Zig Zag (railway)
Encyclopedia
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s and heavy earthworks. For a short distance (corresponding to the middle leg of the letter "Z"), the direction of travel is reversed, before the original direction is resumed.
A location on railways constructed e.g. to ascend very steep gradients by using a zig-zag alignment at which trains have to reverse direction in order to continue is a reversing station.
Advantages
The advantages of a zig zag include speed and relative cheapness of construction, with no need to worsen the ruling grade, compared to the alternative which almost certainly will require tunnels which are slow and costly to build. Where traffic is modest, a zig zag may well be a sensible long term solution.Disadvantages
Zig zags suffer from a number of possible limitations:- The length of a trainTrainA train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
will be limited by length of trackRail tracksThe track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
at the top and bottom points. - Reversing a train without running an engine around to the rear of the train is hazardous. Top and tailTop and tailA top-and-tail railway train has locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction. This is a British term. It is normal for only the leading locomotive to power the train when in top-and-tail mode, cf push pull operation with both locomotives powering.It is properly distinct from a...
or push pullPush-pull trainPush–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...
operation with engines at the rear of the train helps. - The process is slow.
Location of zig zags
- ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
- Tren a las Nubes (1921)
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
- Lithgow Zig ZagLithgow Zig ZagThe Lithgow Zig Zag was a zig zag railway built near Lithgow on the Great Western Railway of New South Wales in Australia which operated between 1870 and 1910, to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb up the western side of the Blue Mountains...
( see Zig Zag RailwayZig Zag RailwayThe Zig Zag Railway is a heritage railway at Lithgow in New South Wales, Australia on the site of the famous Great or Lithgow Zig Zag which operated between 1869 and 1910. As built, the line formed part of the Main West line from Sydney across the Blue Mountains and served to lower the line from...
) (1869) - out of use
- Jarrahglen (dismantled)
- Kalamunda Zig ZagKalamunda Zig ZagThe Kalamunda Zig Zag was completed in 1891, as part of the Upper Darling Range Railway line in Western Australia which was built by the Canning Jarrah Timber Company to supply railway sleepers to Perth's growing railway system....
- 2 reversals - Lapstone Zig ZagLapstone Zig ZagThe Lapstone Zig Zag was a ##Zig Zag #railway#|zig zag railway## built near ##Lapstone, New South Wales|Lapstone## on the ##Main Western railway line, New South Wales|Great Western Railway## of ##New South Wales## in ##Australia## between 1863 and 1865, to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb...
- 2 reversals (1865) - Mundaring Weir Branch Railway
- Yarloop, Western AustraliaYarloop, Western AustraliaYarloop is a town located in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Waroona and Harvey. At the 2006 census, Yarloop had a population of 545.-History:...
(dismantled) - Lake Margaret TramLake Margaret TramThe Lake Margaret Tram was located on the western side of Mount Sedgwick in the West Coast Range on the West Coast of Tasmania in service for the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company to the Lake Margaret community .- Construction :...
- Lithgow Zig Zag
- ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
- Qinglongqiao on the Jingbao RailwayJingbao railwayThe Beijing-Baotou Railway or Jingbao Railway is a 833 km railway from Beijing to Baotou, Inner Mongolia in China. It is a very important route in northwestern China....
- Qinglongqiao on the Jingbao Railway
- ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
- PisaguaPisaguaPisagua is a Chilean port on the Pacific Ocean, located in Huara comuna , in Tarapacá Region, northern Chile. In 2007, the new province of El Tamarugal was established and the comuna of Huara, previously within the province of Iquique, was incorporated to the newly created province.-Early...
- 3 reversals; long out of use but earthworks easy to trace.
- Pisagua
- DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
- LemvigLemvigLemvig is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 510 km², and has a population of 22,067 . Its mayor is Erik Flyvholm, a member of the Venstre political party.The main town and the site of its municipal...
- Small side track from the harbor to the railway station, used only on special occasions. In reality only half a 'Z' as only one reversal is needed.
- Lemvig
- EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
- SibambeSibambeSibambe is a small town in the Chimborazo province of Ecuador. It is located near the base of the "Devil's Nose" promontory and the end point for tourist trains from Riobamba and Alausi that negotiate the switchbacks of the Devil's Nose.- Sources :*...
on the QuitoQuitoSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
-GuayaquilGuayaquilGuayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
line (cf. Empresa de Ferrocarriles EcuatorianosEmpresa de Ferrocarriles EcuatorianosThe Ferrocarriles del Ecuador Empresa Publica is the national railway of Ecuador. The railway system was devised to connect the Pacific coast with the Andean highlands. After many decades of service the railway was severely damaged by the El Niño in 1997 and 1998 and general neglect...
)
- Sibambe
- FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- Froissy Dompierre Light RailwayFroissy Dompierre Light RailwayThe Froissy Dompierre Light Railway is a narrow-gauge light railway near the village of Cappy, in the Somme department, France. It is run as a heritage railway by APPEVA...
- Froissy Dompierre Light Railway
- GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Zig Zags in use
- RauensteinEffelder-RauensteinEffelder-Rauenstein is a municipality in the Sonneberg district of Thuringia, Germany....
(Hinterland Railway) - LauschaLauschaLauscha is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 13 km north of Sonneberg, and 24 km southwest of Saalfeld. It became known for its glassblowing.-Geography:...
(SonnebergSonnebergSonneberg is a town in Thuringia, Germany, which is seat of the district Sonneberg.It has long been a centre of toy making and is still well known for this...
– ProbstzellaProbstzellaProbstzella is a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany.-History:Between 1945 and 1990 Probstzella station served as East German inner German border crossing for rail transport...
railway) - Ernstthal am RennsteigErnstthal am RennsteigErnstthal am Rennsteig is a municipality section of the so-called Glass-blower Town Lauscha in the district of Sonneberg in Thuringia, Germany, close to the Thuringian Rennsteig.- Geographie :...
: created by close of the Ernstthal–Probstzella railway - Railway serving the island of NordstrandischmoorNordstrandischmoorNordstrandischmoor is a Hallig off the North Frisian coast in Germany and lies within the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park.- Geography :...
off the coast in the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively... - RennsteigRennsteigThe Rennsteig is a ridge walk as well as an historical boundary path in the Thuringian Forest, Thuringian Highland and Franconian Forest in central Germany....
(Rennsteig Railway, IlmenauIlmenauIlmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...
– ThemarThemarThemar is a town in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 11 km northwest of Hildburghausen, and 14 km southwest of Suhl.- Main sights :* St Bartholomew's Church* St. John's Church...
) - Michaelstein (Rübeland RailwayRübeland RailwayThe Rübeland Railway is a railway link from Blankenburg via Rübeland and Königshütte to Tanne in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It was built by the Halberstadt-Blankenburg Railway between 1880 and 1886. The route length is 30.6 kilometres, the height difference over 300 metres...
) - WurzbachWurzbachWurzbach is a town in the Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in southern Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 33 km southeast of Saalfeld, and 45 km northwest of Hof.-External links:*...
(Saalfeld – BlankensteinBlankensteinBlankenstein is a municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany.Blankenstein is also a quarter of the city Hattingen....
railway)
- Rauenstein
- out of use
- SchillingsfürstSchillingsfürstSchillingsfürst is a municipality in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 12 km southeast of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and 23 km west of Ansbach.-Notable people:...
(dismantled) - LenzkirchLenzkirchLenzkirch is a municipality in the Black Forest. It lies in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:...
in the Black ForestBlack ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
(dismantled) - Elm (replaced in 1914 by Distelrasen Tunnel, but the structure is conserved within the Frankfurt am Main - Fulda and Fulda - Gemünden railways and the connecting curve between the stations at Elm and SchlüchternSchlüchternSchlüchtern is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hessen, Germany. It is located on the river Kinzig at the southwest of a hill called Landrücken, approx. 30 km southwest of Fulda.-History:...
- Steinhelle-Medebach railway (double zig zag)
- Mainspitzestation in Frankfurt am Main, used from 1846 - 1848 to reach the provisional Frankfurt terminal of the Main-Neckar RailwayMain-Neckar RailwayThe Main-Neckar Railway is a main line railway west of the Odenwald in the Upper Rhine Plain of Germany that connects Frankfurt am Main to Heidelberg via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim...
(dismantled) - Erdbach station, Westerwald Railway
- Schillingsfürst
- Zig Zags in use
- HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
- Nagybörzsönyi Erdei Vasút has a simple zig zag at the middle of the railway line between Kisirtás and Tolmács-hegy stations, with a loop in the middle of the Z shape, narrow gauge
- IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- Darjeeling Himalayan RailwayDarjeeling Himalayan RailwayThe Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a narrow gauge railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways....
has six full zig zags, most are from the construction of the current railway but one was added in the 1940s and at least one other was used temporarily following storm damage, narrow gauge - Batasia LoopBatasia LoopThe Batasia Loop was created to lower the gradient of ascent of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. At this point, the track spirals around over itself through a tunnel and over a hilltop.It was commissioned in 1919....
in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
- Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
- JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Hakone Tozan Line has three zig zags, namely at Deyama S.B., Ōhiradai Station, Kami-Ōhidradai S.B.
- Hōhi Main LineHohi Main Lineframe|tight|Hōhi Main LineThe is a railway line on Kyūshū, in southern Japan. Part of the Kyushu Railway Company system, it connects the west coast and the east coast of the island...
at Tateno StationTateno Station (Kumamoto)is a railway station on the Hohi Main Line operated by JR Kyushu and Minami Aso Railway in Minamiaso, Kumamoto, Japan.-See also:*Tateno Station *List of railway stations in Japan... - Kisuki LineKisuki Lineis a railway line of West Japan Railway Company between Matsue Shimane Prefecture and Shōbara Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.-Stations:...
at Izumo-Sakane Station - Hisatsu Line at OkobaOkoba Stationis a Railway station of Hisatsu Line in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto.This station is in a zig zag line and also a spiral.The station opened in 1909.- Adjacent stations :- Gallery :...
and MasakiMasaki Station (Miyazaki)is a Railway station of Hisatsu Line in Ebino, Miyazaki.The station opened in 1911.- Adjacent stations :...
stations - Tateyama Sabō Erosion Control Works Service TrainTateyama Sabo Erosion Control Works Service TrainThe , commonly called , is a Japanese industrial railway line in Tateyama, Toyama. It is operated by the Tateyama Mountain Area Sabō Office, which belongs to the Hokuriku Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.-Overview:...
, the work train for an erosion control construction, is not open to general public, but deserves a mention for its 38 zig zags, 18 of them in a row. - Niyama StationNiyama Stationis a train station in Nanae, Kameda District, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan.-Adjacent stations:...
on Hakodate Main LineHakodate Main Lineis a railway line between the cities of Hakodate and Asahikawa in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company ....
(see #Wartime type switchback)
- South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
- Yeongdong LineYeongdong LineThe Yeongdong Line is a line of Korail. It connects Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province with Gangneung in Gangwon Province. From Yeongju, it crosses the Taebaek Mountains and reaches the Sea of Japan at Donghae, thence proceeding north to Gangneung.At Yeongju, the line connects with the...
, between Heungjeon station and Nahanjeong station. This section will be closed in 2012 and will be replaced by new tunnel .
- Yeongdong Line
- PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
- Khyber PassKhyber PassThe Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
- Khyber Pass
- PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
- 7 full Zigzags and one single reverse on the Central Railway of PeruFerrocarril Central AndinoFerrocarril Central Andino is the consortium which operates the Ferrovías Central railway in Peru linking the Pacific port of Callao and the capital Lima with Huancayo and Cerro de Pasco...
- PeruRailPeruRailPeruRail is a railway operator working tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru.The main line between the port of Matarani, Arequipa , Cuzco and Puno on Lake Titicaca was formerly known as the Ferrocarril del Sur , and was for a time owned and operated by the ENAFER state company...
between Cuzco to Machu PicchuMachu PicchuMachu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
- 5 switchbacks
- 7 full Zigzags and one single reverse on the Central Railway of Peru
- SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
- Historical Logging Switchback Railway in Vychylovka
- TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
- Alishan Forest RailwayAlishan Forest RailwayThe Alishan Forest Railway is an 86 km network of narrow-gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan...
- Alishan Forest Railway
- Burma (also known as Myanmar)
- Passenger line between Thazi and Kalaw, with 4 switchbacks, still in use
- United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Hagans Switchback in VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
- 8 Switchbacks at Cascade on GNCascade TunnelThe Cascade Tunnel refers to two tunnels at Stevens Pass through the Cascade Mountains, approximately to the east of Everett, Washington. The first Cascade Tunnel was a 2.63-mile long single track railroad, built by the Great Northern Railway in 1900 to avoid problems caused by heavy winter...
- replaced by tunnel which was in turn replaced by a longer tunnel. - Cass Scenic RailroadCass Scenic Railroad State ParkCass Scenic Railroad State Park is a State Park located in Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia.It consists of the Cass Scenic Railroad, an long heritage railroad that is owned by the state of West Virginia...
, West Virginia - 2 switchbacks with 11% grade between, still in use - Confusion Hill Mountain Train RideConfusion HillConfusion Hill is a roadside attraction in Piercy, California. The attraction includes what is dubbed as a "gravity house," a structure built to give the interior visitors tilt-induced optical illusions, similar to the perspective on a gravity hill...
, Piercy, CaliforniaPiercy, CaliforniaPiercy is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It is located on the South Fork of the Eel River north-northwest of Leggett, at an elevation of 794 feet ....
- Several switchbacks in use. - Industrial switchback, Montage Mountain Road, Scranton, Pennsylvania - still in use
- Mount Hood RailroadMount Hood RailroadThe Mount Hood Railroad is a heritage and shortline freight railroad located in Hood River, Oregon, east of Portland, Oregon, United States....
, Hood River, OregonHood River, OregonThe city of Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,831...
- One switchback, still in use - Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge RailroadRoaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge RailroadThe Roaring Camp & Big Trees Railroad is a narrow gauge tourist railroad in California that starts from the Roaring Camp depot in Felton, California and runs up steep grades to the top of nearby Bear Mountain, a distance of 3.25 miles The travel is through a redwood forest.The steam engines date...
, FeltonFelton, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Felton had a population of 4,057. The population density was 891.2 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Felton was 3,691 White, 25 African American, 29 Native American, 69 Asian, 11 Pacific Islander, 60 from other races, and 172 from...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- One switchback, still in use - Shasta Sunset Dinner Train, McCloud, CaliforniaMcCloud, CaliforniaMcCloud is a small town and census-designated place in Siskiyou County, California, United States. The population was 1,101 at the 2010 census, down from 1,343 at the 2000 census.-Commerce and tourism:...
- One switchback, "Signal Butte Switchback", in use.
- Hagans Switchback in Virginia