Geislinger Steige

The Geislinger Steige ("Geislingen climb") is an old trade route over the low mountain range of the Swabian Jura in southern Germany.

The curve radius in places is less than 300 m, with a minimum of 278 m. This section of the line is therefore built in accordance with the standards for mountain railways.

The biggest difficulty to the construction was the unfavourable topography, because the Swabian Jura had to be crossed between Geislingen and Ulm.

After various options had been investigated and discarded, it was finally decided to build a short, steep ramp at Geislingen: the Geislinger Steige.

The construction of the railway ramp was entrusted to senior engineer (Oberingenieur) Michael Knoll and master builder (Oberbaurat) Karl von Etzel, who had gained experience on the Brennerbahn through (South) Tyrol.

Closely linked to the building of the ramp is the firm of WMF (Württemberg Metal Factory) at Geislingen an der Steige.

In the Deutsche Bundesbahn era the trains were mainly hauled by standard electrics, the so-called Einheits-Elektrolokomotiven, and also the DB Class 103.

To make matters even more inconvenient, the track practically encircles the town in an almost perfect horseshoe shape.