es ist ab dem Zeitpunkt des Kaufs am VVS-Ticketautomaten oder beim Busfahrer beziehungsweise ab dem Zeitpunkt der Entwertung drei Stunden gültig. Rund- und Rückfahrten sind nicht zulässig.
Fares are dependent on Zones as here with a day ticket ...
... but "singles" are similarly zoned and available all modes. Most city destinations are in Zones 1 and 2 which makes a "city" day ticket £6.20 OR £4.40.
** Zacke : was a local nickname for the service (origin unknown) which has become its "brand".
** Unique : it is the only urban rack railway in Germany.
** Zacke : was a local nickname for the service (origin unknown) which has become its "brand".
Next Stuttgart blog : Friday 2nd November
Although not in Germany, there is a rack railway line in Budapest which is fully integrated into the transport system and numbered in with the trams as route 60. In Hungarian it's rather splendidly called the Fogaskereku!
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