Rigi-Kaltbad-Scheidegg-Bahn

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Rigi-Kaltbad-Scheidegg-Bahn
RSB train on the bridge near Unterstetten
RSB train on the bridge near Unterstetten
Route of the Rigi-Kaltbad-Scheidegg-Bahn
Course of the RSB on a map from 2020
Route length: 6.7 km
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Maximum slope : 50  ‰
Minimum radius : 60 m
Opening: Rigi Kaltbad – Rigi First : July 14, 1874
Rigi First – Scheidegg : June 1, 1875
Shutdown: September 21, 1931
Cancellation: 1942
Rigi Kaltbad – Scheidegg
Legend
   
 0.0 Rigi Kaltbad 1441  m above sea level M.
   
 1.1 First 1454  m above sea level M.
   
 2.8 Unterstetten 1440  m above sea level M.
   
 Iron bridge (50 m)
   
 Weissenegg Tunnel (70 m)
   
 Unterdossen 1546  m above sea level M.
   
 6.7 Rigi Scheidegg 1607  m above sea level M.

The Rigi-Kaltbad-Scheidegg-Bahn ( RSB ), also known as Rigi-Scheidegg-Bahn or Kaltbad-Scheidegg-Bahn , is a former Swiss narrow-gauge railway . In Rigi Kaltbad at 1,423  m above sea level. M. she found connection to the Vitznau-Rigi Railway , built in 1871, and drove to Rigi-Scheidegg at 1648  m above sea level. M. When it was completed, it was the highest adhesion railway in Europe.

history

The Regina Montium company, formed in Olten in 1873, wanted to participate in the success of Rigi tourism, which was triggered by the construction of the Vitznau-Rigi railway . It built a new hotel in Rigi First and acquired the existing hotels on Rigi Kulm and Scheidegg. Regina Montium built the Rigi-Scheidegg-Bahn to make it easier for guests to travel from Rigi Kaltbad station on the Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn to the Grand Hotel on Scheidegg .

The construction of the railway was for a fixed price of 1.35 million SFr. awarded to the International Society for Mountain Railways from Aarau . Elaborate earthworks and rock works were necessary, a tunnel 70 m long ( location ) and an iron bridge 50 m long had to be built. Therefore, the railway was opened in two stages. First the section from Kaltbad via First to Unterstetten was put into operation on July 14, 1874, followed by the section from Unterstetten to Scheidegg on June 1, 1875. The construction costs were 1.6 million SFr. slightly above the estimated cost.

The steam train had a track width of 1000 mm , a length of 6747 m and the greatest gradient was 50 ‰. On January 22nd, 1878 the railway went bankrupt and was forcibly liquidated by the federal court . On December 13, 1879, a new company took over the railway at a price of 60,000 SFr. In the following years, too, the railway was denied economic success. On September 21, 1931, the RSB finally ceased operations and sold the rolling stock; In 1942 the rails were also broken off. Car No. 7 has been preserved and is used as a holiday home in Unterstetten, on the former railway line.

Today's use of the route

Today the Trassee is a hiking trail in summer and also a cross-country ski run in winter. The route and the original iron bridge in Unterstetten were renovated between autumn 2013 and 2016. Today, Rigi-Scheidegg is accessed by the Kräbel – Scheidegg cable car . In the Kräbel there is a connection to the Arth-Rigi-Bahn .

  • Car number 7 of the Rigi-Kaltbad-Scheidegg Railway . Preserved as a holiday home on the former railway line in Unterstetten

  • Route of the former Rigi-Kaltbad-Scheidegg-Bahn , bridge near Unterstetten (2009)

literature

  • Florian Inäbnit: Rigi Scheidegg Railway . Prellbock Druck & Verlag, Leissigen 1999, ISBN 3-907579-13-5 .
  • Thomas Frey and Hans-Ulrich Schiedt: Rigi Kaltbad-Scheidegg-Bahn. ViaStoria, Foundation for Transport History, accessed on September 18, 2015 .

Web links

Commons : Rigi-Scheidegg-Bahn  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Baths Almanac 1895: 6th ed . R. Mosse, 1889, p. 167 ( google.com [accessed February 24, 2020]).
  2. ↑ a b c Rigi Kaltbad-Scheidegg Railway . In: Freiherr von Röll (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Railway System . tape 8 . Berlin, Vienna 1917, p. 224-225 ( zeno.org ).
  3. ↑ New aerial tramway Kräbel - Rigi Scheidegg On: Seilbahn.net from January 3, 2018