Jura-Simplon Railway

Jura-Simplon Railway (JS)

Delle ( France ) National border Basel Centralbahnhof Combe Maran 237 m Birs 42 m Delémont La Chaux-de-Fonds Moutier Crosettes 1618 m Sonceboz Biel Lyss Zollikofen property line Neuchâtel Bern ( SCB ) Auvernier Gümligen   Törishaus Grandfey Viaduct (352 m) Les Verrières Fluhmühle National border Lucerne (SCB) Pontarlier (France)  Brünigbahn : Range of PLM  Meiringen Jougne (France)  Brienz Yverdon Payerne   Freiburg National border Romont Vallorbe Vauderens tunnel (921 m) Le Day Viaduct (152 m) Oron Daillens (near Eclépens ) Palézieux Renens Lausanne Morges Bouveret Nyon St-Gingolph   Saint-Maurice Geneva National border   Sion Brig Simplon Tunnel under construction from 1898 National border Iselle ( Italy ) Without intermediate stations and without connecting railways.

The Jura-Simplon-Bahn ( JS or JS), Jura-Simplon for short , French Compagnie des Chemins de fer Jura-Simplon , was a railway company in Switzerland . In 1903 it was nationalized as the largest railway company in Switzerland at the time and integrated into the SBB .

history

founding

Eb 2/4 no. 13 to a water crane . The car in the background still bears the lettering SOS (Suisse-Occidentale-Simplon)

Obligation of CHF 500 from the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Jura-Simplon dated October 17, 1894

The Jura-Simplon Railway (JS) was created on January 1, 1890 through the merger of the two most important western Swiss railway companies Jura-Bern-Lucerne (JBL), including the Gümligen-Lucerne line belonging to the Canton of Bern , and the Suisse-Occidentale-Simplon ( SOS). The federal government also participated in the merger by buying shares over the counter. On January 1, 1891, the SOS operated Pont-Vallorbe Railway was purchased.

The share capital of the new company was made up of 52 million francs of preferred shares and 34 million common shares . The preference shares are made up of 38 million previous shares in JBL and 14 million in SOS. The nominal value of the SOS ordinary shares was reduced from 500 to 200 francs and the amount of 52.4 million francs that was released was used for depreciation purposes. The federal government received the right to buy back the JS.

Construction of the Simplon Tunnel

North portal of the Simplon tunnel near Brig during construction

The Simplon Express with locomotive B 3/4, which was introduced after the tunnel was opened, at Genève-Cornavin station

Although the Jura-Simplon Railway only existed as a railway company for 13 years, it helped the decades-long efforts of Bern and western Switzerland to build the Simplon tunnel from Brig to Iselle in Italy to a breakthrough. The studies for the construction of the tunnel had already been submitted to the federal and cantonal authorities by the SOS. In 1891, as a young, entrepreneurial railway company, the JS submitted a definitive project for a Simplon tunnel to the Federal Council .

On November 25, 1895, the state treaty with Italy for the construction of the longest tunnel in the world was signed. The construction costs for the single-lane tunnel were estimated at 58,820,000 francs. The State Treaty obliges Switzerland to subsidize 15 million francs and Italy to 4 million. Italy was represented by four members on the JS Board of Directors . Construction work on this 19,803 meter long tunnel began in 1898.

business

The JS was able to pay a dividend every year.

The Jura-Simplon-Bahn operated several other railway lines:

• Jougne – Vallorbe – Pontarlier and Verrières – Pontarlier lines of the French Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway (PLM)
• Chemin de fer Bière-Apples-Morges (BAM)
• Bödelibahn BB (from 1895)
• Bulle-Romont Railway (BR)
• Cossonay-Gare – Cossonay-Ville funicular (CG)
• Chemin de fer Friborg – Morat – Anet (FMA)
• Jura neuchâtelois JN (Neuchâtel – Le Locle route)
• Chemin de fer Pont-Brassus (PBr)
• Pont Vallorbe Railway (PV)
• Régional du Val-de-Travers (RVT)
• Spiez-Erlenbach Railway (SEB)
• Thunerseebahn (TSB)
• Visp-Zermatt Railway (VZ)
• Chemin de fer Yverdon-Ste-Croix (YSteC)

The Münchenstein accident cost the lives of 73 passengers.

On June 14, 1891, the Jura-Simplon Railway was hit by the biggest railway disaster in Switzerland to date. When münchenstein rail disaster broke at one of Basel next special train by Gustave Eiffel built railway bridge over the Birs below the village Münchenstein together. 73 passengers were killed and 171 injured. One soldier died from injuries sustained during the cleanup. The accident led to stricter supervision of the railways. The railway bridges were systematically examined and the first building standards were created.

When railway accident Zollikofen crashed on August 17, 1891 Zollikofen an express Bern- Paris on a front of the closed Einfahrsignal serviceable special train . 14 passengers on the special train were killed and 122 injured as a result of the impact. The accident was caused by errors at various operating points. The express train was given permission to travel in an occupied train sequence section . When the compressed air brake was switched off , the braking effect was also reduced.

Despite the investments in the construction of the Simplon Tunnel, JS was able to distribute a dividend every year .

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  Train with a B 3/4 on the shores of Lake Geneva, in the background the Savoy Alps .

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  Two JS officers in the Kaiserstuhl ward office .

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  “Water train” in Bussigny station

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  Train of the Brünigbahn on the rack section above Lungern .

Billboard advertising

The Jura-Simplon-Bahn advertised with a series of posters . Part of it came from Hugo d'Alési .

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nationalization

While the Simplon Tunnel was being built, a referendum on February 20, 1898 decided to nationalize the Jura-Simplon Railway and the other four main lines. The Jura-Simplon Railway was taken over on May 1, 1903 by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), which completed the Simplon Tunnel in 1906.

Graphic summary

Overview of the history of the Jura-Simplon Railway (E: opening; T: takeover):

→ Predecessor of the SOS

→ Predecessor lines of the JB

Suisse-Occidentale- Simplon (SOS) O: 1.1.1890

Jura-Bern-Lucerne (JBL) incl. Gümligen-Lucerne O: 1.1.1890

Pont – Vallorbe (PV) O: 1.1.1891

Swiss Central Railway (SCB) O: 1.1.1902

Swiss Northeast Railway (NOB) O: 1.1.1902

United Swiss Railways (VSB) C: 1.7.1902

Jura-Simplon Railway (JS) O: 1.5.1903

Gotthard Railway (GB) O: 1.5.1909

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)

Infrastructure and vehicles

Train stations

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  Brünig station around 1900

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  Bussigny station around 1905, with B 3/4 of the former JS

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  Delémont railway station around 1897

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  Lausanne train station around 1898

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  Neuchâtel train station around 1897

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  Sarnen station of the Brünigbahn around 1910

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  Vevey station before its expansion shortly after 1900

The Basel , Bern and Lucerne stations of the Centralbahn (SCB) and the Geneva-Cornavin station of the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway (PLM) were shared by the Jura-Simplon Railway.

Route network

Route network of the Jura-Simplon Railway

The route network, 937 km in length, ran from Basel, Geneva and the Jura border crossings Delle , La Chaux-de-Fonds , Les Verrières and Vallorbe to Brig and Lucerne . In addition, the narrow-gauge Brünig Railway from Lucerne to Brienz was part of the 937 km long route network. It was made up of the routes of the previous railways:

• Routes of the Jura-Bern-Lucerne
  → section route network in the article Chemins de fer du Jura bernois
• Routes of the Suisse-Occidentale-Simplon
  → section route network in the article Chemins de fer de la Suisse Occidentale
• Line of the Pont Vallorbe Railway

Expansion to double track

Express train with a two-cylinder composite locomotive type A 2/4 on the double-track line near Auvernier .

A 2/4 No. 110 in front of the Lausanne depot.

The Jura-Simplon-Bahn continued the double-track expansion of its predecessors. When JS was taken over by SBB in 1903, 131.20 km (14%) of the route network were double-lane.

Railway line	Route section	Double track opened on
Lausanne – Biel	Lausanne - Renens	May 5, 1856 by Ouest Suisse
	Renens VD - Bussigny	1897
	Bussigny - Cossonay	August 21, 1895
	Cossonay - Daillens	June 1, 1896
	Auvernier - Neuchâtel	June 1, 1898
Lausanne – Geneva		1868–1879 by Suisse-Occidentale, Suisse-Occidentale-Simplon (see there) and LFB
Lausanne – Bern	Lausanne – La Conversion	May 1, 1902
	Chexbres - Palézieux
Lausanne-Brig	Lausanne- Lutry	June 1, 1900
	Lutry - Cully	June 1, 1899
	Cully - Rivaz	October 1, 1892
	Rivaz - Montreux	June 1, 1892
	Montreux - Villeneuve	October 10, 1891
	Granges - Lens - Sierre	June 24, 1901
Bern – Biel	Lyss– Busswil	1877 by Bern-Luzern-Bahn

Rolling stock

The Jura-Simplon Railway named their cars after that time Switzerland-wide designation system .

The following locomotives were available to the JS. The designation valid from 1902 is shown in brackets.

designation	JS no.	SBB no. from 1903	Manufacturer	Construction year	discarded	image
A2 (Ec 2/4)	1-12	-	taken over in 1890 by the Bern-Luzern-Bahn BLB (see there)		1888-1896
A2 (Eb 2/4)	13-16	5441-5442	taken over in 1890 by the Jura-Bern-Luzern-Bahn JBL (see there)		1900-1917
	17-32	5451-5476			1900-1947
	33-42		Esslingen , SLM Winterthur	1880-1892
A2T ( B 2/3 )	51-63	-	taken over in 1890 by the Suisse-Occidentale-Simplon SOS (see there)		1890-1902
A2T (B 2/3)	63-67	-			1892-1896
A2T ( B 2/3 )	69-73	-			1890-1892
A2T ( B 2/3 )	74-79	1074-1079			1904-1907
A2T (B 2/3)	80-82	1080-1082			1903
A2T (A 2/4)	101-130	101-130	SLM Winterthur	1892-1896	1917-1926
A3T (B 3/4)	201-204	1421-1424	taken over by the SOS in 1890 (see there)		1917
	205-212	1561-1568	taken over by JBL in 1890 (see there)		1924-1932
	213-222	1569-1578	SLM Winterthur	1891	1912-1932
A 3/5	231-232	701-702	SLM Winterthur	1902	1926-1964
	(Replica SBB)	703-811		1904-1909
B2 ( Ec 2/4 )	251-262	6195-6199	taken over in 1890 by the Lausanne-Friborg-Bern-Bahn (see there)		1895-1905
B2 (Ec 2/3)	263-267	6398, 6399	taken over by the SOS in 1890 (see there)		1909-1923
A3T ( B 3/4 )	301-375	1601-1675	SLM Winterthur	1896-1902	1923-1945
	(Replica SBB)	1676-1747		1903-1907
B3T (C 3/3)	401-416	2401-2403, 2406-2412, 2413	taken over by the SOS in 1890 (see there)		1900-1911
	417-419	2404, 2413			1898-1909
	421-424	-	taken over by SU in 1890 (see there)		1898-1902
	425-431	2405, 2415-2416	taken over by JBL in 1890 (see there)		1900-1911
C3 (Ed 3/3)	451-457	7291-7297	taken over by SU in 1890 (see there)		1906-1916
C3T (D 3/3)	501-505	3351, 3368-3369, 3699	taken over by the SOS in 1890 (see there)		1901-1913
	506-508	3364, 3370-3371			1907-1913
	509-511	3372-3374			1909-1914
	512-519	3352-3353, 3375-3378, 3390			1897-1925
	520-539	3354-3359, 3363-3367, 3379-3386, 3389, 3391			1901-1925
	540	3387	JS (Yverdon workshop)	1892	1924
	541-546	3360-3361, 3392-3393, 3399	taken over by JBL in 1890 (see there)		1904-1913
	547-555	3362-3363, 3388, 3394-3398			1902-1917
	561-565	3421-3425	SLM Winterthur	1890	1916
B3 ( Ec 3/4 )	601-612	6501-6512	SLM Winterthur	1901	1934-1955
	(Replica SBB)	6513-6529		1904-1910	1933-1961
E3 (E 3/3)	751-752	-	taken over in 1891 by the Pont-Vallorbe-Bahn (see there)		1924-1948
F2 ( E 2/3 )	801	-	taken over by the SOS in 1890 (see there)		1891
F3 (E 3/3)	851-852	8571-8572	taken over by JBL in 1890 (see there)		1911-1913
	853-856	8574-8576	SLM Winterthur	1890	1911-1916
	857-866	8431-8440		1901	1947
Locomotives of the narrow-gauge Brünig Railway:
G2 ( G 3/3 )	901-906	101-110	taken over by JBL in 1890 (see there)		1911-1916
	907-910		SLM Winterthur	1887-1901	1915-1942
HG2 ( HG 2/2 )	951-958	1001-1008	taken over by JBL in 1890 (see there)		1908-1911
	959-963	1009-1013	SLM Winterthur	1894-1901	1911-1912

literature

• Jura-Simplon . In: bahndaten.ch. Data on the Swiss railways 1847–1920. Thomas Frey and Hans-Ulrich Schiedt, ViaStoria, accessed on February 1, 2014.
• Hans-Peter Bärtschi : Jura-Simplon Railway (JS). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . July 17, 2007 , accessed February 1, 2014 .
• Alfred Moser: The steam operation of the Swiss railways 1847-1966 . Birkhäuser Verlag Basel and Stuttgart 1967.
• Hans G. Wägli: Swiss rail network and Swiss rail profile CH + . AS Verlag, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9 .
• 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 . 

References and comments

1. ↑ today Basel SBB
2. ↑ Confluence with the Olten – Lucerne line of the Centralbahn
3. ^ The railway accident near Mönchenstein. (PDF 4.4 MB) Schweizerische Bauzeitung, Volume 17 (1891), Issue 25, p. 50 , accessed on August 2, 2014 . 
4. ^ About the railway accident in Zollikofen near Bern. (PDF 1.4 MB) Schweizerische Bauzeitung, Volume 18 (1891), Issue 8, p. 50 , accessed on August 2, 2014 . 
5. ^ Railway accident near Zollikofen. (PDF 2.2 MB) Schweizerische Bauzeitung, Volume 18 (1891), Issue 9, pp. 54–55 , accessed on August 2, 2014 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Including the Aargauische Südbahn , the Bötzbergbahn and the Wohlen-Bremgarten-Bahn , which both belonged to the Centralbahn and Nordostbahn.
7. ^ Neuchâtel-Vauseyon-Neuchâtel previously parallel tracks of the two lines to Lausanne and La Chaux-de-Fonds
8. ↑ Jointly used section of the Bern – Lyss – Biel lines of the JS and Lyss – Solothurn of the Centralbahn
9. ^ The SBB numbered the locomotives they took over after the boiler overhauls were due.
10. ↑ Locomotive No. 301 initially had road number 231.
11. ↑ The locomotives 6513, 6515 and 6517–6529 were converted from 1922 to 1928 in the SBB main workshops in Rorschach and Biel into Ec 3/5 6601–6615.