History
Since 1868 a horse tramway ran on schedule from the Lánchíd to Zugliget set in operation by the Budai Közúti Vaspálya Társaság (~ Public Railway Society of Buda). Nikolaus Riggenbach (the designer of the first European cog-wheel train line of Vitznau-Rig opened in 1871) with a colleague of his as the representatives of the Internationale Gesellschaft für Bergbahnen applied for the construction of the cog-wheel train line leading to Svábhegy. The building permit was issued on July 3, 1873, and construction of the line began immediately, thus enabling the service to start up in the following year. The first introductory vehicle ran from 4 p.m. on June 24, 1874, and regular traffic began on the following day. The whole line was built according to Riggenbach's cog-wheel system. The normal-gauge single track railway was 2883 m (1.56 miles) long all the way uphill with a the difference in height of 264 m. The terminal point was built at the present Városmajor.
Successful operation of the cog-wheel railway raised the issue of extending the line. The plan was brought to fruition in 1890, when traffic started to the Széchenyi Mountain increasing the length of the line to 3700 m. From July 2, 1929, the new electrically powered vehicles ran every 15 minutes. 1973 saw a full reconstruction, during which the whole track was renewed and new vehicles introduced. The older trains last ran on 15 March 1973 and traffic using the new vehicles began on 20 August of the same year.
Read more about this topic: Budapest Cog-wheel Railway
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“America is, therefore the land of the future, where, in the ages that lie before us, the burden of the World’s history shall reveal itself. It is a land of desire for all those who are weary of the historical lumber-room of Old Europe.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (1735–1826)
“In history as in human life, regret does not bring back a lost moment and a thousand years will not recover something lost in a single hour.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)