Chemins de fer du Jura Bernois

Jura – Bern – Lucerne 1889
Section in the Moutier gorge Viaduct Combe Maran near Saint-Ursanne
Legend France 123.00 Basel Centralbahnhof National border Delle (France) Col des Roches 436 m 124.45 National border Col des Roches Birs 42 m Le Locle Combe Maran 237 m La Chaux-de-Fonds 77.63 84.61 Delémont 73.40 Moutier Les Loges 3259 m Crosettes 1618 m 74.24 Le Creux Conversations 48.28 Sonceboz Chambrelia Neuenstadt Neuchâtel 33.59 Biel Fräschels Bödelibahn (BB): Därligen 23.37 Lyss Bönigen 7.46 Zollikofen (0.00) Bern Brünigbahn : Brienz 57.77 7.69 Gümligen Meiringen 45.47 37.47 Langnau Alpnachstad 13.18 91.83 Fluhmühle Lucerne 0.13 Without intermediate stations and without connecting railways. Light red: Neuchâtel – Le Locle line , which was handed over to JN in 1886 , and Le Creux – Convers (ceased operations in 1888) Dotted: Shared lines owned by SCB
Train Basel – Delle – Paris– Le Havre with locomotive no. 17 before departure Convers train station, left train La Chaux-de-Fonds – Neuchâtel, right track from Biel
Giswil station around 1890. The rack section of the Brünigbahn begins in Giswil .

The Chemins de fer du Jura bernois (JB) or translated Bernese Jura Railway , Jura bernois for short , was a railway company in Switzerland . Since July 1, 1884, the company has been called Jura – Bern – Lucerne (JBL). On January 1, 1890, the Jura – Bern – Lucerne merged with the Suisse-Occidentale – Simplon (SOS) to form the Jura-Simplon-Bahn (JS).

history

prehistory

Convers 1874, the Jura Bernois stretch is under construction.

Newspaper advertisement for the opening of the Pruntrut - Glovelier section on March 30, 1877. The railway only officially adopted the name Jura – Bern – Lucerne in 1884.

The railway network of the canton of Bern initially developed according to the interests of the Swiss Central Railway (SCB). In 1852 the Bernese Grand Council decided to conclude a contract with the SCB. The railway company undertook to build the Murgenthal – Bern and Herzogenbuchsee – Solothurn routes within four years , and in return received tax exemption and the privilege of being given preferential treatment for future concessions . As a result, railway construction initially concentrated on the more populated areas in the Central Plateau . The highly rugged and economically underdeveloped Jura was only touched by railroad lines. The Centralbahn was not interested in competing with its existing Hauenstein line .

Under the chairmanship of Xavier Stockmar , a “Central Committee for the Jurassic Railway” planned a railway line from Biel to Basel with a branch from Delsberg to Pruntrut . Although the concessions were granted, construction was not carried out for lack of money. In order to connect the Bemer Jura to the old part of the canton, the Grand Council provided subsidies of 6,950,000 francs to the estimated construction costs of 40 million francs in 1867 . On September 23, 1872, the Porrentruy – Delle line , built with French capital, was opened .

Raising capital, construction and route takeovers

Route through the Taubenloch Gorge between Biel and Reuchenette-Péry .

Freight train locomotive No. 110 “Doubs” in Moutier station

A new situation arose when Alsace-Lorraine came to Germany in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War . A route across French territory and through the Bernese Jura was able to connect the Paris – Belfort line directly with the Swiss plateau. The French Chemin de fer de l'Est invested CHF 4½ million in the Jura bernois , which was founded as a stock corporation in 1874, and the Canton of Basel-Stadt with half a million francs. The residents and civic communities of the Jura subscribed to a total of over 7 million shares and in some cases made excessive use of their forests to raise these sums.

The Jura bernois began construction and opened the individual sections of their network between Biel, Convers near La Chaux-de-Fonds , Delle and Basel between 1872 and March 30, 1877 . They were able to expand their network through takeovers. On May 1, 1875, the JB bought the bankrupt Jura industriel (JI) for 3.6 million and on August 16, 1876 the Chemin de fer Porrentruy-Delle (PD) for 1.99 million francs. In 1877 they took over the Bernische Staatsbahn (BSB) with the Zollikofen – Biel –Neuenstadt line , for which the canton of Bern received JB shares worth CHF 11.56 million.

The construction of the JB coincided with the railway construction boom after 1872, which caused interest rates and construction prices to rise sharply. The recession of 1876 ​​and the subsequent "Eisenbahnkirise" almost brought even the financially sound Nordostbahn (NOB) to bankruptcy . Against this background, the consistently positive operating results of JB were not a matter of course. From 1878, income from freight transport was higher than that from passenger transport.

Jura – Bern – Lucerne

The positive operating results enabled Jura – Bern – Lucerne to pay a dividend every year .

The NO B, however, like other railway companies, suffered from a slump in profits during the years of the "railway crisis".

Brünigbahn train with a locomotive for mixed adhesion and cogwheel operation

Brienz station around 1888. For the onward journey to Interlaken , passengers had to change to the ship.

When the Bern-Lucerne Railway (BLB) began operating in 1875, the BLB and the Jura Bernois formed an operating group called Jura-Bern-Lucerne . This group of companies continued to exist even after BLB went bankrupt, with JB leasing the line from Bern to Lucerne , which now belongs to the canton of Bern, from July 1, 1882 . With this, the Jura Bernois came into possession of the continuous Delle – Bern – Lucerne transit line with a connection to the Gotthard line . This connection was in competition with the Centralbahn, which had lost direct rail access from Basel to France after the Franco-Prussian War. The expanded route network prompted the railway to change its name to Jura – Bern – Lucerne (JBL) on July 1, 1884 .

After ten years, the canton of Neuchâtel made use of its repurchase right and on January 1, 1886 acquired the Neuchâtel - La Chaux-de-Fonds - Le Locle line for around 5 million francs in order to lease it to the newly founded Jura neuchâtelois (JN). However, the JN was unable to earn the rent, which made public support necessary.

Since August 25, 1886, the Jura – Bern – Lucerne has been building the Brünig Railway . With the opening of the first 44 km long section from Alpnachstad over the Brünig Pass to Brienz on June 14, 1888, the JBL network experienced a significant increase. On June 1, 1889, the extension from Alpnachstad to Lucerne took place . The meter-gauge railway with cogwheel routes connects the two tourist regions of Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland . In addition, great military importance was attached to it.

The Jura – Bern – Lucerne also took care of the operation of the Bödelibahn (BB) Därligen - Interlaken - Bönigen, which opened in 1872 .

Merger to form the Jura-Simplon Railway

On January 1, 1890, the Jura – Bern – Luzern, including the Gümligen – Luzern line belonging to the canton of Bern, merged with the Suisse-Occidentale – Simplon (SOS) to form the Chemins de fer du Jura-Simplon or Jura-Simplon Railway (JS) . From that point on, it was the largest Swiss railway company, in which the Swiss Confederation also acquired shares . On January 1, 189, the JS took over the SOS operated Pont-Vallorbe-Bahn . It was only the JS that brought the necessary weight to bear on the construction of the Simplon Tunnel that had been planned for decades .

Shortly after the merger, the Birs bridge, built by Gustave Eiffel for the Jura Bernois, collapsed. The railway accident in Münchenstein on June 14, 1891 was the largest railway disaster in Switzerland to date.

Graphic summary

Overview of the history of the Jura Bernois and the Jura – Bern – Lucerne (E: opening; T: takeover):

Jura industriel (JI) E: 2.7.1857 O: 1.5.1875

Ostwestbahn (OWB) E: 3.12.1860 O: 1.6.1861

Bern State Railways (BSB) C: May 24, 1877

Porrentruy – Delle (PD) E: 23.9.1872 O: 16.8.1876

Jura bernois E: April 30, 1874

Gümligen – Langnau Ü: 1.8.1875

Bern-Lucerne Railway (BLB) C: January 15, 1877

Canton of Bern Ü ( lease ): 1.7.1882

since July 1, 1884 Jura – Bern – Lucerne O: January 1, 1890

Jura neuchâtelois (JN)

Neuchâtel – Le Locle Acc .: 1.1.1886

Suisse-Occidentale– Simplon (SOS) O: 1.1.1890

Pont – Vallorbe (PV) E: October 31, 1886 O: January 1, 1891

Jura-Simplon Railway (JS)

Route network

No.	Railway line	Route section	opening	comment	length
1.	Bern – Biel – Sonceboz –Moutier –Delsberg – Basel	Bern –Bern Wylerfeld	(November 15, 1858)	Shared use of the section of the Bern – Olten line of the SCB	(7.46 km)
		Bern Wylerfeld– Zollikofen	(June 16, 1857)
		Zollikofen - Lyss - Biel	(June 1, 1864)	On May 24, 1875 by the BOD adopted Lyss- Busswil since 1877 doppelspurig	115.54 km
		Biel - Sonceboz - Tavannes	April 30, 1874
		Tavannes Court	December 16, 1876
		Court - Moutier	May 24, 1877
		Moutier- Delsberg	December 16, 1876	Hairpin in Delémont train station
		Delsberg– Basel Central Station	September 25, 1875
2.	Sonceboz – La Chaux-de-Fonds	Sonceboz – Le Creux – Convers	April 30, 1874	Connection to the Neuchâtel – La Chaux-de-Fonds line. On December 17, 1888, Le Creux – Convers ceased operations; on July 1, 1895, it was canceled	29.55 km
		Le Creux - La Chaux-de-Fonds	December 17, 1888	Own access to La Chaux-de-Fonds after the JN became independent on January 1, 1886
3.	Delémont dent	Delémont - Glovelier	October 15, 1876		39.84 km
		Glovelier - Pruntrut	March 30, 1877
		Pruntrut national border (- Delle )	(September 23, 1872)	Taken over by the PD on August 16, 1876
4th	Bern – Lucerne	Bern Wylerfeld– Gümligen	(July 1, 1859)	Shared use of the SCB section of the Bern – Thun line	(5.38 km)
		Gümligen– Langnau	(June 1, 1864)	Originally BLB , bought by the canton of Bern on January 15, 1877 , and management by JB leased from the canton of Bern on July 1, 1882	3.27 km
		Langnau – Fluhmühle	(August 11, 1875)
		Fluhmühle - Lucerne	(June 1, 1859)	Shared use of the section of the Olten – Lucerne line operated by SCB	(3.27 km)
5.	Biel – Neuenstadt (canton border BE - NE )		(December 3, 1860)	Connection to the OS line to Lausanne. Taken over by the BSB on May 24, 1875	14.45 km
6th	Neuchâtel – La Chaux-de-Fonds – Le Locle – Col des Roches	Neuchâtel-Neuchâtel -Vauseyon	(November 7, 1859)	Shared use of the stretch of the Neuchâtel – Lausanne line of the FS	(1.37 km)
		Neuchâtel-Vauseyon– Les Hauts-Geneveys	(December 1, 1859)	On May 1, 1875 by the JI taken to the on January 1, 1886 JN outsourced	(38.21 km)
		Les Hauts-Geneveys – Convers	(July 15, 1860)
		Convers – La Chaux-de-Fonds	(November 27, 1859)
		La Chaux-de-Fonds - Le Locle	(July 2, 1857)
		Le Locle - Col des Roches - State border (- Besançon )	4th August 1884
7th	Brünigbahn	Lucerne– Alpnachstad	June 1, 1889	Meter gauge , partly cogwheel hairpin in Meiringen station	57.64 km
		Alpnachstad– Brienz	June 14, 1888
8th.	Lyss – Fräschels (canton border BE - FR )		June 12, 1876	Connection to the line to Murten on the SO	12.97 km
	Total				269.49 km

Rolling stock

The locomotives were from the beginning with Serie A for fast - tank engines , B for passenger "locomotives Bourbonnais " (for mountain routes and freight trains on valley routes), C for freight locomotives, E for biasing -Tenderlokomotiven and E for shunting occupied. From 1887 onwards, the locomotives were named according to the system that was standardized throughout Switzerland .

The following locomotives were available for the Jura – Bern – Lucerne. The series designation valid from 1902 is shown in brackets.

Series from 1873	Series from 1887	JBL no.	Surname	JS no. from 1890	SBB no. from 1903	Manufacturer	Construction year	comment	discarded	image
I.	A2 (Ec 2/4)	1-12	Property of the Bern-Luzern-Bahn (see there)
A.	A2 (Eb 2/4)	13		13	5441	SLM	1876	from 1903 Biel workshop	1917	Passenger locomotive A2 No. 18
		14th		14th	5442				1904
		15th		15th	-				1900
		16		16	-				1900
		17th		17th	5451	Esslingen	1880		1911
		18th		18th	5452				1927
		19th		19th	5453				1933
		20th		20th	5454				1925
		21st		21st	5455		1881		1928
		22nd		22nd	5456				1925
		23		23	5457			1911 MO 1; Sold in 1917	192x
		24		24	5458				1919
		25th		25th	5459		1883	1927 Heating car Xd 99009	1927
		26th		26th	5460				1919
		27		27	5462	SLM	1888		1925
		28		28	5461			1927 Heating car Xd 99011	1927
		29		29	5463				1930
		30th		30th	5464			1926 EB 9	1933
		31		31	5465				1919
		32		32	5466			1927 Heating car Xd 99010	1933
AI	B2E (Ec 2/5)	41-43	taken over by Jura industriel in 1875 (see there)			Esslingen	1856-1858	No. 42 was taken over by JN in 1886	1883-1888
-	A3T (B 3/4)	41 '		205	1561	SLM	1889		1924
		42 '		206	1562				1924
		43 '		207	1563				1924
		44		208	1564				1929
		45		209	1565				1924
		46		210	1566				1924
		47		211	1567				1924
		48		212	1568				1932
B.	B3T (C 3/3)	51-54	Property of the Bern-Luzern-Bahn (see there)							Bourbonnais Tug Tender Locomotive B3T No. 54
		55	Delémont	425	-	SACM	1875		1900
		56	Laufon	426	-				1901
		57	Dornach	427	-				1901
		58	Bâle	428	-				1902
		59	Moutier	429	2416		1876		1905
		60	St-Ursanne	430	2405				1903
		61	Porrentruy	431	2415				1911
C.	C3T (D 3/3)	101	Stockmar	541	3392	SACM	1874	Initially with road numbers 1–6. When JB took over BLB operations in 1875 , a numbering scheme was set up and the machines were renumbered.	1904	JS No. 542, executed in Mulhouse
		102	Jura-Bernois	542	3393				1904
		103	St-Imier	543	3360				1908
		104	Bienne	544	3361				1907
		105	Suze	545	-	SLM	1874		1901	JB No. 6 from SLM
		106	Pear	546	3399				1913
		107	Aare	547	3388	SACM	1875		1908
		108	Thielle	548	3394				1907
		109	Sorne	549	3395				1905
		110	Doubs	550	-				1902
		111	Allaine	551	3362		1876		1917
		112	Chasseral	552	3396				1904
		113	Montoz	553	3397				1906
		114	Mont Terrible	554	3398				1906
		115	Rangiers	555	3363				1917
CI	D3E (Ed 3/5)	141,142 and 144	taken over by Jura industriel in 1875 (see there)			SCB workshop	1859	Taken over by JN in 1886	1898-1905
		143, 145				Esslingen	1873		1912-1914
D.	C3 (Ed 3/3)	151-157	Property of the Bern-Luzern-Bahn (see there)
E.	F3 (E 3/3)	201		851	8571	SLM	1875		1913
		202		852	8572				1911
Locomotives of the narrow-gauge Brünig Railway:
-	G3 ( G 3/3 )	301		901	101	SLM	1887		1911	Brünig valley locomotive No. 309, now with the BC
		302		902	102				1912
		303		903	103		1888		1911
		304		904	104			1916 Trient – ​​Male 104
		305		905	105			1916 Trient – ​​Male 105
		306		906	106		1889	1916 IMB 106 1919 Trient – ​​Male 106
-	HG2 ( HG 2/2 )	351		951	1001	SLM	1887	1908 SV 10 1927 MCL 241	1936	Briinig Berg locomotive no. 352 for mixed adhesion and tooth wheel mode
		352		952	1002		1888	1908 MCM 2
		353		953	1003			1908 O&K
		354		954	1004				1908
		355		955	1005				1908
		356		956	1006		1889		1911
		357		957	1007				1911
		358		958	1008				1911

Third class car C ³ 466 of the Brünigbahn, built in 1889 by SIG in Neuhausen, today as a company car for BC

literature

• Beat Junker: The emergence of the democratic people's state 1831–1880, Volume 2. (PDF 286 kB) Chap. The road to the national crisis of 1877/78. In: History of the Canton of Bern since 1798. Historical Association of the Canton of Bern, accessed on February 2, 2014 (digital edition 07/1998). 
• Hans G. Wägli: Swiss rail network and Swiss rail profile CH + . AS Verlag, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9 .
• Jura bernois , Jura – Bern – Lucerne and Brünigbahn In: bahndaten.ch. Data on the Swiss railways 1847–1920 . Thomas Frey and Hans-Ulrich Schiedt, ViaStoria, accessed on February 1, 2014.
• Placid Weissenbach : The railway system in Switzerland. (PDF 14.8 MB) First part. History of the Railway System. 1913, p. 66 , accessed February 1, 2014 . 
• The Bern-Lucerne Railway. (PDF 1.8 MB) Die Eisenbahn = Le chemin de fer, Volume 6 (1877), Issue 3, pp. 21-22 , accessed on April 16, 2014 . 
• Alfred Moser: The steam operation of the Swiss railways 1847-1966 . Birkhäuser Verlag Basel and Stuttgart 1967

Web links

• Jura - Bern - Lucerne Railway (JBL). Le Creux - Les Convers In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} today Basel SBB
2. ↑ Confluence with the Olten – Lucerne line of the Centralbahn
3. ↑ According to bahndaten.ch , the JBL was created by renaming the Jura bernois . The Bern – Lucerne route was not taken over by JBL, but continued to be leased by the Canton of Bern.
4. ↑ Placid Weissenbach puts the purchase price at 5,141,079 francs, bahndaten.ch quoted an amount of 5.25 million francs.
5. ↑ determined on the basis of the route kilometers
6. ↑ Hairpin in Convers train station
7. ↑ today Gütsch
8. ↑ Hairpin in Chambrelien train station
9. ↑ Property length according to the official railway statistics in bahndaten.ch
10. ^ The SBB numbered the locomotives they took over after the boiler overhauls were due.