Bernese Oberland Railway

Bernese Oberland Railway
Train in Interlaken
Timetable field :	311, 312
Route length:	23.69 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system :	1500 V  =
Maximum slope :	Adhesion 27  ‰ rack 120  ‰
Rack system :	Riggenbach / Von Roll
Interlaken – Lauterbrunnen / Grindelwald
Legend −0.18 Interlaken East 567  m above sea level M. Connection to BLS ; Roller bolster system Connecting track to the ZB - Brünig 3.24 Wilderswil 584  m above sea level M. Connection to the SPB Buechi Umler 107 m 5.51 Umler 633  m above sea level M. Lehne Auenwald 111 m Error profile -0.02 8.20 Zweilütschinen 652  m above sea level M. Depot and workshop 10.42 Sand willow 725  m above sea level M. 12.30 Lauterbrunnen 795  m above sea level M. Connection to WAB and BLM Buechi (708 m / 60 m) Buechiwanggalerie (108 m) 12.31 Lütschental 714  m above sea level M. 14.45 Burglauenen 896  m above sea level M. Error profile +0.08 16.76 Schwendi near Grindelwald 920  m above sea level M. Grindelwald Terminal cable car 19.35 Grindelwald 1034  m above sea level M. Connection to the WAB

The Berner Oberland Bahn (abbreviated: BOB , own spelling by the company: Berner Oberland Bahn ) is a narrow-gauge railway in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland . This meter-gauge railway was opened on July 1, 1890 and electrified on March 17, 1914. It leads from Interlaken Ost via Zweilütschinen to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald .

The railway belongs together with the Schynigen Platte Railway (SPB) to the Berner Oberland-Bahnen AG , a stock corporation . The official initials BOB apply to the company, including the SPB.

route

Burglauenen train station

The course corresponds to a Ypsilon and begins at the train station Interlaken Ost where connections to standard gauge BLS and the meter-gauge Brünig route of Zentralbahn exist. Although there are track connections to the Brünigbahn in Interlaken Ost, each company uses separate tracks because of the different contact wire voltages. The route initially leads via Wilderswil to Zweilütschinen. The Schynige Platte Railway (SPB) begins at the train station in Wilderswil, while the route to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen splits in Zweilütschinen. On the route to Lauterbrunnen there are two rack sections, the maximum gradient here is 96 ‰.

simplified elevation profile of the routes

In the direction of Grindelwald, the first rack section lies along its entire length between the Lütschental and Burglauenen train stations with a maximum gradient of 120 ‰. The second is on the last 1.5 km before Grindelwald train station. In Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen you can change to the Wengernalpbahn (WAB) to Wengen and the Kleine Scheidegg . The valley station of the Lauterbrunnen – Mürren (BLM) mountain railway is located next to the train station in Lauterbrunnen .

In 2015, a new route between Zweilütschinen and Lüschental with the 708 m long Buechi tunnel was put into operation.

The construction of a new Grindelwald Terminal station below Grindelwald began in 2018 , from December 2019 it should be possible to change to the new V-Bahn of the Grindelwald – Männlichen gondola and from December 2020 to the Eigergletscher station of the Eiger Express .

The meanwhile discontinued goods traffic with roller stools of the Brünigbahn was only on the adhesion lines , i. H. between Interlaken Ost and Lütschental, permitted. For the transport of goods to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, in addition to the usual covered and open goods wagons, container wagons and tank wagons were also available.

A sponsor of the BOB was the Grindelwald “Glacier Pastor” Gottfried Strasser .

Technical standards

When planning the route, preparations were made after in Brünigbahn and later the Lucerne-Stans-Engelberg train used gauge of 1000 mm and the rack and pinion system Riggenbach , so it is possible to replace rolling stock. Because of the different contact wire voltages that Zentralbahn uses, like SBB, the single-phase AC system with 15 kV and 16.7 Hz, this only applies to the cars and the thermal traction vehicles. When the Brünigbahn was electrified, the SBB took over the heating voltage from the BOB. It is 1500 instead of 1000 volts as in the standard gauge wagons of the SBB. In addition, care was taken to ensure that the multiple control line for the cars works with the third-party locomotives. There are no longer any through cars or trains in regular operation.

When replacing worn Riggenbach racks, the compatible Von Roll system is used. Since the end of 2017, every half hour has been offered all year round.

Accidents

On June 30, 1928, after a thunderstorm, a small railway bridge between Wilderswil and Zweilütschinen was torn away. A train partly fell into the torrent; one person died, 13 were injured.

On August 7, 2003, two passenger trains collided between Wilderswil and Zweilütschinen. One passenger was seriously injured and then died in the hospital, 63 were slightly injured. The driver of the train going to Interlaken had overlooked the stop signal when transitioning from the double-lane to the single-lane section. When the driver noticed this, he stopped the train immediately. In the meantime, however, the return train coming from Wilderswil had entered the single-lane section. The line was not yet equipped with train protection , but the installation of ZSI-127 was already in progress at the time of the accident.

Vehicle fleet

HG 3/3 No. 2 from 1890, the opening year of the Bernese Oberland Railway.

ABeh 4/4 II 311 in Grindelwald.

Control car BDt 402 1993 in Interlaken Ost.

Low-floor articulated control car ABt 422 in Wilderswil.

The ABDeh 8/8 324 multiple unit in Lauterbrunnen.

2nd generation low-floor articulated control car (2017) in Zweilütschinen.

Current and former vehicles

Locomotives

Steam locomotives

• HG 3/3 1 to 6 (1890, 93) SLM , No. 2 and 4 1914 to Chur-Arosa-Bahn , No. 1, 3, 6 re-gauged to 950 mm and sold to Italy (SFM / MCL / FCL 251– 253), No. 5 reserve until 1956, no locomotive received.
• HG 3/3 7 to 10 (1906, 10) SLM, tracked to 950 mm in 1915/17 and sold to Italy ( SV 110 and SFM / MCL / FCL 261–263), no locomotive survived, same design as Brünigbahn 1051–1068 .
• HG 2/2 11 Eiger (1893) SLM, 1914 gear drive dismantled, Interlaken shunting locomotive, used on the BLM from November 24, 1924 to March 9, 1925 , discarded in 1947, broken off in 1949.

Electric locomotives

• HGe 3/3 21 to 28 (1914) SLM / MFO / BBC , 24 in the Bernese Oberland and 26 in the Kerzers-Kallnach Railway Museum, but incomplete.
• HGe 3.3 29 SLM / MFO, (1926) 2013 to the Blonay-Chamby issued

Thermal locomotives

• HGm 2/2 31 (1985) Steck / Deutz / SLM

Railcar

Railcar
designation	commissioning acceptance	Image of the vehicle	coat of arms	status
ABDeh 4/4 301	1949		-	Leased to MIB in 1988, demolished in 1996
ABDeh 4/4 302	1949		-	ex company vehicle, still in the Zweilütschinen depot
ABDeh 4/4 303	1949		-	Cancellation 2019
ABeh 4/4 I 304	1965		Bern	new company vehicle
ABeh 4/4 I 305	1965		Gündlischwand	August 2003 Umler collision, demolition in 2018
ABeh 4/4 I 306	1965		Lütschental	Demolished in 2018
ABeh 4/4 I 307	1965		Wilderswil	Demolished in 2018
ABeh 4/4 I 308	1965		Gsteigwiler	Demolished in 2018
ABeh 4/4 I 309	1979		-	At 1999 BZB sold
ABeh 4/4 I 310	1979		Mats b. Interlaken	still received
ABeh 4/4 II 311	1986		Grindelwald	Conversion 2019, replacement for multiple units
ABeh 4/4 II 312	1986		Interlaken	In work
ABeh 4/4 II 313	1986		Lauterbrunnen	Collision Umler August 2003, under renovation

Multiple units

• The new ABDeh 8/8 multiple units from Stadler Rail have been in use since 2017 .

Multiple units
designation	commissioning acceptance	Image of the vehicle	status
ABDeh 8/8 321	2017		In operation
ABDeh 8/8 322	2017		In operation
ABDeh 8/8 323	2017		In operation
ABDeh 8/8 324	2017		In operation
ABDeh 8/8 325	2017		In operation
ABDeh 8/8 326	2017		In operation

Control car

Control car
designation	commissioning acceptance	Image of the vehicle	status
BDt 401	1987		cancellation
BDt 402	1987		Sold to museum railway in France in 2019
BDt 403	1987		Sold to museum railway in France in 2019
ABt 411	1982		ex RBS , demolished in 2018
ABt 412	1981		ex RBS , demolished in 2018
ABt 413	1981		ex RBS , still preserved
ABt 414	1981		ex RBS , replacement for GSW
ABt 415	1981		ex RBS , replacement for GSW
ABt 421	2004		In operation
ABt 422	2004		In operation
ABt 423	2004		In operation
ABt 424	2004		In operation
ABt 425	2004		In operation
ABt 431	2017		In operation
ABt 432	2017		In operation
ABt 433	2017		In operation

Passenger cars

Passenger cars
designation	commissioning acceptance	Image of the car	status
B3 6	1901		Kaiserwagen, sold to the Blonay-Chamby museum railway
C3 29			cancellation
C4 44	1897		Sold to the Blonay-Chamby Museum Railway
A3 101			Sold to Ballenberg Steam Railway?
A 181	1971		cancellation
A 182	1971		Redesigned to 2nd class car, still preserved for replacement trains
BC 203			cancellation
FROM 209	1956		Sold to Brohltalbahn
B 211	1970		Delivered as AB, cancellation
B 212	1970		Delivered as AB, demolished in 2018
B 213	1970		Delivered as AB, cancellation
B 214	1970		Delivered as AB, cancellation
B 215	1970		Delivered as AB, demolished in 2018
FROM 221			Ex Brünig 463, as a clubhouse of the MEFEZ, demolished during the construction of a new workshop in Zweilütschinen
FROM 221			Center entry car, ex Brünig, demolition
B 232	1952		Sold to Brohltalbahn
B 234	1956		Sold to Brohltalbahn
B 237			Sold to the Saint-Valery - Canal museum railway
B 241	1967		Demolished in 2018
B 242	1967		cancellation
B 243	1967		cancellation
B 244	1967		cancellation
B 245	1967		cancellation
B 246	1967		cancellation
B 247	1967		Demolished in 2018
B 248	1967		cancellation
B 249	1968		cancellation
B 250	1968		Demolished in 2018
B 251	1970		Demolished in 2018
B 252	1970		Demolished in 2018
B 253	1968		ex ZB 501-7, canceled in 2018
B 254	1968		ex ZB 505-8, canceled in 2018
B 255	1968		Ex ZB 508, canceled in 2018
B 261	1987		In operation for replacement trains and reinforcement modules
B 262	1987		In operation for replacement trains and reinforcement modules
B 272			Center entry car, ex Brünig, demolition
B 273			Center entry car, ex Brünig, demolition
BD 501	1986		Ex SBB 512-4, demolished in 2018
BD 503	1986		Ex SBB 510-8, demolished in 2018
BD 504	1986		Ex SBB 511-6, demolished in 2018
D 531	1971		Preserved but stored in Bönigen for a long time

Replacement trains

If an ABDeh 8/8 fails, for example due to a vehicle malfunction, an ABeh 4/4 II multiple unit is used together with a low-floor articulated control car.

Control car ABt 415
Link to the picture
(Please note copyrights )

If a low-floor articulated control car fails , it is replaced by one of the ABt 414 or 415 control cars with one or two classic passenger coaches.

Historic vehicles

For historical vehicles of the Bernese Oberland Railway, see chapter Current and former vehicles .

Other historic vehicles are in the following organizations:

• Ballenberg Steam Railway (BDB)
• Model railway enthusiasts Eiger Zweilütschinen (MEFEZ)
• Museum Railway Blonay – Chamby (BC)

literature

• Hans Häsler: The Bernese Oberland Railways . Minirex AG , Lucerne, ISBN 3-907014-04-9 .
• Berner Oberland-Bahn (Ed.): The former steam locomotives of the Berner Oberland-Bahn. Without publisher, Interlaken
• Theo Stolz: The locomotives for the railways in the Jungfrau region. Self-published 1986, ISBN 3-907976-04-5
• Wolfgang Finke: The vehicles of the Jungfrau Railways 1 . A book on DVD, Verlag tram-tv, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813669-2-1 .
• E. Strub : Berner Oberland-Bahnen with special consideration of Switzerland. Rack railways with friction lines. In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung (SBZ). (archived in e-periodicals, the ETH-Bibliothek):
  Part I. . In: SBZ, Volume 25 (1895), Issue 8 (PDF, 1.8 MB)
  Part II . In: SBZ, Volume 25 (1895), Issue 9 (PDF, 3.7 MB)
  Part III. . In: SBZ, Volume 25 (1895), Issue 11 (PDF, 1.5 MB)
  Part IV . In: SCC, Volume 25 (1895), No. 12 (PDF, 3.3 MB)
  Part V . In: SBZ, Volume 25 (1895), Issue 13 (PDF, 2.4 MB)
  Part VI. . In: SBZ, Volume 25 (1895), Issue 14 (PDF, 3.1 MB)
  Part VII . In: SBZ, Volume 25 (1895), Issue 16 (PDF, 1.8 MB)
  Part VIII. (End) . In: SBZ, Volume 25 (1895), Issue 17 (PDF, 3.8 MB)

Web links

Commons : Berner-Oberland-Bahn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Berner Oberland Bahn on the Jungfraubahnen Management AG website
• Photos from the Bernese Oberland Railway in the BahnGalerie (www.bahngalerie.de)

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Bernese Oberland Railway (BOB). On: www.jungfrau.ch, accessed on October 7, 2018
2. ^ Upheaval in the Bernese Oberland . In: railway magazine . No. 10 , 2018, ISSN  0342-1902 , p. 30 .
3. ↑ Fritz Balmer: From accident to low frequency high. General assembly of the Berner Oberland-Bahnen AG. In: Jungfrau Zeitung, June 17, 2004
4. ↑ Railway accident in the Bernese Oberland. (PDF; 370 kB) In: Liechtensteiner Volksblatt. July 3, 1928, p. 3 , accessed October 20, 2013 . 
5. ↑ Frontal collision between two BOB trains in Gsteigwiler . In: Swiss Railway Review . No. 10/2003 . Minirex, ISSN  1022-7113 , p. 470-471 .
6. ↑ see it: Locomotiva FCL 250
7. ↑ see it: Locomotiva FCL 260
8. ↑ Bahnmuseum-Kerzers-Kalnach, our locomotives, BOB 26 ( Memento from January 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 17, 2014
9. ↑ Jungfrau Zeitung: 304er remains a real Oberlander. Retrieved September 11, 2019 . 
10. ^ ^{A b} Swissinfo.ch: head-on collision between two trains. Retrieved September 11, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Jungfrau Zeitung: Baptism for a railcar. Retrieved September 11, 2019 . 
12. ↑ Berner Zeitung: This is what the new trains of the Berner Oberland Bahnen look like. Retrieved September 11, 2019 . 
13. ↑ BOB sells BDt 402 and 403 control cars to a museum railway in France. In: bahnonline.ch. May 22, 2019, accessed June 4, 2019 .