Sihltalbahn

Sihltalbahn
Railway lines Zurich-Lucerne: The Sihl Valley Railway is yellow and runs to Sihlwald
Timetable field :	712
Route length:	18.42 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	old route 28 ‰ since 1990 50  ‰
Minimum radius :	150 m
Zurich HB – Sihlbrugg
Legend -1.2 Zurich HB tunnel station S 4 396  m above sea level M. Sihl tunnel 1296 m -0.2 Zurich Selnau tunnel station 398  m above sea level M. Tunnel route opened on May 2, 1990 0.0 Zurich Selnau former terminus 414  m above sea level M. Left bank Seebahn ( Ulmberg Tunnel ) Sihl bridge Giesshübel 96 m Connection line from Zurich main station to Zurich Wiedikon Uetlibergbahn to Uetliberg 1.1 Zurich Giesshübel 418  m above sea level M. Depot and workshop Bridge Giesshübelstrasse 62 m 1.8 Zurich indoor sports hall 422  m above sea level M. Sihl bridge Brunau 60 m 2.7 Zurich Brunau 423  m above sea level M. 4.1 Zurich Manegg 430  m above sea level M. Sihl bridge Leimbach 60 m 4.7 Zurich Leimbach 435  m above sea level M. 6.4 Sood-Oberleimbach 443  m above sea level M. 7.3 Adliswil 452  m above sea level M. 8.3 Sihlau 456  m above sea level M. 8.9 Gontenbach 9.5 Wildlife Park- Höfli 452  m above sea level M. 10.7 Langnau-Gattikon 468  m above sea level M. Sihl bridge Langnau 67 m Gattikon tunnel 340 m Sihlbrücke Sihlwald 64 m 13.2 Sihlwald end point S 4 488  m above sea level M. Passenger traffic ceased on December 9, 2006 Route from Zurich - Thalwil ( Zimmerberg tunnel ) 17.3 Sihlbrugg 514  m above sea level M. Route to Zug - Lucerne / Gotthard Railway ( Albis Tunnel )
Zurich Giesshübel – Zurich Wiedikon
Siding Sihltalbahn from Sihlbrugg 0.0 Zurich Giesshübel 418  m above sea level M. Depot and workshop Uetlibergbahn from Uetliberg SZU route to Zurich HB Manesse tunnel 520 m Seebahn from Thalwil to Zurich Enge 1.1 Zurich Wiedikon Reiterbahnhof (platform 3) 405  m above sea level M. Seebahn to Zurich HB, VL to Zurich Altstetten

The Sihltalbahn ( SiTB ) is a former railway company in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland . It has been part of the Sihltal-Zürich-Uetliberg-Bahn (SZU) since 1973 , which operates the 17 km long SiTB line from Zürich through the Sihl valley to Sihlbrugg Station and the one-kilometer connection between Zürich Giesshübel and Zürich Wiedikon.

The Sihltalbahn is a standard-gauge adhesion railway with two direct connections to the rail network of the Swiss Federal Railways . It has been integrated into the Zurich S-Bahn network as the S4 S-Bahn line since 1990 and is again being marketed by SZU under the name Sihltalbahn .

In 2013, 8.5 million passengers were carried, more than eight percent more than in the previous year.

history

Share for CHF 500 in the Sihlthalbahn-Gesellschaft dated March 24, 1893

The Sihltalbahn (SiTB) began operating on August 3, 1892, between its starting point in Giesshübel in the former municipality of Wiedikon and Sihlwald in the municipality of Horgen . The freight cars - the railway transported a large part of the wood from the Sihlwald to Zurich - were in Giesshübel to the Swiss Northeastern Railway passed (NOB), which she opened on 1 December 1892 link Giesshübel- Wiedikon for freight station Zurich transported. The passenger trains, on the other hand, used the Giesshübel – Selnau line of the neighboring Uetlibergbahn (UeB), which was opened in 1875 and which was expanded into a shared double-track line.

Five years later, on June 1, 1897, the NOB opened its access routes to the Gotthard Railway , the SiTB also used this opportunity and extended its route from Sihlwald, along the Sihl , to Sihlbrugg . In this part of the canton of Zurich, which has hardly been populated to this day, a second link was established between the SiTB and the NOB, which means that there have been two railway lines of practically the same length between Wiedikon and Sihlbrugg. Around the station building, which is in the area of ​​the municipality of Horgen, a single-digit number of houses was built, which together with the station form the village of Sihlbrugg Station .

In 1924 the railway, like the Swiss Federal Railways , was electrified with 15  kV 16 2/3  Hz alternating current . Since the Sihltalbahn runs on the same tracks as the Uetlibergbahn between Selnau and Giesshübel, the pantographs and the overhead contact line of the Uetlibergbahn operated with direct current were laterally offset by 130 cm.

When the lake railway on the left bank was lowered in 1927, the Giesshübel – Wiedikon line was electrified and laid in a tunnel. The tunnel ends in the Wiedikon train station under the riding station on track 3.

On September 26, 1982, the Gontenbach stop was closed and replaced by the new Wildpark-Höfli stop (both in the municipality of Langnau am Albis).

Sihltal-Zürich-Uetliberg-Bahn

As early as 1932, the Sihl Valley Railway received the operation and management of the Zurich – Uetliberg Railway Company (BZUe) from the City of Zurich and for over 40 years it reliably looked after both its own operations and that of the Uetliberg Railway before it merged with the latter on January 1, 1973 . The Sihltalbahn took over the majority of shares in the Uetlibergbahn and changed its name to Sihltal-Zürich-Uetliberg-Bahn ( SZU ).

The merger had no effect on the operation of the railways; Insofar as vehicles (diesel locomotives, company cars) could be used for both routes, this has already been done so far; the vehicles for passenger transport are not interchangeable due to the electricity system. With the merger, however, the labels on the vehicles were successively changed, which were then uniformly written with SZU for years, but wore different colors. In the 1990s, the uniform logo was reconsidered and the old names Uetlibergbahn and Sihltalbahn were reintroduced, which are now back on the vehicles in this form.

Route expansion

Following the introduction of the Zurich S-Bahn in 1990 , the SZU was extended to the main station and thus linked to the other standard-gauge railway lines. The provisional , above-ground Selnau station was canceled and the area returned to the city after 115 years. Created as an opencast tunnel in the right half of the Sihl bed - the left half is reserved for the Sihltiefstrasse (A3 / A1 city motorway) - the double-lane route runs under the Selnau area, into the Sihl tunnel, where the new Selnau station is located, to the underground SZU station under the Shopville , south of the main train station. This station was originally prepared for the Zurich underground , which failed in a referendum in 1973.

Since crossings between the overhead lines of the two power systems are to be avoided as much as possible, only trains of the Sihl Valley Railway can cross between Giesshübel and Selnau, whereas only the trains of the Uetliberg Railway can cross between Selnau and the main station.

Up to the new construction of the tunnel the max. Incline of the Sihltalbahn 28 per thousand. The underground entry into the main station made a steep ramp of 50 per thousand necessary.

Explanation of the route kilometers

The old Selnau station was kilometer zero, but the new Selnau station and the main train station are “before” this zero point. Since negative route kilometers are not common and a complete re-kilometering of the SZU was excluded, the main station was determined as kilometer 90.00. Selnau is kilometer 91.04 and kilometer 91.23 is equal to kilometer 0.00, from here the old kilometrage applies.

Shortening the S4

On December 9, 2006, the last scheduled passenger trains ran between Sihlwald and Sihlbrugg. This was done to make vehicles available for the S4 timetable consolidation. The route will remain operational for the time being and will be used sporadically by nostalgic trains.

Infrastructure

The station Zurich Giesshübel had since the founding of Sihltalbahn also the headquarters of the railway company, through the merger of SZU he became their headquarters. In addition to a relatively extensive facility for freight traffic, which is still operated by SBB Cargo to this day , the workshop and depot for both SZU lines are also located at the station.

Up until the 1990s, some of the rolling stock was parked on sidings at Selnau station, when the station was demolished and the area was returned to the City of Zurich. As a replacement, a shed for the Uetlibergbahn was built at Giesshübel station, where all vehicles are now parked. For the Sihltalbahn, however, a new, open parking facility was built at Langnau-Gattikon station.

Rolling stock

SZU era since 1973

model series		Manufacturer	Construction year	origin	number of pieces		Discarded	SZU type	Remarks
series	Numbers				total	today
Electric locomotives
Re 456	546-547	SLM / BBC	1987		2	2		RPZ	KTU locomotive
Re 456	542-545	SLM / ABB	1993		4th	4th		RPZ	KTU locomotive
Re 450	551-552	SLM / ABB	1993	SBB (2008)	(Ex)0 2	2		DPZ	ex SBB Re 450 067, 070
Control car
Bt 970	971-973	SIG	1976		3	0	2014-2016	RPZ	Parts for Bt 962–963 removed
Bt 980	984-987	FFA	1986		4th	4th		RPZ	Type NPZ-BT
Bt 950	951-952	SWP / ABB / SIG	1993	SBB (2008)	(Ex)0 2	2		DPZ	ex SBB Bt 964, 966
Bt 960	962-963	SWG / SIG / FIG	1994/2014	SBB (2012)	(Ex)0 2	2		RPZ	Type NPZ , ex MThB Bt 211, 212
Intermediate car
BD 280	281-285	SWA	1990		5	5		RPZ	Type NPZ-BT
B 270	271-276	SWP / ABB / SIG	1992		6th	6th		RPZ	Type DPZ
B 230	231-232	SWP / ABB / SIG	1992	SBB (2008)	(Ex)0 2	2		DPZ	ex SBB B 061, 064
B 240	241-242	SWP / ABB / SIG	1993	SBB (2008)	(Ex)0 2	2		DPZ	ex SBB AB 067, 069
B 250	251-252	STS / BT	2011		2	2		DPZ	Type NDW
B 260	261-266	STS / BT	2011		6th	6th		RPZ	Type NDW
Shunting locomotives and tractors
Tm 2/2	8th	RACO	1974		1	0	1994	"Giraff"	to DVZO sold
Tm II	10 II	RACO / MB	1949	SBB (1980)	(Ex)0 1	hist.0 1			ex SBB Tm II 536; at ZMB issued
Em 3/3	508	Robel	1994		1	1		"Robel"
Tm 233	511	STAG	1999	JÜST (2013)	(Ex)0 1	1		"Fox"	ex MThB Tm 236 653, SBBC Tm 233 911
Ub = takeover from outside stock (used vehicle); Um = conversion from own stock RPZ = Re-Pendelzug (SZU-Lokpendelzug); DPZ = double-decker shuttle train (SBB locomotive shuttle train); NDW = low-floor double-decker car for DPZ

SiTB era 1892-1924

Sihltalbahn near Zurich Brunau

Steam locomotives

• E2 ( E 2/2 ) No. 2 (SLM 1892) from 1883 No. 4; 1896 sold to the Thalwil dye works, demolished in 1937
• E2 (E 2/2) No. 3 (SLM 1892); Sale of Roll in 1897, first Choindez, from 1912 Klus, 1941 sale to Germany (whereabouts unknown)

• E3 ( E 3/3 ) No. 1 (SLM 1892) from 1902 E 3/3 No. 1; 1924 Gasworks Basel No. 1 sold, 1948 demolition
• E3 (E 3/3) No. 2 (SLM 1893) from 1902 Ed 3/3 No. 2; 1924 Sale of the Basel gasworks, 1987–1998 St.-Gingolph-Le Bouveret “Rive Bleue-Express”, today owned by the Zurich Museum Railway ZMB (90 85 0008 562-0, Hansli ), operational
• E3 ( E 3/3 ) No. 3 (SLM 1897) from 1902 E 3/3 No. 3; Discarded in 1965 and exhibited at the Horgen Tannenbach playground, demolished in 1988

Tender locomotive E 3/3 No. 6 of the Sihl Valley Railway, built in 1912.

• E3 (E 3/3) No. 4 (SLM 1897) from 1902 E 3/3 No. 4; Discarded in 1965, erected at the Werd Adliswil school building until 2015, after being refurbished it was erected as a memorial at Sihlwald station.

• E3 ( E 3/3 ) No. 5 (SLM 1899) from 1902 Ed 3/3 No. 5; Drawed in 1988, today owned by the Zurich Museum Railway ZMB (90 85 0008 565-3, Schnaaggi-Schaaggi ), operable
• E 3/3 No. 6 (SLM 1912); Sold 1926 UeBB 6, 1948 Gasworks Basel No. 1, 1956 demolition
• E 3/3 No. 10 (SLM 1890); Purchased by SBB in 1911 (ex JS E3 854 / SBB 8574), demolished in 1925

SiTB era 1924–1973

model series			Manufacturer	Construction year	origin	number of pieces		Discarded	Remarks
series	Numbers	SZU no.				total	today
Locomotives
De 3/4	2	41	SIG / MFO	1925/1931		1	hist.0 1	2001	Conversion from De 3/3 1
Ce 4/4		42	SLM / BBC	1925/1957	GBS (1977)	(Ex)0 1	0	1988	ex GBT Ce 4/6 312; Sold to CSG in 1994
Be 4/4		42 (1992) 49	SLM / SAAS	1931	BT (1988)	(Ex)0 1	0	1994	ex BT Be 4/4 13; At the 1994 DVZO sold
De 4/4		51	SLM / SIG / BBC / MFO / SAAS	1940/1944	BT (1977)	(Ex)0 1	0	1994	ex BT De 4/4 25; At the 1994 OeBB sold
Railcar
BDe 2/4	81-83	81; 83	SWS / MFO	1924		5	hist.0 1	1968-1976
	84	61						1981	at ZMB ceded
	85	82						1976	Renumbered 1969
BDe 3/4	90	71	SWS / MFO	1930		1	0	1978
BDe 4/4	91	91	SWS / MFO	1955		1	0	1994	to StLB sold
BDe 4/4	92	92	SWS / MFO	1968		5	hist.0 1	2009	at ZMB ceded
	93	93						1995	to StLB sold
	94-96	94-96		1971				2009
Control car
Bt	51	191	SWS	1955		1	0	1994	ex Ct 51; to StLB sold
Bt	52-55	192-195		1962-1963		4th	0	1995; 2009	EW I
Bt		196		1962-1963 / 1977-1979		(At)0 3	0	1995	ex B 296; at CJ sold
		197						2001	ex B 295; to MThB sold
		198							ex B 294; to MThB sold
Passenger cars
B.	73-75	271-276	SWS	1946		6th	0	1974-1992	Light steel car , ex C 73–78
	76-78			1949
B.	41-43	291-293		1962-1963		6th	0	2009	EW I
	44-46	294-296						1977-1979	EW I ; Conversion to Bt 198–196
Shunting locomotives and tractors
Tm	10		Breuer / Saurer	1932		1	0	1974
Em 3/3	11	6th	SLM / BBC / SAAS	1962		1	0	2006	«Leu»; at CSG sold
Tm	9	9	SLM / FBW	1935	SBB (1966)	(Ex)0 1	0	1980	«Gusti», ex SBB Tm 561; sold to DVZO
Tm 2/2	7th	7th	SIG / BBC / Saurer	1961	GWB (1969)	(Ex)0 1	hist.0 1	2014	«Mutz», ex gasworks city of Bern; transferred to ZMB
Ub = takeover from outside stock (used vehicle); Um = conversion from our own stock

original	1956	1962
CFe 2/4	BFe 2/4	BDe 2/4
CFe 3/4	BFe 3/4	BDe 3/4
CFe 4/4	BFe 4/4	BDe 4/4

Redrawings and modifications

With the Europe-wide transition from the three-class system to the two- class system in the summer timetable in 1956 , all the wagon class names of the Sihl Valley Railway changed for the first time (from C to B). Another systematic change took place in 1962 due to the change in the Swiss design designation for luggage compartments (from F to D).

Due to the renovation, two BDe 2/4 became Be 2/4 due to the removed luggage compartment; Railcar 85 was rebuilt in 1957, railcar 81 followed in 1960 and received a largely new car body ; no further modifications were made.

Renumbering occurred in 1973 due to the merger with the BZUe to form the SZU. Passenger cars were given three-digit numbers, the SWS Leichstahlwagen (73–78) the numbers 271–276, the standard wagons I (41–46) the numbers 291–296. The control cars (51–55) were given the three-digit numbers 191–195. Two-digit numbers were henceforth reserved for locomotives; the loner BDe 3/4 90 received the number 71, from the now free range of numbers.

Scheme 1962		Scheme 1992
BDe 4/4	92-96	BDe 576	592-596
Re 4/4	42-47	Re 456	542-547
Tm 2/2	7th	Tm 236	507

Under the SZU, three more control cars (Bt 196–198) were built from 1977 to 1979, from the conversion of the three standard cars B 296, 295 and 294.

With the UIC-compliant numbers for locomotives and railcars based on the '92 draft , existing vehicles also received new six-digit numbers plus a check digit . At SZU, these were usually based on the two-digit vehicle number in fifth and sixth positions; before that, in third and fourth place, came the owner code 65 for the SZU. Since SZU consistently uses three-digit vehicle numbers internally, locomotives and railcars have had three-digit 500 numbers since then.

All existing control cars were systematically renumbered in 1995 and given three-digit 900 numbers. The control cars 192–198 became 992–998, the control cars 181–187 became 981–987. The SIG control cars 981–983 were rebuilt in 1996 and were given the numbers 971–973 to distinguish them.

Discards and whereabouts

Zurich Museum Railway (ZMB)

• De 3/4 41, historical vehicle (not operational)
• CFe 2/4 84, historic vehicle (operational)
• BDe 4/4 92, historic vehicle (operational)

Styrian State Railways (StLB)

• BDe 4/4 91, sold in 1994: StLB ET 14
• Bt 191, sold in 1994: StLB ES 24
• BDe 576 593, sold in 1996: StLB ET 15
• Bt 994, sold in 1996: StLB ES 25

Jura courses (CJ)

• BDe 576 594, issued in 2009, spare parts dispenser
• Bt 996, sold in 1995: CJ Bt 921

Mittelthurgaubahn (MThB) / Thurbo (THB)

• Bt 997–998, sold 2001/2002: planned for Seehäsle (Bt 231–232), never used

literature

• Hans Waldburger / Hans Tempelmann: The Sihltalbahn. 100 years from the steam train to the modern S-Bahn line. Minirex AG, Lucerne 1992, ISBN 3-907014-06-5

Web links

Commons : Sihltalbahn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sihltalbahn of the SZU

Individual evidence

1. ^ Stefan Hotz: Sihltal im Hoch, Üetliberg im Minus . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . No. 68 , March 22, 2014, p. 22 .
2. ↑ Forest history. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved August 12, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ↑ Stefan Hotz: Sihltalbahn: The Zurich Boom Line, which leads into the city instead of the Mediterranean In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung from August 3, 2017
4. ↑ Neue_Zürcher_Zeitung of 25 September 1982, p 52
5. ↑ UNDER THE SIHL INTO THE CENTER 25 YEARS TRACK EXTENSION To: SZU, accessed on January 5, 2018
6. ^ Sihltal - Zurich - Uetliberg (SZU). Sihlwald - Sihlbrugg In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar, accessed on June 13, 2020
7. ↑ Former MThB control car for the Sihltalbahn. Bahnonline.ch, July 25, 2012, accessed on October 17, 2018 . 
8. ^ RER Sud Léman - Train touristique. In: Association RER Sud-Léman. Retrieved October 19, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Peter Specker, Sandro Hartmeier: Sihltalbahn steam locomotive too dangerous after almost 50 years on the playground. Bahnonline.ch, November 13, 2014, accessed on October 19, 2018 .