Lucerne tram
| Lucerne tram | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Lucerne in 1943
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| Route length: | about 11 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 600 volts = | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator: | Lucerne tram (TrL) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opening: | 1899 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shutdown: | 1961 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lines: | two | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The tram Lucerne , locally mostly tram or short tram called, was one in Lucerne and its surrounding circulating tram that existed from 1899 to 1961. It was operated by Trambahn Luzern (TrL), today's Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) . In contrast to other cities, the operation was carried out from the beginning by electric carts and not horse-drawn carts . It was later replaced by the Lucerne trolleybus, which opened in 1941 .
history
prehistory
The first foray into a tram in the city of Lucerne was made in 1886 by the Obwalden railway pioneer Franz Josef Bucher . He dared a second attempt in 1893. Both times, however, he failed because of the resistance of the tourism industry, which feared the overhead lines would impair the cityscape . The breakthrough came a few years later; this time it was a project by the city of Lucerne with the support of the district associations and the "Gesellschaft Handel und Industrie". The license application was submitted to the Federal Railway Administration in Bern on September 25, 1897.
Opening and route extensions
On December 8, 1899, the two lines Halde – Obergrund Bireggstrasse and Maihof – Kreuzstutz, which exclusively used municipal roads in the area of the city of Lucerne, were ceremoniously opened.
On September 2, 1900, the extension to Kriens followed, the former Kriens-Luzern-Bahn (KLB) had to be partially re- gauged and a three -rail track had to be built between Kupferhammer and Kriens . In addition, prior to the opening of the Lucerne tram network, an application was made to adjust the license, which would allow TrL to transport passengers on the line to Kriens. From May 1, 1902, trams from Kriens Post continued to the valley station of the Sonnenbergbahn .
From the end of June 1901 the tram reached the Fluhmühle area, after which the crossing of the Jura-Simplon Railway was approved and implemented, followed in 1902 by the extension to Reussbühl and from May 1, 1903, the tram ran to Emmenbrücke station.
From May 9, 1913, the trams then ran to Gerliswilstrasse (Central) instead of Emmenbrücke station, which was the longest extension of the tram network.
On the occasion of a flood in 1910, a provisional Rösslitram with trailers 50 and 51 crossed the Schweizerhofquai .
Extensions not executed
Other neighboring communities in Lucerne were also interested in being connected to the tram network. One in 1900 to Horw requested connection failed due to the access to the Brünigbahn as well as the same-level crossing of the four rail track of the Brünig and Kriens-Luzern-web on the Howerstrasse. The municipality of Meggen submitted a comparable application in 1919, whereby the infrastructure would have been created by Meggen from the municipality boundary.
Also in 1919, two Lucerne architects submitted a license application for a branch line between Lucerne's old town and Ebikon, but this request was withdrawn after negative reactions from the authorities. However, as early as 1923, the Ebikon municipal council applied for an extension of around 350 m to the Roseneck junction to be examined. This extension, which probably would hardly have generated any additional income, was discarded for cost reasons.
From 1922, the TrL management also received requests to examine an extension of the line from Emmenbrücke to Sprengi. Due to the incline of the corresponding section, technical measures would have been necessary; furthermore, usage fees would have been incurred for using the cantonal road . After Viscose, a company based in the Gerliswil area, had spoken out against the extension as the main cause of traffic, the project was discarded.
Network restructuring in the late 1920s
In the years 1921 and 1922 there was a clear deterioration in the operating result of TrL. Therefore, at the end of January 1923, the city council decided to examine the situation of the tram operation in detail. The report that was then produced recommended the expansion of the Lucerne train station-Emmenbrücke line to a continuous double lane and the relocation of the route across Pilatusplatz. It was also recommended to expand the Kriens Post – Schachenstrasse section to double lanes and to create turning loops at both Lucerne train station and Lucerne
The line to Emmenbrücke was led from 1927 on a double-track new line Pilatusplatz – Kasernenplatz via Pilatusstrasse and Hirschengraben. Before that, it led along the Reuss, past the theater and then through the narrow Bahnhofstrasse and Pfistergasse. The front section of this track remained in operation until the 1950s for extra trips after performances in the city theater . Furthermore, the Fluhmühle flyover over the Bern – Lucerne railway line was opened in 1929, which meant that the level crossing that had existed up to that point could be repealed.
In the town plan from 1928 it was noted for the first time that no further extensions are to be planned for the tram network and that a bus service is recommended for Haldenstrasse . As part of the renovation of Haldenstrasse, it became apparent in the course of 1929 that the tracks should be removed. At the beginning of 1930, the Luzernerhof – Halde section, where there was a transition to the Dietschibergbahn at the terminus , was finally shut down in two stages and converted to bus service.
Capacity expansions in the 1940s
During the Second World War, there was both a shortage of staff and vehicles. The former was remedied by training wives of employees as ticket takers and retirees to do driving services again. The shortage of vehicles was remedied by buying used vehicles from Winterthur and Basel from 1942 onwards, and from 1943 onwards, additional vehicles were rented from the Zurich tram , which were bought in 1950. Between 1945 and 1950, other motor vehicles from Schaffhausen were rented.
After the end of the war, the tram network quickly reached its capacity limit, which is why the city council examined various measures. In addition to the transport capacity, aspects of the traffic flow were also examined, although the switch to trolleybus operation was ruled out due to the lack of rubber . Instead, the procurement of large-capacity tram cars , the creation of reversing loops in Maihof and Kriens, the expansion of double lanes on Maihofstrasse and the construction of a new car shed for the depot were planned.
In 1947 the ten modern Swiss standard cars and the track extensions were put into operation, and the car hall on Eschenstrasse was opened in 1948. It should be the last expansion of the Lucerne tram network.
With the commissioning of the new large-capacity trams at the end of the 1940s, line numbering was also introduced on the tram network. Until then, the cars only showed the destination.
Conversion to trolleybus operation
As early as 1931 there were first considerations to convert part or all of the tram network to bus. Until the 1940s, however, the VBL management and commissioned reports came to the conclusion that tram operation was the most sensible and most economical solution. With a change in the management of the VBL, this changed significantly from 1949. From then on one dealt with the conversion of the tram operation.
The first report followed in March 1953, which contained a recommendation for the switch to trolleybuses. In this report, it was proposed to convert tram line 2 to trolleybus operation, and a connection between line 2 and Maihof was also examined. Line 1 to Kriens, on the other hand, should not be changed according to this report due to the synergy with KLB. Another conversion report suggested a timely conversion of line 2 to trolleybus and a conversion of line 1 in two stages between 1964 and 1966.
In the following years, a commission set up by the VBL and the city council to convert the trolleybuses visited various companies that had already converted.
In the course of the discussion it became apparent that the renovation of squares, especially Pilatusplatz and Kasernenplatz, largely depended on whether planning had to be carried out with or without a tram. The city council of Lucerne found that the tram stops took away space for motorized private transport.
In the referendum on May 5, 1957, the people of Lucerne finally sealed the fate of the tram. Line 2 was discontinued in 1959 and line 1 on November 11, 1961. The rolling stock was then sold and, with the exception of the ten open-plan cars, mostly ended up in private hands.
After hiring
After the shutdown, the rails were largely covered with road pavement and were still present in some streets for a long time, as the grounding of the trolleybus catenary was sometimes connected to the tram tracks. The three-rail track with the KLB was still visible on Luzernerstrasse in Kriens until the road was renovated in 2004.
Since then there have been repeated efforts to reintroduce a tram or light rail system in some form in Lucerne, but such attempts have at most reached the level of a concept. The last initiative in 2002 called for a conversion of trolleybus line 1 from Maihof to Obernau to a tram line. This was rejected mainly because of the high costs; instead, an accelerated bus system is currently being set up.
Route network
Between 1930 and 1959 the rail network of the Lucerne tram was about eleven kilometers and comprised two lines:
- 1: Maihof - Kriens village
- 2: Train station - Emmenbrücke Central.
A planned line 3 from Kriens or Obergund directly to Emmenbrücke (or Reussbühl / Untergrund) was never implemented, although the necessary track connection would have been available at Pilatusplatz and in the 1950s, during rush hour, direct courses without a line number from Emmenbrücke to Kriens.
The depot on Bireggstrasse and Eschenstrasse was accessed via a single-lane branch line from Paulusplatz.
vehicles
Railcar
A total of 57 railcars were procured during the operation of the Lucerne tram, of which 2 were company vehicles.
| Numbers | piece | Manufacturer | Type | Years of construction | length | power | Weight | Seats | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-22 | 22nd | SIG / MFO | Ce 2/2 | 1899 | 7.74 m | 30 kW | 7.2 t | 16 | |
| 23-26 | 4th | SIG / MFO | Ce 2/2 | 1903 | 7.74 m | 36 kW | 7.6 t | 16 | |
| 27-30 | 4th | SWS / MFO | Ce 2/2 | 1908 | 8.20 m | 58 kW | 10.1 t | 16 | |
| 31-32 | 2 | Lindner / AEG | Ce 2/2 | 8.81 m | 68 kW | 10.6 t | 16 | Originally built for the Brandenburg tram ; Taken as new in 1921 |
|
| 33-36 | 4th | SIG / BBC | Ce 2/2 | 1926 | 9.20 m | 80 kW | 11.4 t | 22nd | |
| 37-39 | 3 | SWS / MFO | Ce 2/2 | 1921 | 9.81 m | 58 kW | 13.1 t | 22nd | 1942 by the tram Winterthur taken |
| 40-41 | 2 | SIG / MFO | Ce 2/2 | 1912 | 8.40 m | 58 kW | 11.5 t | 16 | 1945-1950 from the tram Schaffhausen rented |
| 42-45 | 4th | SWS / MFO | Ce 2/2 | 1909 | 8.74 m | 108 kW | 12.8 t | 18th | 1944 by the tram Zurich taken |
| 101-106 | 6th | SWP / BBC | Ce 4/4 | 1947 | 13.74 m | 178 kW | 13.5 t | 27 | Swiss standard car |
| 107-110 | 4th | Hess / BBC | Ce 4/4 | 1947 | 13.74 m | 178 kW | 13.2 t | 27 | Swiss standard car |
| 80 | 1 | MAN / MFO | Xe 2/2 | 1898 | 8.65 m | 30 kW | 7.0 t | Official vehicle; 1912 taken over by the Altstätten – Berneck tram ; Retired in 1950 |
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| 81 | 1 | Uerdingen / MFO | Xe 2/2 | 1913 | 7.20 m | 30 kW | 8.2 t | Official vehicle; Taken over by the Ennepe tram in 1922 | |
| 82 | 1 | SIG / MFO | Xe 2/2 | 1903 | 8.10 m | 47 kW | 8.6 t | Official vehicle; Converted from railcar no.26 in 1949 |
Between spring and autumn 1944, the four multiple units No. 123–126 of the Zurich tram, built in 1901, were in use in Lucerne on a rental basis. Since the Zurich city tram wanted to use the cars themselves, cars no. 172–175 came to Lucerne, which were renumbered to no. 42–45 after the purchase.
The service car no. 80 was converted from a passenger car in the company's own workshop and was given facilities for clearing snow on the occasion. From 1921 it was also equipped with a rail grinding device. Service railcar No. 81 was purchased as an explosive vehicle and used as such until 1931. Snow plows were already installed in 1928 so that the car could be used for winter service. From 1949, No. 81 finally also had built-in components for grinding rails. Both company cars were fitted with used traction motors and speed controllers several times.
sidecar
All 13 passenger sidecars for the Lucerne tram were procured used. There were also some service, freight and mail sidecars available, but little is known about them.
| Numbers | piece | Years of construction | length | Weight | Seats | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1 | 1893 | 7.52 m | 4.1 t | 8th | former railcar; 1908 taken over by the Stansstad – Stans tram ; Retired in 1945 |
| 51 | 1 | 1893 | 7.52 m | 3.6 t | 12 | 1908 taken over by the Stansstad – Stans tram; Retired in 1945 |
| 52-53 | 2 | 1899 | 8.00 m | 5.5 t | 16 | 1925/1297 converted from railcars no.1 and 9 |
| 54-60 | 7th | 1897 | 8.02 m | 5.3 t | 16 | 1942 by the tram Basel taken |
| 101-102 | 2 | 1889 | 6.85 m | 2.7 t | 28 | Open summer carriages; Taken over by the Bern-Zollikofen-Bahn in 1919 ; Retired in 1943 |
During the floods in 1910, the two sidecars no. 50-51 ran for four days as a Rösslitram in the city center.
The open summer wagons No. 101-102 were originally built as standard gauge wagons for the Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft and in 1901 they were re-gauged to meter gauge . In 1912 they came to the Bern-Zollikofen-Bahn, where they were in operation until 1917. After their use in Lucerne, the two cars were converted into a four-axle car for the Lugano-Cadro-Dino-Bahn .
Location of the vehicles
After the shutdown, the tram cars were sold at home and abroad. The most modern vehicles on the Lucerne tram, the ten Swiss standard cars with the numbers 101–110, were handed over to the Geneva tram in 1961, where they were converted into trailers.
A car body from railcar No. 13 from the first series served as a garden shed after it was taken out of service and is now in the inventory of vbl-historic .
One of the standard cars delivered to Geneva at its new location
Formerly a Lucerne car in Geneva after being converted into a trailer
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literature
- Sandro Sigrist, Jürg Aeschlimann: Tram in the city of Lucerne . Prellbock Druck & Verlag, Leissigen 1999. ISBN 3-907579-11-9 .
- Delf Bucher, Mischa Gallati, Urs Häner, Dominik Küng, Volkhard Scheunpflug: Why there are no longer trams on Baselstrasse. In: Luzernernetz Arbeit und Bildung für Alle (LABA) (Ed.): UntergRundgang V: Transit in the underground. Lucerne 2009, pages 50–59.
- Paul F. Schneeberger: Lucerne City Transport Company; Publisher Minirex; ISBN 3-907014-12-X .