Langenthal-Jura Railway
| Langenthal – Niederbipp – Oensingen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Timetable field : | 413 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 10.99 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 1200 V = | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 65 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Langenthal-Jura-Bahn ( LJB ) is a former railway company in Switzerland . In 1958 it merged with the Langenthal-Melchnau-Bahn (LMB) to form the Oberaargau-Jura-Bahnen (OJB), which then operated the 11 km long, meter-gauge LJB line from Langenthal to Niederbipp . After further mergers, the railway line has been part of the Aare Seeland mobil (ASm) since 1999 .
history
The Langenthal-Jura-Bahn , based in Langenthal, opened its meter-gauge railway line from Langenthal via Niederbipp to Oensingen Schulhaus, in the canton of Solothurn, which is mainly located in the canton of Bern , on October 26, 1907 . When it opened, the line was fully electrified with 1200 volts direct current . There were u. a. LJB CFe 4/4 railcars used.
Langenthal also became the starting point of the meter-gauge Langenthal-Melchnau Railway (LMB), which opened on October 6, 1917, and whose own route to Melchnau only began at the Gaswerk station as a branch of the Langenthal-Jura railway line. A collaboration was planned from the beginning, so the LMB not only chose the same electricity system, but also transferred the entire operational management to the Langenthal-Jura-Bahn. With the opening of the Solothurn-Niederbipp-Bahn (SNB) on January 9, 1918, another track connection to a meter -gauge railway was established in Niederbipp. The SNB also sought contact with the LJB, concluded an operating contract with them, took over the power system for the Langenthal – Jura Railway and ran individual trains to Oensingen.
The Langenthal-Jura-Bahn had contact points with the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) at the stations Langenthal, Niederbipp and Oensingen SBB. On the Niederbipp – Oensingen section, it was in direct competition with the SBB, where it was initially able to hold its own. Although it had a longer journey time than a tram due to the poorer route, it offered a much better timetable than the SBB did in regional transport at the time. The routing also made it possible to develop Oensingen a little more finely and with the denser timetable it was possible to direct the workforce of the companies in the Balsthaler Klus (including Von Roll ) to the Langenthal-Jura-Bahn and, from 1918, to the SNB; the Klus itself has been served by the standard gauge Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn (OeBB) since 1899 .
When the SBB greatly expanded regional traffic on the Olten – Oensingen – Solothurn route in the following years, the number of passengers slumped; the SNB to Solothurn was no longer competitive with the SBB over the entire route and concentrated on serving the stops on the way between Solothurn and Niederbipp. Due to a lack of passengers, the LJB finally closed the most unprofitable, approximately one and a half kilometer section Oensingen SBB - Oensingen Schulhaus on May 14, 1928 and then broke it off.
During the Second World War, the Langenthal-Jura-Bahn ran into financial difficulties and asked the authorities for financial aid. The canton of Bern made its approval essentially dependent on the abandonment of the almost two and a half kilometers long section Niederbipp - Oensingen ; This had long been inferior to the competition from the SBB and was unprofitable, it was relocated on state roads and in poor condition for lack of maintenance, and it also led to another canton. So it happened that on May 9, 1943, operations were stopped and the track system was dismantled immediately - iron and copper were coveted raw materials in the war years and a welcome additional income in times of need. Niederbipp thus became - from the remnants of the line used as siding - the terminus for LJB and SNB.
The 40-year long collaboration between Langenthal-Jura-Bahn and LMB was finally followed by a legal merger: on January 1, 1958, Langenthal-Jura-Bahn and LMB merged to form Oberaargau-Jura-Bahnen (OJB). As a result, a new cooperation agreement was concluded with the SNB in 1959. With the contract, the LJB / OJB-Werkstätte Langenthal also became a workshop of the SNB, which could do without its own facility for vehicle maintenance.
From the timetable change in December 2012, the route will be served again to Oensingen train station. The new line is parallel to the SBB tracks between Niederbipp and Oensingen and will have a stop to open up the industrial area there. This route is not identical to the original route between Niederbipp and Oensingen.
Roller bolster traffic
In order to transport standard-gauge freight wagons on the meter -gauge route , Switzerland's first roller bogie system was put into operation in Langenthal on December 29, 1909 , serving the delivery points to Aarwangen. On March 7, 1913, the range of possible delivery points was extended to Bannwil. Since it opened, the LMB has also been able to deliver to Melchnau. With the opening of the SNB on January 9, 1918, another roller bolster system was put into operation in Niederbipp, which is also used by the LJB and opens up delivery points to Bannwil from Niederbipp, which means that deliveries have been possible on the entire LJB route since 1943.
literature
See main article: Aare Seeland mobile
