Electric tram Zurich
The Electric Tramway Zurich (ESZ) was a tram company in Switzerland that operated in the urban area of Zurich . It was founded in 1893 and was one of eight predecessor companies of today's Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ). After a little over three years it was communalized in 1896; their infrastructure was integrated into the Zurich tram network .
history
In 1882 the Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft (ZStG) had put a nearly nine-kilometer network of standard-gauge horse - drawn tram lines into operation. In addition to Zurich, this also opened up the then still independent communities of Aussersihl , Enge and Riesbach . The communities of Hirslanden and Hottingen on the western flank of the Adlisberg then demanded a connection to the tram network, as did Fluntern on the southwest slope of the Zürichberg . On behalf of these communities in 1891 projects for steam trams were carried outelaborated and then withdrawn in favor of electric trams. On December 8, 1892, the cantonal government gave its approval to the relevant concessions, while at the same time rejecting competing applications from the ZStG. The planned route to Fluntern was postponed for the time being.
In 1893 twelve municipalities merged with the city of Zurich. The city government asked the Federal Council to revoke all concessions granted since the merger vote of 1891 so that the city could put its planning on a uniform basis. For reasons of legal certainty, the Federal Council rejected this request. The initiative committees in Hirslanden and Hottingen then founded the Elektro Strassenbahn Zürich AG (ESZ) on May 23, 1893. The company of Theodor Bertschinger from Lenzburg laid the tracks, while the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO) provided the technical equipment. After ten months of construction, the 4.6-kilometer-long, meter-gauge line was opened on March 8, 1894 . It began at the Burgwies depot and led back to Kreuzplatz via Kreuzplatz , Bellevue , Pfauen and Römerhof. The ESZ obtained electricity from its own power station at the depot, which produced 500 volts direct current . Only the Bellevue – Pfauen section was double-lane (with regard to the Zurichberg Railway headquarters, which is currently under construction ), otherwise there were six diversions . In the first month there was a twelve-minute cycle, after which the trams ran every six minutes.
The establishment of the ESZ took place against the will of the city government, which however had secured a right of repurchase. The company applied unsuccessfully for the concessions for the Leonhardsplatz - Pfauen - Kreuzplatz and Bellevue - Bürkliplatz - Enge train station , which left it with no meaningful expansion opportunities. Thereupon the ESZ and the city council agreed on a purchase price of 778,000 francs. In a referendum on June 28, 1896, the purchase was approved with 15,364 to 1,764 votes. As early as July 1st, the ESZ passed into municipal ownership. Half a year later, the ZStG was integrated into the newly established Zurich City Tram (StStZ, today's Zurich Transport Company ).
vehicles
The ESZ ordered twelve motor vehicles from the Swiss industrial company in Neuhausen am Rheinfall , the electrical equipment came from the MFO. With a 14 hp engine, the cars, which offered 12 seats and 14 standing places, reached a top speed of 15 km / h. Car no. 7 was the only one equipped with two engines so that it could be used as a snow plow in winter. In 1895 the ESZ acquired four more identical cars. A year later, the StStZ took over all 16 cars and gave them the numbers 41 to 56. In the course of time, all received a second 14 hp engine. These were later replaced by two 22 hp engines. The open platforms were glazed and completely closed with the installation of sliding doors. In the years 1925–1927, the motor vehicles were converted into trailers; these cars, known as glass boxes , were given the numbers 458-472 and were scrapped in 1942 because of their low capacity. No. 469 and 470 remained in Łódź for a few years .
The Burgwies tram depot remained in operation for a century after the takeover of the ESZ and was expanded several times until 1930. In 1997 the VBZ no longer had any use for the depot and closed it. In 2001 the city council decided to make the building complex available to the Zurich Tram Museum . In 2005 the local council approved a renovation loan in the amount of CHF 3.7 million without opposition. The new museum opened on May 26, 2007.
Individual evidence
- ^ Hans-Rudolf Galliker: Tramstadt - local public transport and urban development using the example of Zurich . Chronos Verlag, Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-905312-02-6 , p. 65-66 .
- ↑ Galliker: Tram city. P. 67.
- ↑ a b The Zurich Electric Tramway (ESZ), 1894–1896. Tram Museum Zurich, October 12, 2003, archived from the original on September 1, 2011 ; accessed on May 13, 2014 .
- ↑ Galliker: Tram city. Pp. 82-83.
- ↑ The Burgwies tram depot. alt-zueri.ch, accessed on May 13, 2014 .