Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil Railway
The Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil Railway (RSHB), founded in 1908, connected the Swiss towns of Ramsei , Sumiswald- Grün / Wasen, Affoltern im Emmental and Huttwil . From January 1, 1944, the RSHB belonged to the United Huttwil-Bahnen (VHB) railway company , which later merged with EBT and SMB to form Regionalverkehr Mittelland and is now part of BLS AG . The route network of the Ramsei – Huttwil railway line is only partially operated.
history
In April 1857, the Federal Office of Transport granted the concession for the Neuenstadt - Lucerne railway construction . The planned route from Bern corresponded to the original stagecoach route Bern – Gümligen– Worb - Bigenthal - Lützelflüh –Sumiswald – Huttwil – Sursee –Luzern. In the decisive vote in parliament, however, preference was given to the Bern - Konolfingen - Langnau line .
In the course of time, various railway lines were built in the Emmental. But the stagecoach was still the only public transport connection to Sumiswald. The residents again felt the urge to be connected to the rail network.
The first specific applications for a license for the railway line were received by the Cantonal Council in 1890, but both had no chance compared to the third application submitted in 1891 due to their unfavorable alignment . It said: “This line, which would complete the Emmental railway network and, in conjunction with the projected Huttwil – Wollhusen and Konolfingen – Thun railways, would at least for the most part bring it to a close, would not only be suitable for a larger number of previously isolated villages in general To open up transport and to bring agriculture, trade and industry to a higher level of development, but it would also be the very closest rail connection of a large part of the Oberaargau, the canton of Lucerne and the lower Emmental with the upper Emmental, the Oberland and the Mittelland , especially with several traffic centers such as Bern, Burgdorf, Langnau, Thun, Langenthal and Lucerne. ”However, the project failed due to the lack of funds.
Another submission was made in the spring of 1897 by the initiative committee for a railway Goldbach / Ramsei – Sumiswald – Huttwil , which applied for a partial concession for the connection Bern – Worb – Sumiswald – Huttwil, optionally also Ramsei – Wasen, in order to be the first section to route Sumiswald –Huttwil. But it was not until April 16, 1904 that the first general assembly took place, and the shareholders were able to raise share capital of over CHF 2 million. The village community of Sumiswald did not agree with the planning and requested a route over the village, which is about 40 m higher on a terrace. In 1905 a commission of experts decided the route to the detriment of the villagers, but recommended: "In order to better serve the economic interests of the village of Sumiswald, an attempt should be made to branch off to Wasen via Sumiswald." The November 1905 meeting of the Grand Council dealt with this point conclusively and gave its approval. The canton of Bern has now invested 1.77 million francs in the corporation against 1.2 million francs.
The largest single construction project was a 210 meter long tunnel north of Sumiswald. There were problems with landslides at Fuchsloch near Dürrenroth . Due to the sharp rise in metal prices, the six stream crossings were not constructed as steel as planned, but with concrete . The gravel came from the quarry near the southern mouth of the tunnel near Sumiswald. The cost estimate of around three million Swiss francs was undercut by around 10% in the end. 35 hectares of land were built over. Land acquisition and surveying cost 1 franc per m² compared to about one and a half times as much for LHB and HWB .
The new railway did not succeed in attracting the large traffic flows. On the contrary, it has always suffered from the sparse population. Just two years after it opened, the finances were so tight that operations had to be streamlined. For this purpose, the railway bought two steam railcars, with which the operation could be carried out much cheaper than with the previous steam locomotives, because the engine driver could also take over the duties of the stoker on them.
Vehicle fleet of the former RSHB
At the time of its existence, the RSHB owned:
Traction vehicles
- 3 steam locomotives Ed 3/4 21-23 (1908; from the same series as Ed 3/4 11, ex LHB, preserved operationally at VHE )
- 2 steam railcars CFZm 1/3 31–32 (1912), same design as CFZm 1/3 of the Régional Saignelégier – Glovelier (RSG)
Passenger cars
- 1 passenger car 2nd / 3rd Class, 48 seats, BC 1 (1908)
- 1 passenger car 1st / 2nd Class, 40 seats, BC 2 (1908)
- 1 3rd class passenger car, 52 seats, BC 11 (1908)
- 3 passenger cars 2nd / 3rd Class, 48 seats, C 21-23 (1908)
Baggage cart
- 3 baggage cars, 7 m center distance, FZ 51–53 (1908), FZ51 1912 on HWB as F113
Freight wagons
- 9 boxcars, 4 m center distance, K2 401–409 (1908)
- 6 boxcars, 5 m center distance, K2 301–306 (1908)
- 6 high side cars, 5 m center distance, L4 501–506 (1908)
- 4 low side cars, 5 m center distance, M4 601–606 (1908)
Company car
- 3 ballast wagons, S (1908)
Traffic since 2010
Today only the short section Ramsei – Sumiswald-Grünen is served by BLS AG , the S44 runs from Sumiswald-Grünen via Burgdorf to Bern and from there via Gürbetal to Thun . RUWA runs short freight trains to Burghof on the Sumiswald-Grünen-Wasen route. There is only sporadic freight traffic on the Sumiswald-Grünen-Huttwil route, and BLS also uses the route for business trips.
The Sumiswald-Grünen – Wasen and Huttwil rail connections have been replaced by bus routes that are also operated by BLS AG .
The Emmental Museum Railroad Cooperative wants to bring the no longer used route sections back into operation. The association includes the Steam Railway Association in Bern and the Historical Railway Association in Emmental (VHE). The two associations Dampflokfreunde Langenthal and Club Salon Bleu , which were also involved in founding the cooperative, have now merged with the VHE.
In December 2013, the infrastructure concession for the Sumiswald – Wasen and Sumiswald – Huttwil lines was transferred to Emmentalbahn GmbH (ETB). This must keep the routes open for network access, especially for freight traffic and vehicle transfers. This obligation is met by the federal government and the canton.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sumiswalder quarreled about the train station. In: Berner Zeitung. August 10, 1989.
- ↑ a b c Otto Schuppli: The United Huttwil Railways . Minirex, Luzern 1989, ISBN 3-907014-03-0 , p. 15-20 .
- ↑ 100 years of the Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil Railway - looking back on a dying line. in Berner Zeitung, May 30, 2008.
- ^ Otto Schuppli: The United Huttwil Railways. Pp. 23-54.
- ↑ A big anniversary: 100 years of the “Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil-Bahn” - steam locomotives, passenger, baggage, mail and freight cars. on the BLS AG website, accessed on May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Save money with a steam train. on the BLS AG website, accessed on May 17, 2015.
- ↑ BLS press release ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from April 1, 2010.
- ↑ The Emmental Railway makes steam. In: Berner Zeitung. 19th March 2015.
- ↑ Homepage of the Genossenschaft Museumsbahn Emmental ( Memento of the original from April 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 2, 2015.
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: media information from the Federal Office of Transport from December 16, 2013.
literature
- Otto Schuppli: The United Huttwil Railways. Minirex Verlag 1989.
Web links
- United Huttwil Railways (VHB). Sumiswald-Grünen - Wasen In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar