In part 1 we looked at the route from Sankt Moritz to Thusis, the part of the route that is the Albula Railway. At Thusis the line follows the Hinterrhein northward and eventually turns east for Chur. From here the train reverses and heads back the way it came to the junction of the Furka Oberalp Bahn at Reichenau. From there the line climbs to the Oberalp Pass at 2023 metres and then drops down to Andermatt at 1447 metres.
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| Junction of lines at Reichenau. | Just west of Trin the line is running at the foot of huge cliffs - perhaps as much as 200 metres high. |
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| Even bigger cliffs a little further on – 300 metres? | At Bugnei the line crosses the eponymous viaduct. Bugnei is also noted for an industrial siding with overhead wiring, tunnel and viaduct of its own. |
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| Oberalppass station with Oberalp Lake to its west. The railway up to here went under many avalanche shelters. | Between the station at Nätschen and Andermatt (Junction) the line must lose about 400 metres of height and it does so by way of the zigzag shown with its five horseshoe curves and three tunnels. The road has a similar tortuous path and is actually crossed over four times. The railway is a rack section. |
So that’s Part 2. Part 3 will cover the Furka Section which since 1982 includes the Furka Base Tunnel. Before the tunnel opened the line over the Furka Pass had to be closed in winter due to heavy snowfalls. The old line over the top has been turned into the Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway.
