Schwyz tram

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Schwyz tram
Route length: 7.1 km
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system : (1914-1963) 1000 V  =
Power system : (1900-1914) 750 V  ∆
Maximum slope : 63  ‰
Minimum radius : 30 m
Top speed: 45 km / h
Legend
   
 0.0 Seewen ( Schwyz SBB ) 455  m above sea level M.
   
 0.7 Nietenbach Bridge 490  m above sea level M.
   
 Nietenbach
   
 1.7 Schwyz Postplatz 517  m above sea level M.
   
 2.4 Schwyz Depot 482  m above sea level M.
   
 Muota
   
 3.0 Ibach Post 458  m above sea level M.
   
 3.5 Ibach dodge 458  m above sea level M.
   
 6.0 Ingenbohl 442  m above sea level M.
   
 Gotthard Railway (viaduct)
   
 6.4 Fountain SBB 439  m above sea level M.
   
 7.1 Well ship station 437  m above sea level M.

The Schwyz tram was a 7.1 kilometer long meter-gauge tram in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland . It led from Schwyz via Ingenbohl to Brunnen . The responsible transport company was the Schwyzer Strassenbahnen , abbreviated as SStB .

history

For topographical reasons , the Gotthard Railway , which opened in 1882, was laid out in a wide arc around the canton capital, Schwyz, and Schwyz train station is still in the Seewen district, two kilometers from the town center . The Federal Council obliged the Gotthard Railway Company to build a connection road to Schwyz. A stagecoach operated on this, but it did not meet the requirements. In the mid-1880s, an initiative committee planned to build a steam tram from Seewen via Schwyz to Brunnen. The concession granted in 1890 remained unused as the Gotthard Railway did not tolerate any level crossing of its tracks in Brunnen.

On July 1, 1898, the Federal Council issued a concession for the construction of an electrically operated tram between the train station and the center of Schwyz. On May 15, 1899, the Schwyz – Seewen AG (SSS) electric tram was founded and began construction that same year. She chose three-phase current with a voltage of 750 V as the power system . On October 6, 1900, the 1.7 km long line was put into operation. The construction costs of 120,000 francs / km were comparatively cheap.

It was more than a decade before the desired connection between Schwyz and Brunnen was built. On November 13, 1911, the Schwyzer Strassenbahnen AG (SStB) was founded, which took over the SSS the following year. After the concession was granted on December 31, 1912, construction of the route between Schwyz and Brunnen began in January 1913. Due to delays caused by the war, the Schwyz – Ibach section did not open until October 12, 1914. At the same time, the power system was converted to 1000 V direct current and the small depot in Seewen was replaced by a larger one in Schwyz. Since initially only summer operation was planned between Ibach and the Schifflände in Brunnen due to the weak tourist traffic, the official opening of the entire route took place on May 8, 1915. A viaduct crossed the tracks of the Gotthard Railway north of Brunnen station.

The SStB had to cope with the greatest number of passengers during the Second World War. In the record year 1945 there were more than 900,000 passengers. In the post-war period, the tram was increasingly seen as an obstacle to increasing automobile traffic, which is why investments in modernization were largely neglected. There were frequent traffic jams in the narrow streets of Schwyz and Ibach. In December 1961, the board of directors decided to switch to bus operation, which was scheduled for September 29, 1963. Due to the late delivery of the buses, the tram ran for the last time on December 14, 1963.

The Auto AG Schwyz (AAGS) took advantage of the former tram depot at the Schützenstrasse in Ibach to 2003 as a bus garage . After moving into a new building, the building was sold to the Victorinox company. In addition, in Brunnen there is still a catenary mast on which the petrol price display of a neighboring petrol station has been hanging for years.

vehicles

The SStB used the following vehicles:

Traction vehicles
Type No. Manufacturer Construction year
Be 2/2 1-6 MAN / BBC 1914
pendant
Type No. Manufacturer Construction year
B2 11-12 MAN 1914
Freight wagons
Type No. Manufacturer Construction year
Z 1 SWS 1910
K 20th MAN 1915
M (X) 30th SStB 1918

See also

literature

  • Schwyz trams . Buffer stop Druck & Verlag, Leissigen 1998.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e H.R. Lüthy: The Schwyz tram. strassenbahn-europa.at, accessed on November 20, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Schwyz trams. ViaStoria, accessed November 20, 2012 .
  3. ↑ a b Schwyzer Strassenbahnen (SStB) In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar, accessed on June 13, 2020
  4. ↑ On the trail of disused railways in the Ingenbohl community