ThyssenKrupp Magazin

28 Y SLEEPERS
on this Y sleeper system by heart. He explains that the
well-known advantages stem above all from the triangular
shape; known from the construction of half-timbered
building, it has an advantage over the rhomboid shape of
normal tracks in that it is much better at absorbing the
side forces that press onto the track.
Frame stiffness and lateral movement resistance are
two factors that Mahn says have decisive competitive advantages,
not to mention the lower gravel requirements,
the lower transportation weight, a long lifecycle, excellent
recycling capacity and the optimum flexibility of steel as a
material for special types of construction.
Too much at once? Mahn begs to differ. “Although I
have a technical background, I see myself foremost as a
sales person who, together with the production team, has
to fulfill the customer’s wishes. My longstanding experience
helps me here.” Above all his experience with Y
sleepers, although the customer in Montserrat was also
convinced of the functionality of the Y system and ordered it after seeing where Y steel
sleepers with cog rails had been used for the first time on the Andermatt-to-Oberalp
section of the Furka-Oberalp railroad.
According to Mahn, this will certainly not have been the last project of this type.
Quite the contrary: The expansion into eastern Europe, his local market research in
such countries as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic and the prospect of contracts
for the domestic German network cause him to be optimistic.
MAN ON THE WAY INTO THE INNER WORLD
Yet the Montserrat route will probably remain exceptional, thanks to its panoramic
view, its ascent over rough and smooth, and its dramatic ups and downs (in air-conditioned
carriages). Montserrat remains a symbol of independence, unassailability,
firmness, religion and music. For centuries it has attracted people on pilgrimages, scientists
like Wilhelm von Humboldt and artists like Friedrich Schiller, who wrote that
Montserrat pulls a person from the outer world into the inner world. And not only that:
Goethe wished Montserrat to everyone, convinced that “man alone can find happiness
and rest on his own Montserrat."
But we have to get up there first. 7
A timeless symbol of happiness and rest
The Montserrat monastery
was founded by Benedictine monks.
Monks still live here today in an
incredibly beautiful environment. The
ride on the rack railway makes clear
why so many wonderful legends
surround Montserrat.
TK Magazine | 1 | 2004 |