Starting from the Appenzell railway station, a fuse (German: Zündschnur) was laid along the 20.06-km-long Appenzell – Gais – St. Gall railway line, burning its way along the tracks for 35 days at a speed of 150 sec/metre. Artist Roman Signer lit the fuse by gunpowder ignition at 4 p.m. on 11 September 1989, and brought the action to an end with an analogous smoke signal at the St. Gall railway station at 12.04 p.m. on 15 October.