With an overall gradient of nearly 1 in 9, the Pöstlingbergbahn is Europe's steepest adhesion-only railway. It was built up a deceptively minor hill in Linz and opened in 1898. In 2008, it was closed for a controversial refurbishment which re-gauged the whole line, connected it to Linz's existing tramway system, and brought into service brand-new low-floor trams. This is a well-illustrated history of the line and account of tis technical and social uniqueness. The book also includes chapters on the rest of the Linz tramway network and of the tram line (hardly a 'network', though it is described, rather grandly, as such!) in nearby Gmünden. ( )