Schwyz – Stoos funicular railway (1933)

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Schlattli - Stoos funicular
Railway line funicular railway Schwyz-Stoos 5.JPG
Route length: 1.361 km
Gauge : 800 mm ( narrow gauge )
Maximum slope : 781  ‰
Top speed: 5.0 m / s = 18.0 km / h
Legend
   
 0.000 Schlattli 569  m above sea level M.
   
 Muota
   
 1st tunnel (150 m)
   
 Alternative point 890  m above sea level M.
   
 2nd tunnel (73 m)
   
 1.361 Stoos 1294  m above sea level M.

The Schwyz – Stoos funicular was a funicular in the canton of Schwyz . It connected Schlattli in the municipality of Schwyz with the tourist town of Stoos near Morschach . Over a length of 1.361 km, it overcame an altitude difference of 725 m. After more than eight decades of operation, it was replaced on December 17, 2017 by the newly built Schwyz – Stoos funicular .

description

In the southeast of the municipality of the canton capital Schwyz , around half a kilometer east of the Suworow Bridge, the valley station was located in the "Schlattli" at an altitude of 569  m above sea level. M. First, long m on a 60 and 60 m high bridge the deep gorge of Muota crossed. The slope increased parabolically from 270 to 781 ‰. This maximum inclination reached the distance at the upper end of the first tunnel of 150 m length, directly at the lower tip of the switch turnout . The slope then decreased to 618 ‰ and then gradually rose again to 640 ‰. A second tunnel, 73 m long, was located diagonally above the passing point. Due to the lack of rock cover, this had to be implemented in part as an open cut with a vaulted concrete ceiling. The route was curved several times; so both the tunnels and the lower half of the turnout were in curves. The mountain station was at 1294  m above sea level. M. on the northern edge of the Stooser high plateau, just under a kilometer from the town center.

The cable car had the following technical data:

  • Length: 1361 m
  • Difference in altitude: 725 m
  • Track width: 800 mm
  • smallest slope: 270 ‰
  • maximum slope: 781 ‰
  • Switch: Abt switch
  • Vehicles: 2 (100 people each)
  • Drive: in the mountain station (500 PS = 367.75 kW )
  • Pull rope diameter: 46 mm
  • Speed: 5 m / s (18 km / h)
  • Travel time: 7.5 minutes
  • Transport capacity: 1000 people / hour

history

Schlattli valley station
Cable car vehicle

The Stoos was 1883 by a small road from Morschach accessible from. At the end of the 1920s the intention was to extend the already existing Brunnen-Morschach-Bahn on the Stoos to promote tourism . The route through difficult and avalanche-prone terrain would have resulted in very high costs. The construction of a cable car was also examined, the valley station of which would have been at the entrance to the Muotatal Gorge near the hamlet of Oberschönenbuch . However, the low performance also ruled out this possibility.

On November 27, 1928, an initiative committee submitted a license application for a funicular from Schlattli to Stoos. The building department of Canton Schwyz granted this on March 15, 1930 for a period of 80 years. Shortly after the Schwyz-Stoos AG (DSS) cable car was founded, construction work began in spring 1932. On August 19, 1933, the Schwyz – Stoos cable car opened. The Bell Maschinenfabrik supplied the complete rail equipment and Muota Bridge, Brown, Boveri & Cie. the electrics, the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon the drive, Gangloff the cars.

At the beginning the speed of the train was 2.05 m / s, which corresponded to a travel time of 11 minutes. The cars, made of light metal , offered space for 50 passengers. A platform trailer carried goods and sports equipment, sometimes also cattle. In November 1955, the speed was increased to 2.5 m / s after the machinery was converted. Since the railway was reaching its capacity limits, the construction of a parallel aerial cableway was examined in 1964. In 1967 the DSS decided instead to modernize the cable car. The work, which lasted from 1968 to 1971, included a new cable car drive, the demolition of the old stations, the construction of new passenger and goods halls and a new Muota bridge, the replacement of the wagons, the continuous welding of the rail joints, the renewal of the substructure and the installation a remote control.

In 2004, planning began to replace the cable car, as it was considered technically obsolete and its concession would soon expire. Based on a feasibility study , Sportbahnen Schwyz-Stoos-Fronalpstock AG (SSSF, successor to DSS) commissioned a repair concept three years later, the results of which were available in January 2008. It stated that the superstructure would have to be completely renewed and the track width would have to be widened from 800 m to 1000 or 1200 mm. Due to the higher upper edge of the rails, the tunnels would have to be widened so that the cars can still fit through. Higher security requirements for fire protection would also require the tunnels to be widened. However, the cost estimate did not take into account the desired refurbishment of the mountain and valley stations and the consistent separation of goods and people. Ultimately, the implementation of the concept would not have resulted in any significant improvements.

In 2010 the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) extended the expired license for an initial three years. In 2011 the SSSF presented the detailed project for the Schwyz – Stoos funicular railway , construction work began in 2012. Due to various problems during construction, the completion date of the new lift was delayed by several years. Therefore, the FOT had to extend the old railway's concession two more times; first until the end of 2016 and finally until the end of 2018. The new lift opened on December 15, 2017, while the old lift was shut down two days later.

Web links

Commons : Schwyz – Stoos funicular railway  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c F. Hunziker: The Schwyz – Stoos cable car . In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung . tape 103 / No. 18. Verlag C. & W. Jegher, Zurich 1933, p. 205 .
  2. ↑ Technical data old and new Stoosbahn. (PDF, 1.1 MB) In: Information about the new Stoosbahn. Stoosbahnen AG, 2017, accessed on August 21, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Erwin Horat: Stoos. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  4. ^ A b Ernst Immoos: Anniversary trip for 80 cents. Southeastern Switzerland , August 16, 2013, accessed on August 21, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b Schwyz Schlattli - Stoos. standseilbahnen.ch, 2017, accessed on August 21, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Basic access with a 3-S orbit. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Sportbahnen Schwyz-Stoos-Fronalpstock AG, August 21, 2009, formerly in the original ; accessed on August 21, 2017 .  ( 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.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.stoos-muotatal.ch  
  7. ↑ Information about the new Stoosbahn. (No longer available online.) Sportbahnen Schwyz-Stoos-Fronalpstock AG, 2013, archived from the original on October 5, 2016 ; accessed on August 21, 2017 . 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stoos-muotatal.ch
  8. ↑ The Stoosbahn license extended until December 31, 2018. standseilbahnen.ch, 2017, accessed on August 21, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Doris Leuthard opens the Stoosbahn. Swiss radio and television, December 11, 2017, accessed on December 16, 2017 .

Coordinates: 46 ° 59 '2.3 "  N , 8 ° 39' 53"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred ninety-three thousand two hundred and seventy-six  /  204383