Clouds of Mist & Steam

---

Sunday 24th May. Jenbach is a bit of a different rail hub. There are three railway gauges in the station, the standard gauge ÖBB main line, the 1 metre gauge Achenseebahn rack railway, and the 760 mm narrow gauge Zillertahlbahn, which runs a half-hourly service up the Zillertahl Valley to Mayrhofen, a ski resort. Today I took trips on both the narrow gauge lines.

I first headed along the Zillertal Valley to Mayrhofen. Very pretty scenery, with the mountains either side shrouded in mist and clouds. Mayrhofen is a picture-book alpine village, with many hotels, guesthouses, ski schools, sports stores and restaurants. It was cool there but not really cold. I took the Ahornbahn cable car up into the clouds. A really steep cable car, with some great views, until we entered the clouds. Lots of snow up there at the top, maybe 600mm deep, but they had ploughed their walking paths. Just a few people up there, nobody going very far as the visibility was very limited. I had all my cold weather clothing on, but was overwarm, as it was not really that cold, mainly because there was no wind at all, it was still.

I headed back down to the town and had lunch. Decided to try an authentic Tyrolean dish – an omelette with mashed potato and cheese stuffing, of course with the usual Austrian apple juice with soda water. The omelette was heavy and very bland.

I took the train back to Jenbach in time for the last trip on the Achenseebahn steam cog railway. This railway has been running for 125 years, and still uses only steam locomotives. The little engines are specially designed for rack work, with sloping boilers, very low gearing, and a cog driving wheel underneath. It was a very pleasant one hour trip up the hill to Achensee, a mountain lake just north of Jenbach. One can then also take a boat up the lake (similar to the Wolgangsee). Beautiful lake, lots of people fishing, cycling, walking, with the snowy mountains all around. Then back down to Jenbach.

Tomorrow I plan to take the mainline train to Bludenz. This travels through Innsbruck, then along the renowned Arlberg line, including the Arlberg Tunnel, an 11 km long tunnel through the Alps, completed in 1884.

---

Photos

Achenseebahn Locomotive
Yes, the boiler is slanted. This is so it is more level when the locomotive is on the steep uphill rack section.

Another in my Picnic Table series
At the top of the Ahorn Cable Car