June 2008 | The Belle Epoque – The Golden Age of Rail Travel

Belle Epoque is a French term for the elegant era covering the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. The third coin of the series "Austrian Railways" introduces us to this era.

The obverse shows the steam locomotive “kkStB 310” which was developed by Karl Golsdorf, an outstanding Austrian locomotive engineer. It is one of the fastest steam locomotives of this era. The locomotive series 310 of the "Imperial Austrian State Railways" was built between 1911 and 1916 in Floridsdorf and Wiener Neustadt.

The reverse depicts the platform hall of the second Vienna North Railway Station with its distinctive iron roof construction. The left side of the coin shows a train stopping at the arrival platform. In the foreground is an elegant lady dressed in the style of the turn of the century, symbolising the Belle Epoque of rail travel.
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