25 September 2004 - The world famous Scenic Railway at Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia
IMAGE INFO
- Viewpoint is looking north from the Bottom Station in the Jamison Valley.
- The current passenger cars are much more comfortable, spacious & fully enclosed with glass canopies - unlike the ones seen here which offered wind-in-your-hair thrills - especially sitting in the very front seat ;o)..
- Scenic Railway Wiki info:
"The Scenic Railway is an incline railway now used for tourism. The steepest section of track is on an incline of 52 degrees (128% gradient) contained within a total distance of 310 metres (1,020 ft). It was originally constructed for a coal and oil shale mining operation in the Jamison Valley in the 1880s, in order to haul the coal and shale from the valley floor up to the escarpment above. From 1928 to 1945, it carried coal during the week and passengers at weekends. The coal mine was closed in 1945 after which it remained as a tourist attraction. The Scenic Railway was temporarily closed on 13 January 2013 (although the Skyway, Cableway, and Walkway remained open) as construction to upgrade both tracks and carriages began. The work was completed and the railway reopened in April 2013.
The Scenic Railway has been promoted as the world's steepest passenger railway, but it is technically an inclined lift, not a funicular, due to its winch system and lack of a counterbalancing carriage. Among true funiculars, the Stoosbahn in Switzerland, opened in 2017, holds the record for steepest incline. In the broader category of cable cars, the Scenic Railway was surpassed in steepness in 2024 by the new Schilthorn cable car in Switzerland, which has a gradient of 159.4%." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenic_World
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SOURCE INFO
- Original lo-res image captured using a Canon PowerShot A75 3.2MP digital pocket camera [medium resolution setting].
***********************************
PROCESS INFO
- Latest version enlarged & enhanced using Topaz Gigapixel AI, Skylum Luminar Neo AI & Adobe Photoshop CS2 software.
25 September 2004 - The world famous Scenic Railway at Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia
IMAGE INFO
- Viewpoint is looking north from the Bottom Station in the Jamison Valley.
- The current passenger cars are much more comfortable, spacious & fully enclosed with glass canopies - unlike the ones seen here which offered wind-in-your-hair thrills - especially sitting in the very front seat ;o)..
- Scenic Railway Wiki info:
"The Scenic Railway is an incline railway now used for tourism. The steepest section of track is on an incline of 52 degrees (128% gradient) contained within a total distance of 310 metres (1,020 ft). It was originally constructed for a coal and oil shale mining operation in the Jamison Valley in the 1880s, in order to haul the coal and shale from the valley floor up to the escarpment above. From 1928 to 1945, it carried coal during the week and passengers at weekends. The coal mine was closed in 1945 after which it remained as a tourist attraction. The Scenic Railway was temporarily closed on 13 January 2013 (although the Skyway, Cableway, and Walkway remained open) as construction to upgrade both tracks and carriages began. The work was completed and the railway reopened in April 2013.
The Scenic Railway has been promoted as the world's steepest passenger railway, but it is technically an inclined lift, not a funicular, due to its winch system and lack of a counterbalancing carriage. Among true funiculars, the Stoosbahn in Switzerland, opened in 2017, holds the record for steepest incline. In the broader category of cable cars, the Scenic Railway was surpassed in steepness in 2024 by the new Schilthorn cable car in Switzerland, which has a gradient of 159.4%." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenic_World
***********************************
SOURCE INFO
- Original lo-res image captured using a Canon PowerShot A75 3.2MP digital pocket camera [medium resolution setting].
***********************************
PROCESS INFO
- Latest version enlarged & enhanced using Topaz Gigapixel AI, Skylum Luminar Neo AI & Adobe Photoshop CS2 software.