Schöllenenbahn
| Göschenen – Andermatt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Timetable field : | 142 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 3,770 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 11 kV 16.7 Hz ~ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rack system : | Dept | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Schöllenenbahn is a single-track rack railway in the Swiss canton of Uri . It connects Göschenen with Andermatt and crosses the Schöllenen Gorge of the Reuss . It has a maximum gradient of 179 per thousand. The line was built between 1913 and 1917 by Schöllenenbahn AG (SchB), which on June 17, 1904 had received the concession for the construction and operation of a railway line from the Federal Assembly . This merged on 1961 with the Furka-Oberalp-Bahn , short FO, which in turn merged on January 1, 2003 with the Brig-Visp-Zermatt-Bahn , short BVZ, to form the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn , short MGB. Today the Schöllenenbahn transports around 400,000 passengers a year. In the past it was also of great military importance because it supplied the fortifications of the Réduit in the Gotthard massif . The route has a total length of 3770 meters, of which 2509 meters are equipped with a rack . 1022 meters are in tunnels and 1110 meters in galleries . It also has several bridges with a total length of 260 meters. The train runs through five tunnels and five galleries. The meter- gauge narrow - gauge railway drives four times over a bridge.
history
The Gotthard Pass has been the most important north-south connection between Basel and Milan since the 12th century . An important stopover was the municipality of Andermatt in the Ursern corporation , which had been part of the canton of Uri since 1410. With the commissioning of the Gotthard Tunnel on May 22, 1882, the Gotthard Pass and with it the Urserental with its main town Andermatt suddenly lost its importance in terms of transport policy. The valley threatened to be cut off from the outside world, as maintaining the road through the Schöllenen Gorge was very time-consuming and expensive. On the other hand, the train station in Göschenen in front of the railway tunnel offered undreamt-of possibilities. The central Switzerland could be easily reached by tourists through the new railway line. Larger hotels were built in Andermatt. What was missing was a reliable connection through the Schöllenen. In 1890, the Bernese engineer Grussy proposed a project for a narrow-gauge rack railway through the Schöllenen Gorge. The project failed because of the enormous costs. It was not until 1903 that Richard Zschokke and the companies Gribi & Hasler in Burgdorf and Rothacker in St. Imier submitted an application to the Swiss Confederation, which was approved by the Federal Assembly on June 17, 1904. But there was resistance to the construction of the railway. Conservationists had concerns, and hauliers and horse-drawn carters offered continued resistance. A new company could only be founded on June 24, 1912. The financing turned out to be very difficult and could only be secured through the participation of the Swiss military. The planning was also very difficult and could only be solved with the participation of the locomotive and supply manufacturer Brown-Boveri in Baden. The line was planned to be electrified with 1200 volts direct current from the start. Three tunnels and three bridges and a long gallery to protect against avalanches were planned.
Construction began on May 23, 1913. The Abt system was chosen as the rack system . This was also chosen to enable problem-free cooperation with the planned Furka-Bahn in Andermatt. Bad weather and a shortage of labor delayed construction progress. In 1914, the project almost stopped after the outbreak of World War I. While 600 workers were still available in July 1914, there were only 50 after the outbreak of war. Construction only proceeded quickly in 1915–1916, as the military attested a strategic importance for the project. The first test drives took place on September 4, 1916. The railway line was inaugurated on July 11, 1917. The first scheduled train left on July 12th. Originally, only summer traffic was planned and subsidized by the federal government. There were no major opening ceremonies due to the war. The cost of construction had been significantly exceeded. A financing bank in Uri also went bankrupt. After the end of the First World War, the military transports to supply the military bases in Andermatt and on the Gotthard Pass largely ceased. The railway company was in a major financial crisis. The autumn of 1919 brought an early onset of winter and operations could only continue at high costs. On December 25, 1919, operations had to be completely shut down. There was no more money. Winter operations were discontinued because the federal government refused subsidies for winter operations. The Swiss Post made it possible for rail operations to survive in winter by taking over and invoicing mail, material and passenger transport itself. She practically rented the train. On October 5, 1923, the Federal Assembly approved a license change. The operation could now be carried out throughout the year. Subsidies for the whole year have been promised. In 1926 the company could be offered all year round without interruptions for the first time. A connection to the completed Furka-Oberalp Railway has existed since 1925. On October 17, 1941, operations were switched to alternating current in order to be compatible with the Furka Railway. The drives of the locomotives were replaced. Since then, operation has been carried out at 11 kV 16.7 Hz ~. This made the technology compatible with the Rhaetian Railway and the Furka-Oberalp Railway.
Despite the year-round operation, the railway was never able to make any big profits and was faced with failure several times. When Schöllenenstrasse was expanded in 1956 and private transport increased more and more, Schöllenenbahn AG finally slipped into the red. On December 31, 1960, the Schöllenenbahn AG merged with the Furka-Oberalp-Bahn. Schöllenenbahn AG was deleted from the commercial register on April 19, 1962.
Incidents
In August 1987 a violent storm destroyed avalanche galleries and washed away the tracks. Parts of the route were covered with rubble and mud. Operations had to be temporarily suspended. The entire route had to be extensively renovated. This was only possible with federal funding. The protective galleries were generously expanded. The route has been continuously renovated since 2014. Additional avalanche protection structures are being built. An accident occurred on September 1, 2016. A shunting train with four passenger cars got onto the too steep rails of the Schöllenenbahn.
vehicles
Two-axle electric locomotives were used on the Schöllenenbahn for combined adhesion and cogwheel operation by SLM and BBC . The four locomotives used had the designation SchB HGe 2/2 . Originally they ran on 1200 volts direct current. In 1941 they were converted to 11,000 volts alternating current. The last of these four locomotives was scrapped in 1985. Before the retrofit, the locomotives were only nine kilometers per hour in cogwheel mode, after the retrofit they could travel 20 kilometers per hour. The paintwork of the vehicles was cream on top and blue-gray on the bottom. After the merger, they were painted dark red. In 1941, after the electrification of the Furka-Oberalp Railway and the switch from electrical operation to alternating current, locomotives and wagons for this railway were also used. Locomotives and wagons were procured together. Used were 2.4 BCFhe the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works with a drive to the BBC. From 1993 these were scrapped.
Today (2019) through cars of the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn are running the route. The locomotive is always at the end of the valley, at the end of the train a control car is running .
business
Today the MGB offers an hourly shuttle service on the route, which means that it is fully integrated into the national regular timetable .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ SRF: Important Uri connection. A train has been running through the Schöllenen for 100 years
- ↑ Luzerner Zeitung Andermatt: 100 years ago today the first train passed through the Schöllenen
- ↑ Aktiensammler 06/10, p. 9, ISSN 1611-8006
- ↑ a b Hans Rudi Lüthy-Pavan The Schöllenenbahn
- ↑ SRF On Thursday, the train has been traveling through the Schöllenen Gorge to Andermatt for a hundred years. The railway has always had an important feeder function for the Ursern Valley. However, in its eventful history, she often had to struggle with financial problems.
- ^ SUST report on the accident on the Schöllenenbahn on September 1st, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2019 .