Railway line Wädenswil – Einsiedeln
| Wädenswil – Einsiedeln (as of 2005) |
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| Timetable field : | 672 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 16.64 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Wädenswil – Einsiedeln railway line was built by the Wädenswil – Einsiedeln Railway and today (2010) belongs to the Swiss Southeast Railway (SOB). The route between Wädenswil and Einsiedeln is 16.64 kilometers long and was opened on May 1, 1877. Since May 15, 1939, it has been electrified with a single-phase AC voltage of 15 kV and 16.7 Hertz .
history
The line was built with a gradient of 50 ‰ , as it was initially planned to equip it with the Wetli roller wheel system . After a serious accident on the occasion of a test drive on November 30, 1876, it was decided to do without the roller wheel system and to operate the line as a pure adhesion railway . The opening of the single-track route took place on 1 May 1877. The Wädenswil-Einsiedeln-Bahn merged in 1890 with the Zurich-Gotthard railway , this particularly with regard to the construction of the railway line from Rapperswil to Arth-Goldau , where the route to the Gotthard railway connected could be. Of these, only the Pfäffikon SZ - Saturdayern and Biberbrugg - Arth-Goldau sections had to be built. On the one hand, the route across the Rapperswil lake dam was already completed; on the other hand, the Pfäffikon SZ – Arth-Goldau railway line between Saturdayern and Biberbrugg was to use the existing route. The Pfäffikon SZ – Arth-Goldau railway line was opened on August 8, 1891.
For a long time, the financing of electrification was not secured. It was not until the General Assembly on July 6, 1938 that the financing could be approved. Construction of the catenary and transmission lines began immediately, as the plan was to finish the line before Landi 39 . The electricity could be obtained at cost price from the Etzelwerke of the SBB. The lines were electrified within ten months. A small celebration took place on May 13, 1939. With the timetable change on May 15, 1939, electrical operation could have started on the entire network of the Südostbahn. However, at that time the company did not have its own electric vehicles because the eight railcars ( CFZe 4/4 and BCFZe 4/4 ) ordered in 1938 had not yet been delivered.
In 1979 the Grüenfeld stop was opened. With a view to the Pope's visit, the Neuberg station was established between February and May 1981. It enables two trains to cross between Biberbrugg and Einsiedeln. Because of the increase in traffic, the line was expanded to double-lane in 1992 between Saturdayern and Schindellegi-Feusisberg.
Since June 10, 1979, the Wädenswil – Einsiedeln line has been equipped with at least the former SBB Profile I, i.e. a weight per meter of 46 kg / m. The restrictions on axle and meter loads could then be lifted. In 2018, all vehicles up to and including route class D4 are permitted on the route .
Routing
After leaving the train station, the main street is crossed at the same level as a level crossing. Immediately afterwards the 50 ‰ climb begins, the route leads along the slope in a south-easterly direction around the hill on which the ruins of Alt-Wädenswil stand. After the curve around the hill, the Burghalden station, located in a south-westerly direction, is reached, which has a straight line to go straight back to the 50 ‰ slope. After a left turn, the road is crossed on a bridge in a south-easterly direction, followed by a right turn and the Grüenfeld stop in a south-westerly direction is reached. Part of the stop is on a slight slope of 3 ‰, but on the Saturday side it goes back to the 50 ‰ slope in the platform area. The route goes into a slight left curve that narrows and the last 80 degrees runs parallel to the track of the route leading from Pfäffikon SZ, which makes a 180 degree turn here.
At the transition to the station straight, the level crossing at the Saturdayern train station is crossed. The station is in a south-south-west direction. To the right of the route is the Saturdayern workshop, to the left the station building with goods shed and ramp. The platform is not yet over when the 50 ‰ slope begins again, and immediately goes into a 90 degree right curve, then goes into another 90 degree left curve, the center of which is at Itlimoosweiher, and then runs along the slope next to the main road. At Äsch, the road crosses the railway line on a bridge; there the line makes a slight right bend to reach the Schindellegi-Feusisberg station, which in turn has a straight line. The station is in a slight right-hand bend in a south-westerly direction. After the station there is a short 45 ‰ slope and the Sihl is crossed on a bridge. There is a siding in Chaltenboden.
The route now turns south into the alpine gorge and becomes noticeably flatter. Shortly thereafter, the entry curve into the Biberbrugg train station follows. The branching station has a straight station line, but the tracks are mostly in a curve. In front of the station building, the tracks are in an almost north-south direction. The station building is to the east of the tracks. The Sattelstrasse crosses the train station on a bridge. Under this bridge, the route to Einsiedeln crosses the Biber in a left curve, while the route to Arth-Goldau remains on the other side of the river for a short while. The route to Einsiedeln only follows the left, winding river bank of the Alp. After a good two kilometers, the Neuberg service station is reached, which lies in an east-northeast direction. At the Nübergsübergang the route turns again in several curves to the south. In the last curve before the south direction is reached, the Rabennest tunnel was located until 1936. At the Holzrütisäge, where the Alptal widens, the Alp is crossed. Shortly thereafter, the parking group is reached and after a good kilometer the Einsiedeln train station.
Buildings
The only tunnel on the route, the 54-meter-long Rabennest tunnel between Biberbrugg and Einsiedeln, had to be removed in 1936 due to heavy mountain pressure. It was cut open and replaced by a lining wall .
Accidents
November 30, 1876 (Wädenswil): Trial train that got out of control
On November 30, 1876, the main rehearsal of the Wetli system was announced. The ascent with locomotive 253 was promising. After the train had arrived in Schindellegi, the helical gear, which was engaged in the rail sections, was disconnected due to malfunctions. The brakes failed during the descent to Wädenswil without the rollers intervening. It is believed that oil leaked and got onto the rails and wheels, rendering the pad and counter-pressure brakes ineffective. The accident was foreseeable, so that some of the people on board tried to get to safety by jumping. Everyone was injured and a member of the board of directors was thrown out and killed. When entering the Wädenswil station, the train had an estimated speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The locomotive overturned and another person was killed in the station. The effects are not clearly proven. Depending on the source, there is talk of one dead and five, some seriously injured, or of two dead and several injured. This could be due to the fact that an injured person probably died afterwards and was therefore not counted as killed in newspaper reports.
After this incident, no one was willing to continue testing the Wetli gear system so that it had no chance of being used again. As a result of the accident, the Nordostbahn resigned from its construction obligations, as it strongly questioned the expediency of the Wetli system and consequently did not want to carry out any further tests.
July 26, 1947 at Bennauersteg: frontal collision
On July 26, 1947, two trains collided head-on at Bennauersteg between Biberbrugg and Einsiedeln. Train 183 had been sent two minutes early by the station officer on the route, although it was still occupied by train 84. 10 people died and at least 63 others were injured.
February 22, 1948 (Wädenswil): Out of control sports extract
On February 22, 1948, the Sportextrazug ran down from the saddle to Zurich after an operation error of the engine driver at 60 km / h has a buffer stop at the station Wädenswil and into the operational and administrative buildings of the fruit and wine cooperative. 22 people died.
September 2, 1952 between Saturdayern and Schindellegi: frontal collision
On September 2, 1952, two passenger trains collided on the open stretch between Saturdayern and Schindellegi because the delayed train 34 did not wait for the relocated crossing in Schindellegi. This time there were no deaths, only six injured - five travelers and the train and mail attendant - to complain about.
literature
- Gerhard Oswald and Kaspar Michel: The Southeast Railway, History of a Private Railway. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-280-02048-4 .
- Swiss Railway Network, SBB General Directorate 1980 .
Remarks
- ↑ G.Oswald and K. Micher Die Südostbahn, History of a Private Railway Orell Füssli Verlag Zurich, 1991, ISBN 3-280-02048-4 , page 159.
- ↑ according to map FDV AB section 5.1 chapter 4.2.4, as of July 1, 2017.
- ↑ This theory is represented by Alfred Moser in the book Der Dampfbetrieb der Schweizerischen Eisenbahnen