Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 April 1890 — A NOVEL ROAD. [ARTICLE]

A NOVEL ROAD.

Switzerland Proposes a Hanging Highway Over the Mountains. The cantonal authorities of the districts around Mount Pilatus have under consideration a proposal for the construction of a novel kind of road Which has been submitted to them by M. Leonardo Torres of Santander through the central government at Berne. This road would connect the so-called Obercaupt, or highest point of Pilatus, with the Klimenshorn. The object would be to make the ascent of the mountain easier on the northern side and to shorten the ascent for tourists coming from Hergiswyl. The difference in level between the two points is set down at 194 meters; the distance between them at 465 meters. The road apparatus (for such itmust be called) would consist of six wire cables, quite independent of one another, on which six light pulley wheels will move, and from these wheels a small omnibus capable of carrying eight persons will hang. The omnibus will be drawn by a rope attached to a steam engine to be placed on the Oberhaupt, near the Bellevue hotel. <> *