It takes 2 trains to get you to the top. You'll see both trains here. This is a timelapse view of the full ride on the Heidelberg Mountain Railway called the Bergbahn. Königstuhlbahn and Molkenkurbahn are the names of the 2 tram rides.
Here you see us going on the train from the Heidelberg castle (by the Neckar River) up to the top called the Königstuhl in the Odenwald Mountains. Notice halfway up how the trains pass each other. That's because they are connected and pass in the middle. While they have been converted to now run electrically, they use to use a water ballast system of propulsion. Basically, the train car at the top filled a ballast with enough water so that it weighed more than the train at the bottom. Then as it descended down the mountain it would pull the lower one up to the top. Altering the quantity of water in each car would make it go again. Pretty smart, huh?
If you are going to visit the Heidelberg castle, this is defiantly something to do in Heidelberg. Walking up the Hauptstraße you will pass the Church of the Holy Spirit, called Heidelberg Heiliggeistkirche which is in the Marktplatz. Keep going a little further up the hill and you will arrive at the Heidelberg Castle called the Schloss Heidelberg. About a block away from that is the Berg Bahn train that will take you up to a lookout point at the top, called the Königstuhl. On a clear day you can see all the way to Pfaelzerwald (Palatinate Forest)!
There is a nice little shop called the Fuchsbau Kiosk where you can stop for a tasty treat.
