Vall de Núria Rack Railway
The Vall de Núria Rack Railway is a mountain railway in the Pyrenees mountains in the north of the Catalonia region of Spain. The line connects Ribes de Freser with Queralbs and Vall de Núria in Ripollès, Girona. As Queralbs is the highest point in the valley reachable by road, the rack railway is – along with the old footpath / mule track – the only way to reach the shrine and ski resort at Núria.
The line opened on March 22, 1931, and has been electrically operated from the start. It became part of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya on January 2, 1984 and remains in their ownership. The line connects to the main R3 line at Ribes de Freser, but the stations have separate access.
The line is long and has a rail gauge of. The first of the line is operated by conventional rail adhesion. The remainder of the line is operated as a rack railway, using the Abt system and with a maximum gradient of 15%. In total the line overcomes a height difference of. The line is electrified with an overhead supply at 1500 V DC.
Three generations of rolling stock exist on the line. The original stock consisted of passenger cars hauled by four six-wheeled electric locomotives, numbered E1-E4, built by SLM and BBC in 1930–31. They were supplemented by four two-car electric trains numbered A5-A8, built by SLM and BBC in 1985.
The final generation is represented by two low-floor electric motor coaches of type Stadler GTW and numbered A10-A11, built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland in 2003. The line also owns a diesel rack locomotive, D9, used on works trains and to push the snow plough.
Cars A10 and A11 are identical to the rolling stock of the Montserrat Rack Railway. The Montserrat line is also owned by the FGC and some stock is shared between the lines. Locomotive E4 is transferred for use on work trains.
Rolling stock
Rolling stock of the Montserrat Rack Railway are listed, if they are or were also used in Vall Núria| Picture link | Number, name | type | Year built | History | Additional info |
| E1 Virgen de Nuria E2 Obispo Guitarat E3 José Rogent * E4 Ramon Albó | Cb g2 | 1930 | SLM 3368/BBC 2969 SLM 3369/BBC 2970 SLM 3370/BBC 2971 SLM 3371/BBC 2972 | E1 in working condition E2/E3 Monument
| |
| A5 Puigmal A6 Torreneules A7 Taga A8 Balandrau | + g4 | 1986 1986 1986 1995 | MTM/SLM/BBC | ||
| D9 | Bbo de | 1995 | Stadler 237/SLM/ABB | Also used on the Montserrat line | |
| L09 | 2 dhs | 1995 | Stadler 238/MAN/Zaugg | Rotary snow plough | |
| DM6 | Bbo de | 2004 | Stadler | Built for Montserrat line, transferred to Vall Núria in 2006 | |
| A10 Noufonts A11 Bastiments | 2'Bbo 2' g2d | 2003 | Stadler 825–826 | Cogwheel-GTW, same as AM1–AM5. A10 transferred to Montserrat and repainted with Montserrat Rack Railway colors. It was renamed to "La Roca Foradada". A11 will be transferred soon to Montserrat. | |
| 11, 12, 21, 22, 23 | B | 1930 | Abffw 11–12 Bffw 21–23 | 12 = Cinema carriage 22 = Monument with E2 | |
| 51 | As | 1930 | Aaffw 51 | Saloon | |
| 01, 28 | Haik | 1930 | Affw 1**, Bffw 28 | Box car | |
| 02, 03, PM02 | R | 1930 | Affw 2, Bffw 25, 24 | Flat car | |
| 27, 29 | X | 1930 | Bffw 27, 29** | Service vehicle | |
| 70.951 K53–K54 | Gk | 1930 | K52–K54 | Small box cars 70.951 ex K 52 = Tank car | |
| M44, 062 | Kklm | 1930 | M44,M?? | 062 = Montserrat | |
| P22–P26 | Kkp | 1964, 62 | MGB/FO Uce 4861,62,67, MGB/FO Gb-v 4433', MGB/BVZ K 2641 | Flat cars P24 with cement mixer P25–P26 with thermic container | |
| P27−P28 | B | 1949 | MGB/FO B 4244–45 ex SBB A 182–183 | Bought in 2008, still with original livery, 4244 with auxiliary cab | |
| 364.01 | 2 g1 | 1930 | SLM 3469/BBC 3680 | Rotary snow plough | |
| KCw 29 | Fd | Service vehicle for track ballast | |||
| T5 | X | Catenary car, without cogwheel |