The Schafberg Railway () is a metre gauge cog railway in Upper Austria and Salzburg leading from Sankt Wolfgang im Salzkammergut up to the Schafberg (1,783 m). With a total length of 5.85 km it gains about 1,200 m in height difference. Construction of the Schafberg Railway commenced in 1892 and operations begun during the following year. It is owned by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and operated by the local company SchafbergBahn und Wolfgangsee Schifffahrt (SLB), part of the Salzburg AG group, The railway has operate both traditional steam locomotives and diesel traction, including railcars. It has been claimed to be the oldest steam-worked rack railway in Austria. History During the nineteenth century, the Schafberg became popular with climbers, particularly due to its view from the summit from which as many as five lakes of Austria's Lake District can be spotted. Since 1839, a climber's hut has been in place at the summit to better accommodate the growing numbers of visitors. By the latter part of the century, there were calls to construct a railway up the mountain to capitalise on these movements; a key advocate of the concept was the entrepreneur Bertholt Curant. From the onset, the railway was envisioned for use primarily by tourists. It was also recognised that joint services could be offered with ferries across the adjacent lake. During April 1892, construction of the Schafberg Railway commenced. It was built by a mostly Italian workforce numbering roughly 350, while virtually all materials, including tools and living supplies, were transported via mules, which reportedly performed in excess of 6,000 trips to the various work sites during the line's construction. The work continued throughout the winter of 1892/93, being only suspended briefly during the most extreme weather conditions. The trackbed had to be carved out of the mountain side along with numerous cuttings, culverts, and bridges; major civil engineering features include a 24 metre long viaduct, several arched stone bridges, rock cuttings, and a pair of tunnels, the longest having a length of 91 metres. Despite the challenge of the work and the often impressive civil engineering incorporated into the line, construction proceeded at a relatively fast rate. Within roughly one year, all of the line's core features had been completed, enabling the railway to be opened for the first time on 1 August 1893. From end to end, the line stretches 5.85 km (3.65 miles), between the