Johannes Brahms and the Train: Musings on Musicians and Steam 383 Austria, at first, lagged behind in the development of the railroad within its borders; initially the political situation in Austria thwarted all efforts to introduce this modern means of transport in the monarchy. The Habsburg dynasty opposed all modernization efforts, considering modern achievements coming from the west of Europe a threat to absolutism and a medium that would nourish revolution. Finally in 1837 the first steam railway started operation in Austria on the Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn between Floridsdorf and Deutsch-Wagram (13 kms.). The first night train in Europe started on this line in the late 1840s, after the line had been extended to Kraków, Poland. The 1850s saw the push in Austria for railway building and road making, despite the heavy financial burden. Credit for this is due to Karl Freiherr von Bruck, a Cabinet Minister in the Austrian court who vigorously promoted railways.12 This occurred in spite of Kaiser Franz Joseph I’s reputation for not trusting new ideas due to his stolid and unimaginative nature.13 Of note during this time was the construction of the Semmeringbahn, a 41 kms. long section of the Südbahn, between Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag. The Semmeringbahn, constructed between 1848 and 1854 by Karl Ritter von Ghega, was the first railway to cross a mountain pass in Europe, and still serves as a model for mountain railways all over the world. In 1998 this railway was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The oldest continually working steam engine in the world also runs in Austria: the GKB 971. Built in 1860, it has never been taken out of service and is still used for special excursions.14 By the mid-Nineteenth Century the steam locomotive had been adopted worldwide.15 Figure 1 shows the extent of railways built in Central Europe by the 1860s.12 Alfred Horn: History of the Austrian Railway. From the earliest days until 1918 [3 pp.], Wien, <http://www.oebb.at/holding/en/Servicebox/OeBB_ Group/History_ of_ the_ Austrian_ Railway/un-til1918.pdf>, 27.6.2011; Eisenbahn, in: Austria-Forum, 2009, <http://www.austria-lexikon.at/af/AEIOU/Eisenbahn>, 27.6.2011; Karl Ludwig von Bruck, in: Wikipedia [German ed.], <http://de.wiki-pedia.org/wiki/Karl_ Ludwig_ von_ Bruck>, 27.6.2011.13 Kaiser Franz Joseph I’s typical daily routine is a good illustration of his matter-of-fact nature. See one description of it in John Van der Kiste: Emperor Francis Joseph. Life, Death and the Fall of the Habs -burg Empire, Phoenix Mill 2005, p. 89—96.14 Semmering Railway, in: Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semmeringbahn>, 27.6.2011; Ro-bert Pap: UNESCO Weltkulturerbe Semmeringbahn. In historischen Olbildern, Aquarellen, Stichen, Lithographien und Fotos, [Schwarzach,] 1999; Südbahn Class 23 (old), in: Wikipedia, <http://en.wiki-pedia.org/wiki/GKB_ 671>, 27.6.2011. 15 John Coiley: Train, (= Eyewitness Books), New York 1992, p. 13.