The Mariazell Railway () is an electrically operated narrow-gauge railway (with a track gauge of ) which connects the Lower Austrian capital of Sankt Pölten with the Styrian pilgrimage centre of Mariazell. The line was opened in stages between 1898 and 1907, and had a, now closed, branch to Wieselburg an der Erlauf. The railway is operated by NÖVOG, which is owned by the provincial government, and is a part of the Verkehrsverbund Niederösterreich-Burgenland (Lower Austria and Burgenland Transport Association).
History
Building and Steam Operation
The pilgrimage center of Mariazell was one of Austria-Hungary's most visited places by foreigners in the 19th century. Much thought was already being given to building a railway from St. Pölten to Mariazell even at the time when the Westbahn, from Vienna to Linz via St. Pölten opened in 1858. Many variations on the idea of extending the standard-gauge line through the Lower Austrian foothills of the Alps were considered.
Only after the Lower Austrian State Railway Law was passed in 1895 did work begin on the project. Owing to the difficult terrain that the railway would have to cross, it was decided to build it to a narrow gauge. The gauge of , as with all narrow-gauge railway undertakings in the Danube Monarchy, was made necessary by the military administration. Rolling stock used in military service on railways in Bosnia and Hercegovina was gauge and would need to be brought in. The railway's alignment would be built to a minimum curve radius of 80 m. In 1896, building work by the Lower Austrian State Railway Office began with acting director Engineer Josef Fogowitz in charge.
The mainline from St. Pölten to Kirchberg and the branch to Mank were opened on 4 July 1898; the operators were the state's own Lower Austrian State Railways. For the opening of these lines, the Lower Austrian State Railways bought four U Series steam locomotives, already proven on the Murtalbahn. The locomotives along with the two-axle passenger coaches and goods wagons, which were customary at the time, formed the railway network's basic equipment. The fleet was filled out in 1903 by two-axle light steam-powered railcars, which took over less-used trains.
As of 1902, building was continued and in 1905, the stretch through the Pielach valley as far as Laubenbachmühle and the branchline extension to Ruprechtshofen were completed. For the opening of this extension, and in anticipation of the further extension (the "mountain line") to Mariazell, a compound steam engine and a superheated steam engine were acquired as further developments of the U series.
In 1906, the Mariazell extension was sufficiently complete for freight traffic to be worked through to the terminus. On 2 May 1907, passenger service to Mariazell began running. That same summer, the final main line extension to Gußwerk was brought into service. For the mountainous extension to Mariazell, an especially high-performance engine was needed. The Krauss locomotive works in Linz proposed to build a locomotive with four powered axles and a tender, four of which were built by 1906 and used superheated steam. They were designated Mh (nowadays ÖBB 399). In 1907, two locomotives with compound steam workings were acquired and designated Mv. The "h" stood for "Heißdampf" (superheated steam), and the "v" for "Verbundantrieb" (compound working). Since the latter locomotives did not prove their worth, the next order was for two further locomotives of the Mh series. Since many passengers were expected, a great number of four-axled passenger coaches were bought, which were comparable in comfort and accoutrements with contemporary standard-gauge coaches. Also in 1906, three bigger and stronger steam railcars were delivered.
The "Lower Austrian-Styrian Alp Railway" (Niederösterreichisch-Steirische Alpenbahn) as the railway was known in Austro-Hungarian officialese, was thereby complete. Far-reaching plans for an extension over the Styrian Seeberg and a connection with the likewise narrow-gauge Thörlerbahn, and thereby with the Styrian railway network, had no work done on them owing to the outbreak of the First World War. Also, a connection to the Ybbstalbahn was never built.