Montserrat

The Cremallera de Montserrat (Catalan for zipper) is a meter-gauge rack railway in Catalonia. It leads from the Monistrol train station up to the monastery on the Montserrat mountain. With a maximum gradient of 15.6 percent, it overcomes 550 meters in altitude. The railway was opened in 1892 and operated with a total of eight steam locomotives until the 1950s.

From the 1940s onwards, the company was noticeably worse off financially and a serious accident in 1953 caused the already weak transport figures to fall again noticeably. Due to this accident, the line was closed in May, 1957.

But that was not the end of the picturesque railway! After electrification, it reopened in 2003. For this purpose, five air-conditioned, low-floor electric multiple units of the Stadler GTW type were purchased in Switzerland. They offer a maximum of 200 passengers a good view of the surrounding area through the large panoramic windows.

A museum has been set up in the former Monistrol-Vila valley station. Severel of the original steam locomotives have survived to this day. The machines number 1 to 4 are of the same type as the old steam locomotives of the Austrian rack railways. Even the blueprints for the two- and four-axle wagons seem to have been adopted.