Vouraikos

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/vouraikos

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How long is Vouraikos?22 kilometers (13.7 miles)
2. How high is Vouraikos?Approximately 720 meters (2,362 feet)
3. What is the railway system?Rack railway (Abt system)
4. What is the route?Diakofto to Kalavryta, Greece
5. What is the Vouraikos rack railway?It is a special train that travels through the Vouraikos Gorge in Greece, using a rack system to climb steep cliffs. The train lets people see the canyon’s beautiful rocks and river from a safe, low‑impact ride.
6. How does the train climb the steep cliffs?The train uses a rack railway system called the Abt system. A toothed rail in the middle of the track meshes with a gear on the locomotive, giving it extra traction on slopes as steep as 25%.

Rack Railway: A railway employing a toothed rack rail between the running rails, enabling trains to ascend steep gradients.
Abt System: A specific design of rack railway system featuring a central rack with teeth on both sides, engaged by two pinions on the locomotive.
Vouraikos Gorge: A significant natural canyon in the Peloponnese, Greece, renowned for its dramatic topography and ecological diversity.
Adhesion Railway: A conventional railway where trains are propelled by the friction between the wheels and the rails.