It appears Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a coal-mining train that had started carrying passengers as a thrill ride in 1827.
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The Historical Logging Switchback Railway in Vychylovka (near Nová Bystrica, Slovakia) is preserved section technically most interesting part of the former narrow-gauge zig zag logging railway located in Kysuce and Orava region.