Historic Swiss Furka railway marks 100 years with steam celebrations

Steam locomotives rolled into Realp as the Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke opened three days of centenary celebrations, marking 100 years since the first continuous steam journey over the pass linked Uri and Valais. The anniversary ran from July 3 to 5 with exhibitions, historic vehicles and special train services.

The line crosses the Furka Pass at 2,431 meters, or 7,976 feet, and its hairpin curves appeared in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. When the Furka Base Tunnel opened in 1982 and diverted regular traffic away from the mountain line, the historic route was shut down until volunteers began the restoration that brought it back.

The first section reopened as a heritage line in 1992, and the full 18-kilometer track was ready for travel by 2010. It is the longest operated unelectrified railway in Switzerland and a cultural asset of national, even European, significance. Around 520 volunteers work for the railway in their free time, and the Furka-Bergstrecke Association has about 7,500 members.

The original operator bought ten HG 3/4 rack-and-pinion locomotives in 1913 and 1914, and preserved examples of the class still haul trains on the mountain line. Bernhard Lang, one of the volunteer drivers, said it can take years to master the skill and called the locomotive "something like a living machine."