Chemin de fer Tavannes-Noirmont

Tavannes – Le Noirmont
Freight train with Ge 2/2 No. 5 of the TBN at Tramelan-Dessous
Timetable field :	237
Route length:	22.96 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system :	1913–1953: 1200 V, since then 1500 V  =
Maximum slope :	50  ‰
Legend SBB from Sonceboz-Sombeval 0.02 Tavannes 754  m above sea level M. roller stool system since 1921 SBB to Moutier Tavannes bridge (246 m) Birs 4.18 orange 866  m above sea level M. 8.06 Tramelan lingerie 881  m above sea level M. 8.70 Tramelan 888  m above sea level M. 9.32 Tramelan College 912  m above sea level M. 10.33 Tramelan chalet 959  m above sea level M. 11.48 Les Reussilles 1011  m above sea level M. 13.59 Le Pied-d'Or 1005  m above sea level M. Les Vacheries-Brunier 04/16 La Chaux-des-Breuleux 1006  m above sea level M. 17.93 Les Breuleux 1020  m above sea level M. 18.63 Les Breuleux-Église 1050  m above sea level M. 21.58 Sous-le-Terreau 983  m above sea level M. SC from Saignelégier 22.98 Le Noirmont 969  m above sea level M. SC to La Chaux-de-Fonds

The page describes the former meter gauge railway Chemin de fer Tavannes – Noirmont (CTN) in Switzerland, its predecessors Tramelan-Tavannes-Bahn (French Chemin de fer de Tramelan – Tavannes , TT) and Tramelan-Breuleux-Noirmont-Bahn (French Chemin de fer Tramelan – Breuleux – Noirmont , TBN) and the Tavannes – Le Noirmont line operated by these railways . The line was electrified in 1913 and has belonged to the Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ) since 1944 .

Tavannes-Tramelan Railway (TT)

Construction and steam operation

TT freight train with locomotive no. 2 in Tramelan around 1910.

Railway lines to connect to France were built early in the Jura . After that, efforts arose to connect the as yet undeveloped areas to the main lines with local railways .

The meter-gauge Tavannes-Tramelan Railway (TT) was opened on August 16, 1884 as a branch line. Its 9 km long route connects Tramelan with Tavannes , where the connection to the standard gauge line Sonceboz-Sombeval-Moutier , which has existed since 1874, is made. After Lausanne-Echallens (1873), the Rigi-Scheidegg-Bahn (1874), Herisau-Urnäsch (1875) and the Waldenburgerbahn (1880), the railway was one of the first Swiss narrow-gauge railways and served as a model for numerous similar companies.

The railway was initially operated with two two-axle G 2/2 tank locomotives . In 1891 a third locomotive was purchased. The performance of the steam locomotives was very tight for the railway line with gradients of up to 40 per thousand. Shortly before electrification, the locomotives were equipped with new boilers .

→ Main article : TT G 2/2

electrification

Tramelan station after the electrification of the TT and the opening of the TBN.

Electrical operation with 1200 volts direct current began on November 15, 1913 . The occasion for electrification was the opening of the also meter-gauge Tramelan-Breuleux-Noirmont Railway (TBN), which was electrically operated from the start .

For the electrical operation, the TT procured two railcars BCe 2/4 60-61 and a two-axle locomotive Ge 2/2 4. Both vehicle types had the same electrical equipment. The three locomotives were identical to the two railcars 70-71 and the Ge 2/2 No. 5 of the TBN. While the railcars were being procured for passenger trains, the two locomotives carried freight trains and were used for prestressing services.

→ Main articles : CJ BCe 2/4  and CJ Ge 2/2

The overhead lines of the two railways were fed by a converter system in Tramelan, which was equipped with buffer batteries.

Operating results

The TT was mainly used for passenger transport. At times it was able to distribute a modest dividend. For electrification in 1913 investments in overhead lines and new rolling stock were necessary. The First World War led to additional income from both passenger and freight traffic. In 1917, the railway achieved the best operating result in its history. After that, however, sharply increasing business expenses weighed on the bill.

Tramelan-Breuleux-Noirmont Railway (TBN)

Railcar BCe 2/2 of the TBN on delivery.

Advances in electrical engineering made it possible to continue the narrow-gauge line from Tramelan over the heights of Les Breuleux to Le Noirmont in order to connect to the meter-gauge Saignelégier – La Chaux-de-Fonds Railway (SC). The Tramelan-Breuleux-Noirmont Railway (TBN), which opened on December 16, 1913, was initially operated with 1200 volts direct current.

Ge 2/2 of the CTN in Tavannes. The BCe 2/4 No. 70 railcar is visible at the back.

As already mentioned, the TBN acquired the two railcars BCe 2/4 70-71 and the locomotive Ge 2/2 5 for the opening of operations .

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 led to increased traffic at the TBN and led to financial relief. At the beginning of the 1920s, declining income from passenger transport led to increasing financial difficulties.

Chemin de fer Tavannes-Noirmont (CTN)

Operational community

TT and the TBN, which opened in 1913, formed a joint venture and operated the route continuously with electric traction vehicles from Tavannes to Le Noirmont. The Saignelégier – La Chaux-de-Fonds-Bahn (SC) continued to use steam locomotives on the continuation from Le Noirmont to La Chaux-de-Fonds , which made cooperation more difficult.

Since May 1, 1921, standard-gauge freight wagons have been loaded onto roller bogies in Tavannes so that they can be transported on the narrow-gauge route to Le Noirmont.

On January 1, 1927, the two electrically operated railways TT and TBN, which had previously formed a joint operation, merged to form the Chemin de fer Tavannes – Le Noirmont (CTN). But even after the merger, the operating results remained modest and the plants became visibly out of date.

The Chemin de fer Tavannes-Noirmont merged on 1 January 1944, the SC and the two standard gauge railways Régional Saignelégier-Glovelier (RSG) and Regional Porrentruy-Bonfol (RPB) to the Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ).

Operated by the Chemins de fer du Jura

From the early days of the CJ, the CFe 4/4 601 railcar in Le Noirmont.

BDe 4/4 613 (left) and next to it GTW ABe 634 and 631 in double traction in Tramelan.

Garbage train with an ABe 4/4 multiple unit from Le Noirmont.

With the merger of the four railway companies in what was then the Bernese Jura, the basis for comprehensive technical renovation was laid. The CJ have been operating their entire meter gauge network with 1500 volts direct current since October 4, 1953. For this purpose, the contact line voltage on the Tavannes – Le Noirmont line was increased from 1200 to 1500 volts direct current. The converter system in Tramelan was replaced by the three rectifier stations in Orange, Les Reussilles and Le Noirmont. The rolling stock was practically completely replaced by new vehicles. No changes were made to the previous locomotives.

On October 27, 1953, near Orange between Tramelan and Tavannes, a passenger train collided with a service train carrying rail axles. The flying axles of the flat car pulled by the Ge 2/2 5 fatally injured two railway employees. The passenger train had not waited for the crossing in Orange.

In 1966 the 246 meter long Tavannes Viaduct was put into operation to separate the railway from the road in the village of Tavannes.

Today's operation

The Le Noirmont – Tavannes passenger trains run almost every hour . In Le Noirmont they offer a connection to the La Chaux-de-Fonds – Saignelégier– Glovelier trains . In Tavannes, the SBB regional trains allow you to continue your journey to Sonceboz-Sombeval-Biel.

Freight trains run regularly from Monday to Friday. Since 2000, rubbish has been transported from Tavannes to the La Chaux-de-Fonds incinerator. In addition, standard-gauge wagons are transported on roller bolsters, which primarily transport long timber , heating oil , gravel and road salt.

From July to September there are scheduled La Traction steam trains on the Pré-Petitjean –Saignelégier – Le Noirmont – Tavannes route.

A depot in Tramelan is used to maintain the vehicles used in regular traffic, where the workshop for all CJ vehicles is also located. On the local underfloor lathe also regularly vehicles will transport Régionaux Neuchâtelois (TRN) treated. In Le Noirmont, a single-track coach house allows construction service vehicles to be parked.

Route description

GTW ABe 632 driving to Tavannes.

The line leaves Tavannes station parallel to the SBB line to Moutier. After a few meters, it turns left and crosses the village of the same name and the Birs on the 246-meter-long Tavannes viaduct . The line then leads over meadows and fields with an incline of 40 per thousand. From the Orange service station to the Tramelan-Dessus stop , the almost level route follows the tram . The trains reach Tramelan, where the main workshop of the CJ is located.

Immediately after the train station, the winding, steep section begins, which leads to the hamlet of Les Reussilles, which is already on the high plateau of the Freiberg mountains , with a gradient of 50 per thousand . Then the train passes some meadows and fields to cross the high moor and nature reserve “La grande Tourbière”. There the trains leave the Bernese Jura and reach the canton of Jura . Passing the La Chaux-des-Breuleux stop , you will reach Les Breuleux. After the train station, the red trains take a tight right turn and after the Les Breuleux-Eglise stop they reach the highest point on the line. After the descent through beautiful forests and pastures with a gradient of 44 per thousand, the railway reaches Le Noirmont, where the narrow-gauge line from Saignelégier joins the station from the right.

Traction vehicles

The Chemin de fer Tavannes – Noirmont and its two predecessors TT and TBN had the following locomotives available:

Type	First owner	No.	No. at CJ	later name	Manufacturer	Construction year	cancellation	image
G 2/2	TT	1		-	SLM	1884	1943
		2					1940
		3				-	1943
Ge 2/2	TT	4th		since around 1980: CJ Te 2/2 504	BBC	1913	-
	TBN	5		-			1954
BCe 2/4	TT	60	501	from 1953: CJ Xe 2/4 901	SWS , BBC	1913	1956
		61	502	-			1956
	TBN	70	503	from 1953: CJ Xe 2/4 903 from 1966: CJ Xe 2/4 503 since 1984: CJ BCe 2/4 70			-
		71	504	from 1954: CJ Xe 2/4 904 from 1959: CJ Xe 2/4 801			1967

swell

• Hans G. Wägli: Swiss rail network and Swiss rail profile CH + . AS Verlag, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9 .
• Peter Willen: Locomotives in Switzerland, narrow-gauge traction units . Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1972.

Notes and individual references

1. ^ Theo Stolz: The locomotives Ge 2/2 of the Tavannes - Tramelan - Le Noirmont line. Retrieved November 16, 2015 . 
2. ^ Thomas Frey and Hans-Ulrich Schiedt: Tramelan – Tavannes. In: bahndaten.ch, data on the Swiss railways 1847–1920. Via Storia, Center for Transport History at the University of Bern, accessed on November 16, 2015 . 
3. ^ Thomas Frey and Hans-Ulrich Schiedt: Tramelan – Breuleux – Noirmont. In: bahndaten.ch, data on the Swiss railways 1847–1920. Via Storia, Center for Transport History at the University of Bern, accessed on November 16, 2015 . 
4. ↑ Chemins de fer du Jura. History. Chemins de fer du Jura, accessed November 16, 2015 . 
5. ↑ Grave collision de trains près de Tramelan. (Le Temps - archives historiques) (No longer available online.) In: Gazette de Lausanne. October 29, 1953, p. 7 , archived from the original on December 8, 2015 ; Retrieved November 16, 2013 (French). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ^ Theo Stolz: The locomotives Ge 2/2 of the Tavannes - Tramelan - Le Noirmont line. Retrieved September 30, 2015 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} Theo Stolz: CJ Chemins de fer du Jura. CJ - meter gauge network. Retrieved November 16, 2015 . 
8. ↑ La Traction - Train à vapeur des Franches-Montagnes. With the steam train through the Freiberg mountains. La Traction, accessed November 16, 2015 . 
9. ^ Theo Stolz: TRN Transports régionaux neuchâtelois. TRN - meter gauge network. Retrieved November 16, 2015 . 
10. ↑ Les Breuleux Church
11. ↑ La Traction - Train à vapeur des Franches-Montagnes. The drive from Tavannes to Le Noirmont (23 km). La Traction, accessed November 16, 2015 .