Trait – Planches railway line
The aim of the Vevey – Montreux – Chillon tramway was to provide a rail link for all quarters and parts of the municipality in Montreux . On July 6, 1898, the Trait – Planches cogwheel railway was put into operation after the idea of a cable car was initially favored.
The Trait – Planches cog railway was 392 meters long, electrified according to the Riggenbach system with a maximum gradient of 140 per mille . The rack was not, as usual, between the rails, but on the side. The valley station was about 300 m east of today's SBB train station and the mountain station was at the highest point on Avenue des Planches .
It soon turned out that the only railcar, the Che 2/2 24 with 3 × 35 kilowatts, a top speed of 9 km / h and a dead weight of 9.6 tons, equipped with a resistance brake, did not meet the requirements. What was unique about this railcar was that it had two independently operated drive switches - one powered the two adhesion motors, the second the gear motor. The first rack-and-pinion rail car in Switzerland, supplied by Busch & Co. from Bautzen and Singer Berlin , caused many disruptions and interruptions.
The railcar was sent back to the supplier in February 1899, and operations were suspended until the replacement engines arrived in May 1899.
On November 11, 1912, the railcar derailed in the upper part of the line. It then slid down and hit the valley station. The accident went smoothly. However, the authorities made the resumption of operations dependent on a complete renewal of the route and the car. Since that was not possible for the company of the railway, among other things because of the losses due to the competition from the newly opened MGI, the operation was stopped immediately.