150 years Appenzell Railways

In the year of its founding, Switzerland’s first narrow-gauge railway tunnel is built between Herisau and Winkeln. In 1889, the world’s tightest rack rail bend is used with a steam locomotive built specifically for it. Switzerland’s first narrow-gauge mail car with a post office follows a year later. Later, Appenzell Railways has Switzerland’s longest nar-row-gauge vehicle and the world’s first dining car with a roof-mounted pantograph. The company is also the first Swiss railway to install enclosed toilets in its passenger carriages. Today, it operates six lines in the cantons of Appen-zell lnnerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen and Thurgau. The team of 240 employees carries some 6.5 mil-lion people every year.