Narrow Gauge Street Running
Posted: 22 September 2009
Taken: | 2009-09-21 23:57:12 |
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Camera: | Canon EOS 1000D |
Exposure: | -1/3 |
ISO: | 200 |
Aperture: | f/8.0 |
Exposure Time: | 1/125 |
Focal Length: | 55 mm |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Germany license.
Notes
Unlike all other narrow- and normal gauge tracks in Chur, the Arosa line to, well, Arosa, starts on the place in front of the station and then continues on roads through the town itself. While this looks rather streetcar-like, it really is more what the americans call street running. The normal mainline (narrow gauge mainline, of course) vehicles run very, very slowly through the city, probably because they lack streetcar quality brakes. However, traffic lights block all other road traffic while a train is passing, which happens twice per hour (not counting additional freight trains). Normal traffic is allowed to follow the crawling trains once they have passed, however.
Here, you can see one important detail: Unlike any streetcar ever would, the line actually crosses into the opposite lane to make the corner. While the Arosa line has some amazingly tight bents, none of them reach streetcar levels. Ge 4/4II 616 is pulling a passenger train, this time without any freight cars, towards Arosa.