Ferrovia Monte Generoso

Ferrovia Monte Generoso
Generoso Vetta with a Bhe 4/8 double railcar
Timetable field :	636
Route length:	8.991 km
Gauge :	800 mm ( narrow gauge )
Power system :	850 V  =
Maximum slope :	220  ‰
Rack system :	Dept
Capolago – Generoso railway line
Legend 0.0 Capolago Lago 273  m above sea level M. 0.290 Capolago-Riva San Vitale 274  m above sea level M. to Bellinzona and Chiasso S. Nicolao tunnel 167 m 3.050 S. Nicolao 701  m above sea level M. Scereda tunnel 72 m 6,400 Bellavista 1221  m above sea level M. Bellavista tunnel 98 m Poncone tunnel 49 m Vellao tunnel 32 m 8,991 Generoso Vetta 1601  m above sea level M.

The Ferrovia Monte Generoso SA , abbreviated MG , German : Monte Generoso Railway is a Swiss railway company in the form of a joint stock company headquartered in Capolago . It is owned by the Migros -Genossenschafts federal and operates the only Swiss narrow gauge - cog railway south of the Alps. This leads from Capolago up to Monte Generoso and runs from the beginning of April to the beginning of November.

route

The starting point of the route is the stop Capolago Lago ( 273  m above sea level ) next to the landing stage of the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano , where there is a connection to scheduled boats on Lake Lugano . However, it is only served by one pair of trains a day. The starting point for all other trains is the SBB train station Capolago-Riva San Vitale, just under 300 m further south, 274  m above sea level. M. There the track runs in front of the station building. The depot and the operating workshop of the railway company are both located between the bank stop and the train station. After passing the train station, the cogwheel train crosses the Gotthard Railway and leads steeply southwards up the slope. In a spiral tunnel , the route turns north and reaches 701  m above sea level. M. the stop S. Nicolao. On the side of the main ridge facing away from the lake, she climbs further up the wooded slope and reaches Bellavista ( 1221  m above sea level ). From 1891 to 1938 the Tramway Bellavista (TB) - a horse-drawn tram with a 600 mm gauge - connected this stop with the Hotel Bellavista. After a few short tunnels under the ridge, the trains arrive at the Generoso-Vetta mountain station ( 1601  m above sea level ).

The single-track line is 8.991 km long, has a track width of 800 mm and overcomes a height difference of 1328 m. With the exception of the section in the village of Capolago, the route is equipped with a rack according to the Abt system, with a maximum gradient of 22%. It has been electrified since 1982 with 800 V direct current , and the power is supplied via an overhead line . The S. Nicolao and Bellavista stops are designed as crossing stations, with almost all train crossings taking place in the latter. The mountain station also has two tracks.

Stations

photo	station	height	location
	Capolago Lago	0273 m	Coord.
	Capolago-Riva San Vitale	0274 m	Coord.
	S. Nicolao	0701 m	Coord.
	Bellavista	1221 m	Coord.
	Generoso Vetta	1601 m	Coord.

history

Project planning

After the construction of the first Swiss mountain railway, the standard-gauge Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn in 1871, no further systems were added for several years. This had to do not only with the general economic downturn after the Franco-German War , but also with the framework conditions for railway construction set by the authorities. Only with the revised Railway Act of 1872 was it possible to use different track gauges. The doctor Carlo Pasta from Mendrisio wanted to open up Monte Generoso , a 1701 m high mountain on the southern edge of the Alps , for tourism. He had a hotel built near today's Bellavista station. The Albergo Monte Generoso-Bellavista , which opened in 1867, had the disadvantage that it was initially only accessible on foot, but later also by mule or litter . On March 19, 1874, Pasta submitted a license application to the Federal Council for the construction of a standard-gauge mountain railway from Mendrisio via Bellavista to Monte Generoso. The costs turned out to be too high, which is why construction work was not carried out.

Share for CHF 500 in the Monte Generosa Railway Company from January 1, 1890

Twelve years later Pasta dared another attempt: the Società anonima del Monte Generoso , which he founded on July 2, 1886, was awarded a new concession for the construction of a rack railway with a track width of 800 mm. The starting point was no longer Mendrisio, but Capolago . On the one hand, this route variant was more cost-effective, on the other hand, it enabled a connection to and from the ships on Lake Lugano to be established. The lake also supplied the water required for the steam train operation. Construction work under the direction of the engineer Carl Roman Abt began on January 19, 1889. The Abt system developed by him was used , which enabled significant cost savings compared to the Riggenbach system of the Vitznau-Rigi railway.

The Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik (SLM) in Winterthur delivered six gearwheel steam locomotives of the type MG H 2/3 . They had a horizontally mounted boiler in the middle, with the driver's cab on the valley side and the small luggage compartment on the mountain side. The SIG in Neuhausen delivered five open and two closed passenger cars . Its conception as a compartment car with doors on the side enabled a favorable seat weight. The cars were joined by a central buffer to the mountain, where the connection was secured by a drop hook so that a passenger in the event of emergency braking at all times by the locomotive, by the residing on the mountain side of the passenger car on a platform brakeman`s are dissolved and could be brought to a standstill independently. On the basis of the Monte Generoso Railway, the SLM soon had the opportunity, in addition to establishing itself in the market niche of steam tramway locomotives, to successfully establish itself worldwide with two different pillars in the market niche of mountain railway steam locomotives.

Opening and operation

Logo of the Monte Generoso Railway until 2017

Section of the route near the mountain station

After 16 months of construction, the Monte Generoso Railway was opened on June 4, 1890. Although Pasta had two more hotels built near the summit at this point, the number of passengers stayed well below expectations. As early as 1904, economic difficulties led to the liquidation of the Società anonima del Monte Generoso . The attempts to put the line back into operation were not crowned with lasting success. In 1909, new shareholders founded the Società anonima italo-svizzera Monte Generoso , which took over the route. The company went bankrupt in 1914 , was re-established in 1916 and recapitalized in 1921 . In September 1939, the railway was stopped and reactivation seemed impossible at the time. There were even considerations to dismantle the tracks because iron was a coveted raw material in the war years.

Gottlieb Duttweiler , the founder of the Migros retail group , learned of the imminent demolition of the railway line in March 1941. Spontaneously he decided to buy it - against the will of the Migros management. In order not to burden his company too much, he then founded a cooperative . More than 3,000 people took part and subscribed to shares at CHF 25 each. The cooperative repaired the systems and resumed rail operations. By lowering the fare by almost two thirds, the number of passengers rose ninefold in the first year, which guaranteed the long-term survival of the railway.

In 1954 the steam locomotives were replaced by two diesel locomotives (Hm 2/3 1 and 2) built on the underframe of former steam locomotives and in 1957 by two four-axle diesel railcars ( Bhm 2/4 3 and 4), which allowed more economical operation. In 1959 the cooperative built a cistern wagon with a capacity of 5,000 liters to supply the summit restaurant with water. Two two-axle diesel railcars (Bhm 1/2 5 and 6) were added in 1968, so that the last steam locomotives could be put out of service a year later. As the cooperative was increasingly reaching the limits of its capabilities, it dissolved on June 27, 1980. It was replaced by Ferrovia Monte Generoso SA , which still exists today and belongs to the Federation of Migros Cooperatives. Rail operations are financed by the Migros Culture Percentage .

An extensive renovation of the line, which began in 1979, included electrification , consolidation of the track and the expansion of the tunnels. Electrical operation began on April 4, 1982. For this purpose four double railcars ( MG Bhe 4/8 11 to 14) were procured. The steam locomotive HG 2/3 No. 2 from 1890 stood for a long time as a monument on a pedestal in Capolago. It has been completely restored and made operational; since June 1984 it has been available for historical special trips.

Vehicle fleet

MG Bhe 4/8 railcar

Steam locomotive H 2/3

Diesel multiple units before electrification; right Bhm2 / 4, left Bhm1 / 2

• Steam locomotive H 2/3 2 (1890) SLM
• Diesel locomotive Hm 2/3 1 (1953) SLM, Monte Generoso Railway, Saurer (engine), conversion from H 2/3 5
• Diesel locomotive Hm 2/2 7 (1975) Bühler ( tavern ), Paul Pleiger Maschinenfabrik ( Blankenstein ), Monte Generoso Railway
• Diesel locomotive Hm 2/2 8 (1973) self-made BRB, sold in 1995 by BRB to the  Montreux-Glion-Rochers-de-Naye-Bahn  (MGN); 2015 resold to Ferrovia Monte Generoso, labeled as "D8"
• Double rack car Bhe 4/8 11–14 (1982) SLM , Siemens , largely identical in construction to the Bhe 4/8 301–303 procured in 1983 by the Glion – Rochers-de-Naye (GN) rack railway

  11: capolago ; 12: Mendrisio ; 13: Salorino ; 14: St. Gallen (San Gallo) (Migros Cooperative St. Gallen, today Migros Eastern Switzerland)

• B ⁴ 1, ex Glion – Rochers-de-Naye (GN) AB ⁴ 18, ex. BC ⁴ 18
• further passenger cars
• various freight and company cars
• Snow blower (road rail vehicle)

Former vehicle fleet

Steam locomotives

• H 2/3 1, 3–6 (1890) SLM, H 2/3 5 + 6 conversion to diesel locomotive Hm 2/3 1 + 2
• H 2/3 7 (1892) SLM, ex cog railway Glion – Rochers-de-Naye (GN) 4, 1962 sold to Brienz-Rothorn-Bahn (BRB)
• H 2/3 8 (1892) SLM, ex Glion – Rochers-de-Naye (GN) 6
• H 2/3 9 (1891) SLM, later renumbered 1, ex Glion – Rochers-de-Naye (GN) 1

Diesel locomotive

• Diesel locomotive Hm 2/3 2 (1954) SLM, Monte Generoso Railway, Saurer (engine), conversion from H 2/3 6

Diesel railcars

• Diesel railcar Bhm 2/4 3 + 4 (1957) SIG , Büssing (engine)
• Bhm 1/2 5 + 6 (1968) Regazzoni (Lugano), Bühler (tavern), Monte Generoso railway, Caterpillar (engine)

literature

• Andreas Zingg: The train to Monte Generoso. In: Railway Amateur, 6/2017, pp. 244–252.

Web links

Commons : Ferrovia Monte Generoso  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of Ferrovia Monte Generoso SA
• Ferrovia Monte Generoso on the ETHorama platform

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ferrovia Monte Generoso SA. Commercial register of the Canton of Ticino, 2019, accessed on October 19, 2019 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Swiss Railway Atlas . Schweers + Wall , Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7 , pp. 58-59 .
3. ↑ Tramway Bellavista (TB) In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar, accessed on June 13, 2020
4. ^ Hans-Peter Bärtschi , Anne-Marie Dubler : Railways. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . February 11, 2015 , accessed October 18, 2019 .
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} background information. (PDF; 327 kB) Monte Generoso Railway, 2017, accessed on October 19, 2019 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Luca Montagner: Carlo Pasta e la passione per il Generoso. (PDF; 492 kB) Giornale del Popolo , April 27, 2018, accessed on October 19, 2019 (Italian). 
7. ^ Peter Willen: Locomotives and railcars of the Swiss railways . tape 4 . Orell Füssli, Zurich 1983, ISBN 3-280-01301-1 , p. 69 .
8. ^ Alfred A. Häsler : The Migros Adventure. The 60 year old idea . Ed .: Federation of Migros Cooperatives. Migros Presse, Zurich 1985, p. 85 .
9. ↑ Häsler: The Migros Adventure. P. 309.
10. ↑ R. Fassora: The electrification of the Monte Generoso Railway. Railway Amateur (EA) No. 6, 1982. p. 395.
11. ↑ One of them for a long time in the "Museo dei trasporti Ogliari", today in the Museum Volandia in Malpensa near Milan in poor condition in the open air: See here (scroll far down)

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap