Bern-Lucerne Railway

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The Bern-Luzern-Bahn (BLB) was a railway company in Switzerland that opened the Langnau - Lucerne route on August 1, 1875 . On January 1, 1890, it was taken over by Jura-Simplon-Bahn (JS).

history

Planning and construction

Founding share of the Bern-Luzern-Bahn

In connection with the construction of the Gotthard Railway (GB) plans emerged for a new connection from the Romandie with the central Switzerland . The planned line from Langnau through Entlebuch to Lucerne competed with the existing lines of the Centralbahn (SCB). There was resistance to the route through Entlebuch. Alfred Scheurer advocated a route via Sumiswald - Affoltern - Huttwil - Willisau , but was narrowly defeated in the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern in 1871 .

The main shareholders of the Bern-Luzern-Bahn were the cantons of Bern and Luzern as well as some municipalities. However, many Emmental communities and the city ​​of Bern showed little enthusiasm for subscribing shares because they had already lost a lot of money with the failed Ostwestbahn (OWB). Nevertheless, at the end of 1872 the Bern-Lucerne Railway had over 14 million francs in the form of shares and bonds , while the construction costs were estimated at 13.7 million.

The Gümligen – Langnau section was acquired from the Bernese State Railways (BSB) for CHF 6.6 million and BSB's rolling stock for CHF 703,500. By continuing to Lucerne it was hoped to improve the profitability of the branch line to Langnau. The construction costs of the Langnau – Lucerne line, which was built between 1873 and 1875 , came to CHF 17,045,166. On July 23, 1875, the company asked the Bernese government to advance money to complete the construction. The government council exceeded its financial powers and transferred a sum that has gone down in Bernese history as the "advance million" .

bankruptcy

Steam locomotive B3T No. 424 of the Jura-Simplon Railway, commissioned in 1875 by the Bern-Lucerne Railway as No. 54

Rail operations began on August 1, 1875, for which purpose BLB and Jura Bernois founded an operating group called Jura – Bern – Lucerne . Soon the Bern-Lucerne Railway was no longer able to pay the interest on its bonds and was hit on the 26th / 27th. Bankruptcy February 1876 . The canton of Lucerne did not participate in the foreclosure auction on January 15, 1877, so that the canton of Bern faced a consortium in which the Centralbahn was involved. The representatives of Bern were finally awarded the contract for 8,475,000 francs. The canton of Bern, as the main creditor , bought the entire train at approximately the price for which it had sold the Gümligen – Langnau section at the time. Around 14.5 million francs were written off in the bankruptcy, including the entire share capital of 10.6 million francs. The pledgeeers received 70 percent of the face value of their claims.

The Bern-Lucerne Railway was not the only one to fight against rising prices. Due to massive cost overruns in the construction of the Gotthard Railway, it was decided in 1877 to temporarily forego the construction of some of its access lines - including the Lucerne – Immensee section . This was opposed by the canton of Bern, which attached great importance to the direct connection of the Bern – Lucerne line to the Gotthard Railway. The Centralbahn and the Nordostbahn (NOB) undertook to grant the Bern-Lucerne-Bahn favorable connection conditions in the Lucerne railway station as well as an unimpeded connection via Lucerne-Rotkreuz -Immensee to the Gotthardbahn.

When it went bankrupt in 1876, the entire share capital of the Bern-Lucerne Railway was lost. From 1882, however, a substantial lease sum could be transferred to the canton of Bern.

The financial problems of the Canton of Bern and the “advance million” remained unresolved. In addition, there were over 40 million francs in railway debts. On August 26, 1877, the subsequent approval of the "advance million" was heavily rejected in a referendum . The councilors drew the necessary conclusions from this rebuff and resigned. In the renewal elections of the Grand Council in the spring of 1878, the liberals suffered a bitter defeat for their financial economy.

Operation by the Jura – Bern – Lucerne

The Jura – Bern – Lucerne operating group, headed by the Jura bernois , was still responsible for the operation of the railway , initially on account of the Canton of Berne, from July 1, 1882 on lease . Because the Bern – Lucerne line became part of their Delle – Biel – Bern – Lucerne transit line , the Jura Bernois changed their name to Jura – Bern – Lucerne on July 1, 1884 . The operating results of this company were always positive, even in difficult times, and allowed the Canton of Bern to pay a respectable rent for the Bern – Lucerne line. The main source of income was freight transport, although passenger transport was also of great importance.

As part of the merger of the Jura-Bern-Lucerne Railway with the Suisse-Occidentale-Simplon , the Bern-Lucerne Railway, which still belongs to the Canton of Bern, was joined on January 1, 1890 by the newly founded Jura-Simplon Railway (JS). The canton of Bern received a sizeable portion of the shares in the newly created company for the Bern-Lucerne Railway and its stake in the Jura – Bern – Lucerne Railway. The Bernese were thus able to secure a decisive influence on the Jura-Simplon Railway.

Route sections

The Bern-Lucerne line of the Bern-Lucerne Railway is divided into the following sections:

Route section opening comment length
Bern –Bern Wylerfeld (November 15, 1858) Shared use of the SCB section of the Bern – Thun line (7.689 km)
Bern Wylerfeld– Gümligen (July 1, 1859)
Gümligen– Langnau (June 1, 1864) Taken over by BSB on August 1, 1875 29.850 km
Langnau – Fluhmühle August 11, 1875 54.109 km
Fluhmühle - Lucerne (June 1, 1859) Shared use of the section of the Olten – Lucerne line operated by SCB (2.385 km)
overall length 83,959 km

Rolling stock

List of locomotives that were used by BLB:

designation BLB no. JS no. from 1890 SBB no. from 1903 Manufacturer Construction year discarded
from 1873: A
from 1874: I
from 1887: A2
(from 1902: Ec 2/4)		   1–12, taken over by the Bernische Staatsbahn in 1875 (see there) 1888-1896
B
from 1887: B3T
from 1902: C 3/3		 51 421 - Koechlin 1875 1898
52 422 - 1902
53 423 - 1902
54 424 - 1899
D
from 1887: C3
from 1902: Ed 3/3		 151 451 7291 Koechlin 1875 1909
152 452 7292 1916
153 453 7293 1913
154 454 7294 1908
155 455 7295 1878 1906
156 456 7296 1915
157 457 7297 1915

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ today Gütsch