The Schwebebahn
In 1901, six years after the nearby Standseilbahn came into operation, the Dresden Schwebebahn started up. This cable-drawn suspension railway has connected the district of Loschwitz with the heights of Oberloschwitz ever since. The Schwebebahn itself is a marvellous example of German construction skill. The oldest hillside suspension railway and unique in its design, it has cheated time and withstood the ups and downs of history, with only minor technological changes required during that time. The Schwebebahn has been listed as a historical monument since 1975.
After extensive reconstruction from 2001–2002, the upper station of the Schwebebahn was equipped with a modern panoramic lift to take visitors to the machine room tower and its impressive viewing platform. The view over the entire Dresden Elbe Valley gave the area its local name: “Schönes Aussicht” – “Lovely View”.
The Schwebebahn's technology is based on the single-track suspension railway principle, the brainchild of the Cologne engineer Eugen Langen. The suspension unit to which the track is attached is held up by 32 pin-ended members and one fixed support. Both carriages have wheels with double wheel flanges to guide them along the track. The carriages themselves hang down below the rail and the train is pulled along by a cable. The hoisting engine is in the upper station. It was initially run by a compound steam engine, but since 1909 a direct-current engine has been used to send the train trundling back and forth between the lower and upper stations of this rail system, which is one of a kind in the world.
Technical details
- Model: Langen system cable-drawn suspension railway
- Operation: shuttle (unmanned)
- Stations: lower station in Loschwitz, upper station in Oberloschwitz
- Length of route: 273.8 m (about 900 feet)
- Height difference: 84.2 m (about 275 feet)
- Average gradient: 32.18 %
- Maximum gradient: 39.90 %
- Cable: 410 m long (1,345 feet); 38 mm thick
- Drive power: 80 kW
- Hoisting engine: two rigidly coupled driving discs
- Capacity: 400 people per hour in each direction
- Speed: 1.6 m/s
- Journey time: 4.5 minutes
