Burgdorf-Thun Railway

Burgdorf-Thun Railway
Three-phase motor car BCe 2/5 No. 7 in Grosshöchstetten
Timetable field :	340
Route length:	40.8 km, of which the property is 33.2 km long
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Power system :	(until 1933) 750 V 40 Hz  ∆
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Minimum radius :	180 m
Burgdorf – Thun
Legend from Olten 20.74 Burgdorf 533 m above sea level M. BLS - EB to Solothurn S 44 to Bern S 4 S 44 21.79 Lerchenbühl 537 m above sea level M. 22.64 Burgdorf Steinhof 544 m above sea level M. 24.30 Oberburg 547 m above sea level M. 27.67 0.00 Hasle-Rüegsau 571 m above sea level M. BLS - EB to Langnau S 4 S 44 2.56 Schafhausen in the Emmental 606 m above sea level M. 6.83 Bigenthal 675 m above sea level M. 8.89 Walk wrestling 691 m above sea level M. 12.09 Biglen 739 m above sea level M. Grosshöchstetten I (177 m) Grosshöchstetten II (95 m) 14.67 Grosshöchstetten 743 m above sea level M. SBB from Lucerne S 2 18.74 Konolfingen 663 m above sea level M. SBB to Bern S 2 19.96 Stalden in the Emmental 654 m above sea level M. 23.65 Oberdiessbach 605 m above sea level M. 08/26 Brenzikofen 577 m above sea level M. Heimberg (103 m) 29.38 Heimberg 552 m above sea level M. 30.25 Lädeli from 1953 551 m above sea level M. 31.51 Steffisburg 563 m above sea level M. 32.73 Schwäbis from 1925 557 m above sea level M. Aare Schwäbis (54 m) SBB from Bern - Münsingen S 1 S 3 and BLS - GTB from Bern - Belp S 4 S 44 33.82 Tuna 560 m above sea level M. BLS - TSB to Spiez

The Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn (BTB) was a railway company in Switzerland . Its route from Burgdorf via Konolfingen to Thun was the first electric full-line railway in Europe to go into operation in 1899. Today it is part of BLS AG .

history

Share of the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn from October 1, 1898

prehistory

In order to shorten the route from Burgdorf to Thun by almost 13 kilometers, which is 53 kilometers over Bern, the desire for a more direct rail connection between the two cities arose.

The railway was originally licensed in two sections. She received the first license on April 17, 1891 for a line from Konolfingen to Biglen and the second on June 29, 1893 for a line from Konolfingen to Thun with an extension to Kiesen . On December 23, 1896, the federal government combined the two concessions for a railway from Thun via Konolfingen to connect to the Emmental Railway . In Hasle-Rüegsau , the connection to the Emmental Railway (EB) built in 1881 took place .

Opening of operations and operation with three-phase current

Control post for the catenary.

Arrangement of the two-pole catenary in a station.

On July 21, 1899, the railway was the first full electric railway in Europe to go into operation. From Burgdorf to Hasle-Rüegsau, the railway used the track with the intermediate stations Steinhof and Oberburg of the Emmental Railway .

The positive experience with the three-phase operation in Stansstad-Engelberg train and especially the influence of the electrical engineer Emil Blattner, both professor of electrical engineering at the Technical Center Burgdorf and council of Burgdorf was the Burgdorf-Thun Railway led to the bold decision, its relatively long distance from the start of operation with 750 volts and 40 Hertz three-phase current. With regard to the safety of passengers and personnel, the railway department did not approve a higher tension . The electrical operation enabled a tight schedule for the time, which was advantageous in view of the many connections in Burgdorf, Konolfingen and Thun. With Brown, Boveri & Cie. a contract for the delivery of the electrical equipment was concluded and Motor AG received the order to supply energy through the Kander power plant near Spiez, which is currently being built .

The electricity was supplied by the Kander power station at a primary voltage of 16,000 volts at the then marketable frequency of 40 Hertz, and it was carried along the railway with a three-pole overhead line . This line also served to power the city of Burgdorf. In 14 transformer stations , the current was reduced to 750 volts and fed to the two-pole contact line . The power of the transformers of 450 kVA each was designed for the load of a so-called double train weighing 100 tons.

Since the opening of operations, the operation of the railway has been led by the Emmental Railway on the basis of an operating contract. Its director was also the president of the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn. The company had its seat in Burgdorf.

The traffic of the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn developed continuously upwards, to which especially the freight transport contributed. In 1911, the railway was able to pay out a 2% stock dividend for the first time. The BTB was not affected by the crisis of the First World War, on the contrary, from 1914 to 1920 income from both passenger and freight traffic tripled.

• 

  Double train with one BCe-4/4 multiple
  unit each at the front and rear in Konolfingen.

• 

  Two-pole three-phase catenary at a switch.

• 

  Locomotive No. 2 with a freight train in Konolfingen station.

Re-electrification

Single-phase alternating current locomotive Be 4/4 on the way between Grosshöchstetten and Konolfingen.

As early as 1919, the electrification of the Bern – Thun line led to complications at Thun train station . In 1920, the Bernese power plants announced an occasional frequency increase from 40 to 50 Hertz. The three-phase vehicles would have driven faster as a result, but the tractive power of the BCe 4/4 multiple units would no longer have been sufficient. The switch to the SBB electricity system became inevitable due to the electrification of the Bern – Lucerne railway line . In Konolfingen, the joint line of BTB and SBB and the overhead line crossings would have led to insurmountable problems. In the 1930s, the route was converted in stages from three-phase current to single-phase alternating current with 15,000 volts 16⅔ Hertz :

• August 8, 1932: Burgdorf - Hasle-Rüegsau
• February 12, 1933: Hasle-Rüegsau - Grosshöchstetten
• April 30, 1933: Grosshöchstetten - Thun

For operation with single-phase alternating current, BTB, together with EB and the Solothurn-Münster-Bahn (SMB), purchased eight Be 4/4 locomotives and twelve CFe 2/4 multiple units . The railcars had half the power of a Be 4/4, as only one bogie was motorized. The essential parts of the electrical equipment corresponded to the Be 4/4. The BTB was the owner of the locomotives No. 105 and 106 and the railcars 126-131. In operation, however, more locomotives and fewer railcars were required, which was offset within the operating group.

The regulation of the electricity supply was interesting. Until 1987, the Bernese power plants supplied the SBB from their Mühleberg power plant with the same amount of single-phase alternating current as the BTB, the EB and the SMB obtained from the SBB from the Burgdorf substation . This meant that the construction of a transmission line from Mühleberg to Burgdorf could be avoided.

Operation by EBT and BLS

Shuttle train RBDe 4/4 I near Biglen, procured by EBT .

The global economic crisis and car competition led to a drastic decrease in traffic and revenue. The Private Railway Aid Act enabled financial restructuring, but required the merger with the Emmental Railway to form the Emmental-Burgdorf-Thun Railway (EBT), which took place on January 1, 1942.

On September 4, 1949, the derailment of a train coming from Thun near the entry point of Heimberg station claimed two dead and six injured.

In 1997, the EBT merged with the United Huttwil-Bahnen (VHB) and the Solothurn-Münster-Bahn (SMB) to form the Regionalverkehr Mittelland (RM). In 2006, the RM and the BLS Lötschbergbahn became the BLS AG .

The route is served by two regios every hour . An hourly train connects Burgdorf with Thun. The course of the second region is limited to the Hasle-Rüegsau-Thun section, with Hasle connecting to the S 4 Bern- Burgdorf-Langnau i. E. The S-Bahn Bern exists. During the rush hours in the morning and in the evening there is a third connection every hour between Konolfingen and Thun.

Route description

Iron Aare Bridge near Thun in the early years.

Freight train with the number 2 locomotive on the Rotachenbrücke between Heimberg and Brenzikofen.

From Burgdorf , where the railway has its own part of the station, the track with the Steinhof, Oberburg and Hasle-Rüegsau stations of the Emmental Railway is used for seven kilometers in the Emme valley . In Oberburg, the Emmental-Burgdorf-Thun Railway built a new workshop in the 1970s.

In Hasle-Rüegsau, the Burgdorf-Thun Railway began its own route. In an almost constant incline it leads the Biglenbach via Schafhausen , Bigenthal , Walkringen to Biglen and on to the culmination point at 770 meters above sea level. The onward journey leads through the two short tunnels Grosshöchstetten I and II at an almost constant gradient. After the Grosshöchstetten station , an impressive loop provides a view of the Bernese Alps . In Konolfingen , where the BTB workshop was located, the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn crosses the SBB line from Bern to Lucerne . The Chise along the path opens up the localities Stalden , Oberdiessbach and Brenzikofen , to cross the Rotache. After the Heimberg tunnel and the Heimberg and Steffisburg stations , the line reaches the Aare bridge at Schwäbis to reach the Thun terminus .

Vehicles for three-phase operation

BCe 4/4

BCe 4/4
Numbering:	1-6
Manufacturer:	BBC , SIG
Year of construction (s):	1899
Retirement:	1930
Axis formula :	Bo'Bo '
Length over buffers:	16.3 m
Total wheelbase:	9.5 m
Service mass:	31.93 t
Hourly output :	240 hp (180 kW)
Power system :	750 V 40 Hz ∆
Number of traction motors:	4th
Translation levels:	1 (36 km / h)

Railcar BCe 4/4 in Konolfingen

BCe 4/4 type sketch

The BCe 4/4 1–6 multiple units, which had 16 second and 50 third class seats, were preferably used for passenger transport. The four Patzlager drive motors had an output of 60 hp each . The rotor circuit of each traction motor was provided with a starting resistor. The travel speed was consistently 36 km / h, as the drive motors worked automatically as a recuperation brake on slopes, as is usual with three-phase operation . On a 25 ‰ gradient, the railcars could carry a trailer with a total weight of 20 tons. In heavy traffic, two such trains ran as so-called double trains.

The “automobile cars” were lit electrically, but only with ten lamps per railcar, and heated with 14 radiators. The heating cable consisted of two separate cables for both poles . For safety reasons, their voltage was only 100 volts. The driver's cabs were initially open on the sides. Doors were added later and removed during the summer. Because the catenary voltage and thus also the illuminance decreased during the start-up, the BTB depot manager designed a ballast for the car lighting.

From 1932 the BCe 4/4 1–4 railcars became the BC4 25–28 passenger cars. The other two railcars were used to build the BCt4 23 and 24 control cars .

E2E (later F 2/2, then De 2/2)

E2E F 2/2 De 2/2
Numbering:	1-2
Manufacturer:	BBC , SLM
Year of construction (s):	1899
Retirement:	1930
Axis formula :	B.
Length over buffers:	7.8 m
Total wheelbase:	3.14 m
Service mass:	29.6 t
Top speed:	50 km / h
Hourly output :	300 PS (220 kW)
Hourly traction:	4400 daN
Driving wheel diameter:	1230 mm
Power system :	750 V 40 Hz ∆
Number of traction motors:	2
Translation levels:	2 (18/36 km / h)

Locomotive No. 1 in the Freilassing locomotive world .

Sketch of the type of locomotive F 2/2.

Access to the locomotive was via the open platform.
F 2/2 with a freight train in Thun.

Two locomotives of the type F 2/2 were used for freight traffic . Until 1902 they were called E2E, from 1922 as De 2/2. These two first electric locomotives built in Switzerland were a joint construction of the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) in Winterthur for the mechanical part and the BBC for the electrical equipment. The two engines had an output of 150 hp (110 kW) each. The gearbox, which can only be switched at a standstill, enabled two speeds: one up to 18 km / h allowed a trailer load of 100 tonnes on the steepest incline of 25 ‰ , the other half up to 36 km / h. Thanks to the higher speed, the locomotives could also be used for passenger transport if necessary.

The two 19-pole traction motors are mounted on both sides on a common shaft mounted on an auxiliary frame. The torque was transmitted to the two axles by means of coupling rods via an intermediate gear. There was a common resistance for both engines for starting, which was gradually switched off with the controller in each driver's cab . Lighting, heating and auxiliary services were operated with a voltage of 100 volts. The locomotives have open platforms at both ends. The four sanding bows on the roof automatically turned back when the direction of travel was changed. For ironing, the short pull ropes attached to the hangers had to be pulled down from the floor with wooden rods and hooked into locking hooks.

Ed 4/5
Manufacturer:	SLM
Year of construction (s):	1899
Retirement:	1933
Axis formula :	1'D
Length over buffers:	10,840 mm
Fixed wheelbase:	4100 mm
Total wheelbase:	6430 mm
Service mass:	54.0 t
Friction mass:	48.0 t
Top speed:	50 km / h
Driving wheel diameter:	1230 mm
Number of cylinders:	2
HD cylinder diameter:	480 mm
LP cylinder diameter:	700 mm
Piston stroke:	600 mm
Boiler overpressure:	12 atü
Evaporation heating surface:	113.1 m²
Water supply:	5.1 m³
Fuel supply:	1.5 t (coal)

The design of the switchable gearbox was not solid enough and had to be revised by SLM in 1900. During the repair work in Winterthur, steam locomotives were used for the increasing freight traffic. So that the maximum speed of 50 km / h could be reached, in the later years of operation it was driven without electricity.

The two locomotives are the first three-phase AC locomotives in the world to be preserved for full-line operation. No. 1 is part of the collection of the Deutsches Museum in Munich and is in the Freilassing Lokwelt , while No. 2 is in the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne .

Steam locomotive Ed 4/5

The transports for Circus Knie overwhelmed BTB's rather weak power supply. Freight train with three-phase current locomotive Ce 4/4 and steam locomotive Ed 4/5 of the EB between Walkringen and Biglen.

The exterior of the BTB Ed 4/5 No. 5 steam locomotive largely corresponded to the number 8 shown , which was subsequently procured by EB in 1914.

As a reserve in the event of failure of the electrical traction, for days of heavy traffic and for maintenance work, the BTB procured a powerful and economical four-coupler steam locomotive for the opening of operations at the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Factory (SLM) in Winterthur. The composite locomotives of the Consolidation type could also run at higher speeds thanks to the curved front axle . The machine was part of a joint order from EB, Thunerseebahn and Tösstalbahn .

The BTB steam locomotive was only used infrequently and the rapid heating-up in emergencies was not beneficial. In 1907 the Ed 4/5 of the EB was sold, which now jumped into the gap with its steam locomotives in the event of a power failure.

Fc 2x2 / 2 (later Ce 4/4)

Fc 2x2 / 2 Ce 4/4
Numbering:	3	4th
Manufacturer:	BBC , SLM
Year of construction (s):	1910	1918
Retirement:	1930
Axis formula :	B'B '
Length over buffers:	12.8 m	14.0 m
Total wheelbase:	9.4 m	10.6 m
Service mass:	42 t	44 t
Top speed:	60 km / h
Hourly output :	580 PS (425 kW)	500 hp (370 kW)
Hourly traction:	8570 daN	9650 daN
Driving wheel diameter:	1230 mm
Power system :	750 V 40 Hz ∆
Number of traction motors:	2
Translation levels:	4: 15.75 km / h 21 km / h 31.5 km / h 42 km / h	4: 14.0 km / h 20.0 km / h 29.0 km / h 44.0 km / h

Three-phase locomotive Fc 2x2 / 2 No. 3 from 1910

Fc 2x2 / 2 with a mixed train in Stalden station

In 1910 the larger Fc 4/4 No. 3 freight locomotive came into service. They practically represented a doubling and further development of the ten years older F 2/2 and carried a trailer load of 170 tons on a 25 ‰ gradient. For the power transmission of one motor per bogie to the two axles, the slotted coupling rod drive was chosen as in the MFO Fc 2x2 / 2 of the single-phase alternating current test company Seebach-Wettingen . The choice of four speed levels was no longer made with a switchable gearbox, but with pole changing of the drive motors. Pneumatic actuation of the pantograph was new. With the commissioning of this locomotive, the double traction of the F 2/2 and the steam locomotive could be dispensed with.

In order to electrify the Hasle-Rüegsau-Langnau line , another Fc 2x2 / 2 was purchased in 1918. In view of the weak power supply, their output was only 500 hp. Both machines were allowed to run at 60 km / h when idling or when towed. The box of locomotive No. 4 was built slightly larger so that if the contact wire voltage had been increased to 1500 volts, the circuit could have been easily changed or a transformer could have been installed when switching to single-phase operation. In contrast to most of the locomotives of that time, the two Fc 2x2 / 2 were not painted brown, but green. With the changeover from three-phase to single-phase alternating current, the locomotives were scrapped.

In 1925 the purchase of a third locomotive would have been urgent. However, in view of the planned re-electrification, this had to be dispensed with.

BCe 2/5

BCe 2/5
Numbering:	7-8
Manufacturer:	MFO , SIG , SLM
Year of construction (s):	1921
Retirement:	1930
Axis formula :	B + (1'2 ')
Length over buffers:	21.9 m
Total wheelbase:	17.22 m
Service mass:	56 t
Top speed:	60 km / h
Hourly output :	440 hp (324 kW)
Driving wheel diameter:	1230 mm
Impeller diameter:	1040 mm
Power system :	750 V 40 Hz ∆
Number of traction motors:	1
Translation levels:	2 (35 / 46.7 km / h)

Railcar BCe 2/5 No. 7

BCe 2/5 type sketch

On the occasion of the electrification of the Langnau line of the EB, the fleet of motor vehicles was supplemented with the railcars BCe 2/5 No. 7 and 8. The "semi-locomotives" supplied by Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO), Schweizerische Industriegesellschaft (SIG) in Neuhausen am Rheinfall and SLM in 1921 were a combination of a two-axle locomotive with Tschanz drive and a supported three-axle wagon part, similar to those of the same in 1925 Companies were also supplied to the BLS Group as CFe 2/6 "half asses", but for single-phase alternating current.

The power of the 56-ton railcars was 440  hp , the maximum speed 60 km / h. The six- and eight-pole circuit of the drive motor enabled fixed speeds of 35 and 48.7 km / h with a trailer load on a gradient of 25 ‰ of 70 tons for the smaller and 40 tons for the larger of the two speed levels. In addition to the engine, the engine room contained a single-phase alternating current transformer for supplying the auxiliaries with 110 volts and a three-phase compressor . The starting resistors were arranged on the roof for better cooling.

Originally it was planned to convert the new railcars for single-phase alternating current. Ultimately, the BCt 21 and 22 control cars were created from the car parts of the two BCe 2/5. In 1940 they were equipped with new bogies to improve the running of the car.

Fleet

Passenger train with BCe 2/5, three third-class C cars and one passenger car with a CF baggage compartment near Konolfingen.

Ten two-axle passenger cars were procured for the opening . The BC 15 and 16 (55 seats), the C 30 and 31 (70 seats) and the CFZ 40-42 (20 seats, baggage and mail compartments) were 13.5 meters long. The B 20 (24 seats) and the C 35-36 (40 seats) were short at 8.7 meters. In 1913 two mixed baggage and mail cars FZ 43 and 44 came into operation and the CFZ 40-41 became the CF 40-41 by expanding the mail compartments. In 1914 the C 21 and 22 were procured. In 1921 the C 23-25 ​​and the CF 46-47 were added to the inventory. In addition to heating and lighting with 100 volts, all passenger cars were also equipped with steam heating . In 1919/20 the voltage of the car heaters was increased from 100 to 750 volts.

The freight car park consisted of twelve flat wagons MR2 401-412, ten express freight wagons GR1 51-60 and 45 boxcars KR1 101-145. In 1904, four L4 201-204 low side cars were purchased. A company car with the designation T 1 was used to transport transformers. In 1902 an X 704 assembly car and in 1903 three S 501–503 ballast wagons were purchased.

swell

• E. Thomann: The electric full line Burgdorf-Thun In: Swiss construction newspaper (SBZ). (archived in e-periodicals, the ETH-Bibliothek):
  Part I. . In: SBZ, Volume 35 (1900), Issue 1 (PDF; 1.1 MB)
  Part II . In: SBZ, Volume 35 (1900), Issue 2 (PDF; 0.9 MB)
  Part III. . In: SBZ, Volume 35 (1900), Issue 3 (PDF; 1 MB)
  Part IV . In: SCC, Volume 35 (1900), No. 4 (PDF; 1 MB)
  Part V . In: SBZ, Volume 35 (1900), Issue 5 (PDF; 0.7 MB)
  Part VI. . In: SBZ, Volume 35 (1900), Issue 6 (PDF; 1.1 MB)
  Part VII . In: SBZ, Volume 35 (1900), Issue 11 (PDF; 0.6 MB)
  Part VIII. (End) . In: SBZ, Volume 35 (1900), Issue 17 (PDF; 0.7 MB)
• Description of the main newer Swiss locomotives for electric full-line operation In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung (SBZ) , Volume 56 (1910), Issue 19. (archived in E-Periodica of the ETH Library. PDF, 4.2 MB)
• W. Kummer: The new electric locomotive of the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung (SBZ) , Volume 74 (1919), Issue 20. (archived in E-Periodica of the ETH-Bibliothek. PDF, 0.9 MB)
• New motor vehicles for the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung (SBZ) , Volume 80 (1922), Issue 23. (archived in the E-Periodica of the ETH Library. PDF, 3.5 MB)
• The electrification of the Solothurn-Münster-Bahn, the Emmental-Bahn and the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung (SBZ) , Volume 100 (1932), Issue 23. (archived in E-Periodica of the ETH-Bibliothek. PDF, 0.9 MB)
• Hans Waldburger: The three-phase railway Burgdorf-Thun (BTB) . In: Swiss Railway Review . Minirex, ISSN  1022-7113 : 1999, No. 9, pp. 382-383; 2000, No. 2, pp. 94-95; 2000, No. 3, pp. 135-139; 2000, No. 4, pp. 190-191; 2000, No. 5, pp. 231-235; 2000, No. 11, pp. 515-519
• Victor von Röll : Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn (Switzerland) . In: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens , Second, completely revised edition 1912–1923.
• Burgdorf – Thun. In: Via Storia, Center for Transport History. University of Bern, accessed on July 1, 2016 . 
• Alfred Moser : The steam operation of the Swiss railways 1847-1966. 4th updated edition. Birkhäuser, Stuttgart 1967, p. 310ff.

Web links

• BLS AG website

Notes and individual references

1. ↑ Thanks to him, the locomotive was energized , in the Berner Zeitung, October 8, 2014
2. ↑ Un train déraille: im mort, 7 blessés. (Le Temps - archives historiques) Gazette de Lausanne, September 5, 1949, p. 5 , accessed November 16, 2013 (French). 
3. ^ Une deuxième victime dans l'accident de Heimberg. (Le Temps - archives historiques) Gazette de Lausanne, September 7, 1949, p. 5 , accessed November 16, 2013 (French). 
4. ↑ As of the 2016 timetable