Heritage railway
Due to a lack of modern technology or the desire for historical accuracy, railway operations can be handled with traditional practices such as the use of tokens.
While some heritage railways are profitable tourist attractions, many are not-for-profit entities; some of the latter depend on enthusiastic volunteers for upkeep and operations to supplement revenue from traffic and visitors.
Still other heritage railways offer a viable public-transit option, and can maintain operations with revenue from regular riders or government subsidies.
[3] Although the fall of communist governments has led to the closure of some, preserved children's railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states and Eastern European countries.
[6][7] Creating passages for trains up steep hills and through mountain regions offers many obstacles which call for technical solutions.
At high altitudes, construction and logistical difficulties, limited urban development and demand for transport and special rolling-stock requirements have left many mountain railways unmodernized.
La Trochita (officially Viejo Expreso Patagónico, the Old Patagonian Express) was declared a National Historic Monument by the Government of Argentina in 1999.
In Salta Province in northeastern Argentina, the Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds) runs along 220 km (140 mi) of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge track in what is one of the highest railways in the world.
The line has 29 bridges, 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts, two spirals and two zigzags, and its highest point is 4,220 metres (13,850 ft) above sea level.
With a speed below 20 km per hour to avoid interfering with wildlife and the formations are propelled to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a non-polluting fuel.
Flanders, Belgium's northern Dutch-speaking region, has the Dendermonde–Puurs Steam Railway; whereas Wallonia, with its strong history of 19th century heavy industries, has the Chemin de fer à vapeur des Trois Vallées and PFT operates the Chemin de Fer du Bocq.
In southern Finland, it is the only line with many structural details abandoned by the rest of the network which regularly carries passenger traffic.
Wooden sleepers, gravel ballast and low rail weight with no overhead catenary make it uniquely historical.
[18] The Buckower Kleinbahn [de] is a 4.9-kilometre (3.0 mi) spur line of the Prussian Eastern Railway, located in the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park in Brandenburg.
It was originally constructed in 1897 as a narrow-gauge railway, with a gauge of 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in), connecting Buckow to the Müncheberg (Mark) station.
It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the town of Tirano, in the Province of Sondrio, Italy, via the Bernina Pass.
The elevation difference on the section between the Bernina Pass and Tirano is 1,824 m (5,984 ft), allowing passengers to view glaciers along the line.
In July 2023, Ferrovie dello Stato established a new company, the "FS Treni Turistici Italiani" (English: FS Italian Tourist Trains), with the mission "to propose an offer of railway services expressly designed and calibrated for quality, sustainable tourism and attentive to rediscovering the riches of the Italian territory.
[33] Some of the most emblematic pre-World War II electric locomotives and trains are the Crocodile, notably used on the Gotthard Railway,[34] and the Red Arrow.
The large number of heritage railways in the UK is due in part to the closure of many minor lines during the 1960s' Beeching cuts, and they were relatively easy to revive.
A typical British heritage railway will use steam locomotives and original rolling stock to create a period atmosphere, although some are concentrating on diesel and electric traction to re-create the post-steam era.
Many run seasonally on partial routes, unconnected to a larger network (or railway), and charge high fares in comparison with transit services; as a result, they focus on the tourist and leisure markets.
During the 1990s and 2000s, however, some heritage railways aimed to provide local transportation and extend their running seasons to carry commercial passenger traffic.
The Great Central Railway, the only preserved British main line with a double track, can operate over 50 trains on a busy timetable day.
Heritage streetcar systems operating in Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; Boston, Massachusetts (MBTA Mattapan Trolley) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SEPTA route 15); and Tampa, Florida, are among the larger examples.
The San Francisco Municipal Railway, or Muni, runs exclusively historic trolleys on its heavily used F Market & Wharves line.
The VTA in San Jose, California, also maintains a heritage trolley fleet, for occasional use on the downtown portion of a new light rail system opened in 1988.
Other cities with heritage streetcar lines include Galveston, Texas; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and San Pedro, California (home of the port of Los Angeles).
[39] Elsewhere in Portland, the Willamette Shore Trolley is a seasonal, volunteer-operated excursion service on a former freight railroad line, to Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Some Perley Thomas cars were maintained in continuous service on the St. Charles Streetcar Line until Hurricane Katrina caused major damage to the right-of-way in 2005.
