hat the
laborers were beginning the construction of a railroad, was greeted with
a shout of derision.

Nevertheless, that was the beginning of the Rigi line, and in May, 1871,
the road was opened for traffic. It begins at Vitznau, on Lake Lucerne,
and extends to the border of the canton and almost to the top of the
mountain. It is 19,000 feet long, and during that distance rises 4,000
feet at an average grade of 1 foot in 4. Though steep, it is by no means
so much so as the Mt. Washington road, which rises 5,285 feet above the
sea, at an average of 1 foot in 3. There are, however, stretches of the
Rigi road at which the grade is about 1 foot in 21/2, which is believed to
be the steepest in the world.

The Rigi road has several special features aside from its terrific
slopes which entitle it to be considered a triumph of the engineer's
skill. About midway up the mountains the builders came to a solid mass
of rock, which presented a barrier that to a surface road was
impassable. They determined to tunnel it, and, after an enormous
expenditure of labor, finished an inclined tunnel 225 feet in length, of
the same gradient as the road. A gorge in the side of the mountain where
a small stream, the Schnurtobel, had cut itself a passage also hindered
their way, and was crossed by a bridge of lattice girder work in three
spans, each 85 feet long. The entire roadbed, from beginning to end, was
cut in the solid rock. A channel was chiseled out to admit the central
beam, which contains the cogs fitting the driving wheel of the
locomotive. The engine is in the rear of the train, and presents the
exceedingly curious feature of a boiler greatly inclined, in order that
at the steeper gradients it may remain almost perpendicular. The coal
and water are contained in boxes over the driving wheels, so that all
the weight of the engine is really concentrated on the cogs--a
precaution to prevent their slipping. The cost of the road, including
three of these strangely constructed locomotives, three passenger
coaches, and three open wagons, was $260,000, and it is a good paying
investment. The fare demanded for the trip up the mountains is 5 francs,
while half that sum is required for the downward passage, and the road
is annually traversed by from 30,000 to 50,000 passengers.

Curious sensations are produced by a ride up this remarkable line. The
seats of the cars are inclined like the boiler of the locomotive, and so
long as the cars are