Unlike the Vitznau-Rigi line, the Rigi-Scheidegg railway followed the contours near the top of the mountain, rather than climbing it, and was not a rack railway. It was built to , and so never made a direct connection to the standard gauge Vitznau-Rigi line. Instead, the two lines met at right angles, and provision was made for the transfer of passengers and goods. Although three steam locomotives were built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) for the opening of the line, two were found sufficient to operate it, so the third sold to an unknown purchaser in 1884.