Wohlen-Meisterschwanden-Bahn

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Wohlen – Meisterschwanden Railway
Timetable field : 652
Route length: 8.23 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system : (1916-1966)
1000-1200 V  =
Power system : (1966-1997)
15 kV 16⅔ Hz  ~
Maximum slope : 44  ‰
Minimum radius : 90 m
Wohlen – Meisterschwanden
Legend
Route - straight ahead
 Rotkreuz southern runway
Station, station
 0.0 Well 423  m above sea level M.
   
 Southern Railway to Aarau / Brugg
Blockstelle, Awanst, Anst etc.
 1.4 Villmergen shunting system
   
   
 2.1 Villmergen 428  m above sea level M.
   
 3.8 Hilfikon 479  m above sea level M.
   
 6.4 Sarmenstorf 531  m above sea level M.
   
 8.2 Fahrwangen - Meisterschwanden 538  m above sea level M.

The Wohlen-Meisterschwanden-Bahn ( WM ) was a 8.23 ​​km long standard-gauge railway line in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland . From 1916 to 1997 it led from Wohlen via Villmergen , Hilfikon and Sarmenstorf to Fahrwangen . The terminus was near the border with Meisterschwanden and was therefore given the name of this community. The trains ran with direct current until 1966 , then with alternating current . A short section to the industrial zone in Wohlen has been preserved and is still used sporadically for freight transport today. The rest of the route was demolished and largely converted into a cycle path .

history

Planning

Share over 100 francs in the Wohlen-Meisterschwanden-Bahn on February 4, 1917
Railcar BDe 4/4 2 of the WM

From 1853, a stagecoach operated on the road between Wohlen and Fahrwangen , which took around an hour to travel. From 1874 there was a connection to the southern railway in Wohlen . At the beginning of the 20th century, there were plans for the first time to improve the development of the eastern shore of Lake Hallwil . The options Wohlen – Meisterschwanden, Fahrwangen – Boniswil and Wohlen – Boniswil were up for discussion. On December 17, 1905, a meeting of interested parties in Wohlen decided to work out a preliminary project for the construction of a narrow-gauge tram from Wohlen to Boniswil. On September 2, 1909, at a meeting in Boniswil, the community representatives rejected the project because it was too costly.

The initiative committee accepted the offer of the Bahnindustrie AG from Hanover to work out a free project for a standard gauge railway line Wohlen – Meisterschwanden. As a result, a dispute broke out between supporters of a narrow-gauge and a standard-gauge railway. The former indicated the possibility of creating a connection to the Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn in Wohlen and leading the line to Boniswil. The latter promised greater potential for freight traffic by eliminating the time-consuming reloading at Wohlen station . In the spring of 1911, the community representatives decided to build a standard-gauge railway and not run the section from Meisterschwanden to Boniswil.

The Federal Council granted the license on April 6, 1911. Delays arose when Bahnindustrie AG went bankrupt. The management then had a new narrow-gauge project worked out, but it was in no way satisfactory. Ultimately, Otto Conrad AG from Berlin agreed to carry out the standard gauge project. AEG from Berlin was won over to build the electrical systems . The share capital was 860,000 francs, of which the canton of Aargau took over 200,000 francs and various municipalities 500,000 francs; there were also bonds of 230,000 francs.

Track construction

Former depot in Fahrwangen (today bus depot)

After the railway department had approved the construction project on October 20, 1914, the groundbreaking took place on the same day. The construction work was delayed due to the First World War , which had broken out shortly before, and the lack of labor. The fact that the construction contract had been awarded to German companies caused criticism; however, no Swiss company had made a similarly favorable offer. AEG's efforts to obtain the copper wire for the catenary from the USA failed. After a considerable delay, Aubert, Grenier & Cie. can be ordered in Cossonay .

The route was completed on November 30, 1916. After two weeks of test drives, the official collaudation took place on December 12th , whereupon the railway department allowed the start of operations. The official opening of the 8.23 ​​km long line with a voltage of 1000 volts direct current took place on December 17th, the scheduled operation started on the following day.

DC operation

In the first few years, passenger traffic was slightly below expectations, but freight traffic was significantly higher, so the decision in favor of the standard gauge proved to be the right one. From March 1, 1920 there was a joint management with the Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn. In the mid-1920s, numerous expansion and renovation work began, including the replacement of the wooden sleepers with iron sleepers, the extension of railway buildings and a new rectifier system in Fahrwangen. The expansion of the SBB South Railway to double-track in 1930 necessitated the relocation of the World Cup route over a length of 200 meters. In the 1930s, numerous level crossings were lifted and the rails moved a little further away from the main road, which sometimes ran parallel to one another.

During the Second World War , the World Cup saw an increase in traffic. In the immediate post-war period, passenger numbers fell again, and freight traffic also decreased. The installation of a new rectifier in 1947 increased the voltage from 1000 to 1200 volts. 1957 Villmergen received a new station building. At that time there were first considerations to replace the railway line in need of renovation with a bus service. However, this was not done when the Ferrowohlen ironworks, which opened in 1955, caused a significant increase in freight traffic.

The Federal Office of Transport (EAV) endorsed the renovation, but insisted on changing the electricity system in order to make the World Cup route compatible with the SBB network. In 1964, the federal government and canton approved investments totaling five million francs, while the World Cup had to raise 700,000 francs. Finally, on March 18, 1966, the switch to the standard SBB electricity system (15,000 volts alternating current at 16⅔ Hertz) took place. The rolling stock was completely renewed. The renovation was completed in 1969 with the commissioning of the depot and workshop in Fahrwangen.

AC operation and shutdown

End of the route at the northern edge of the village of Villmergen

Despite the renovation, the operating result was at best satisfactory. In 1975 the annual deficit rose to over one million francs. In order to save costs, the company cut staff by almost half and optimized processes. Again and again a possible setting of the route came up. From 1980 to 1983, the SBB had the Wohlen station completely rebuilt, with the World Cup having its own covered platform from 1982 onwards. In 1987, as a further cost-saving measure, conductorless passenger transport was introduced. In the following year, the commissioning of a siding in the industrial zone of Villmergen caused an increase in freight traffic.

When the Ferrowohlen had to stop production in 1994, the WM lost its most profitable customer. At the same time, the SBB stopped general cargo traffic in Wohlen and the post office moved parcel transport to the road. Freight traffic literally collapsed and could no longer be absorbed by the construction of additional sidings. In 1995, the planning office Infras recommended shifting passenger traffic to the road, while freight traffic should be maintained for a short section. After the cantonal government and parliament had given their approval, passenger traffic was suspended for the timetable change on May 31, 1997. Two years earlier, a bus had already taken over evening traffic from 8 p.m.

The rolling stock was sold in the course of the year with the exception of the Em 4/4 151 diesel locomotive. The latter was still required for the remaining freight traffic on the Wohlen – Villmergen section, where the grain mill of the Dambach AG at that time - the former “medium” mill Villmergen - was still being used. The demolition of the route between Villmergen and Fahrwangen-Meisterschwanden began in 1999. A cycle path was created from the Villmergen exit to the Sarmenstorf entrance; the route was largely renatured by Sarmenstorf; in Fahrwangen a footpath was created along the former railway embankment. The Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn continued to use railway barriers and warning lights that were no longer required.

After the freight traffic was officially discontinued in 1999, the contact line system was dismantled and the former line was only operated as a siding. In the following years, the track system in Villmergen was also dismantled; since 2007 at the latest, the siding has ended at the edge of Villmergen, at the Villmergen shunting facility .

Bus operation and resolution

The efforts of the Aargau government council to shut down the railway line and replace it with a bus service were opposed by the population and the Great Council as early as 1965 and 1979. Only after the Federal Office of Transport (BAV) also classified the operation as non-viable in 1994, the switch to re-examined a bus operation.

In mid-June 1994 the statutes of the Wohlen-Meisterschwanden-Bahn (WM) were amended, which were published in the commercial register in October 1994. In addition to a major change in the board of directors, the company's purpose was also changed and now read “Operation of public transport connections in the Wohlen, Seetal, Lindenberg area”, instead of the previous “Management and operation of the standard-gauge Wohlen - Fahrwangen - Meisterschwanden railway”.

With the timetable change in 1995, the World Cup began to switch its rail operations to bus operations in the evenings from 8 p.m. The report by Infras put the annual savings in continuous bus operation at around 0.8 to 1.0 million francs compared to the already deficit rail operation. Therefore, in 1996, the government council again applied for the switch to bus operation, which the Grand Council finally accepted on September 17th with 98:16 votes.

With the timetable change on June 1, 1997, the World Cup bus operation began, and now also served the eponymous Meisterschwanden all day. In a further amendment to the statutes, the company's purpose was expanded in mid-1998 and the domicile address was relocated from Wohlen to Bremgarten to the headquarters of BD; the board of directors was reduced in size and renewed. After freight traffic was stopped in 1999 and the demolition of the route began, the Fahrwangen depot was finally converted into a bus garage.

On June 27, 2001, the General Assembly of WM approved the merger with BD to form BDWM Transport AG , which was carried out retrospectively as of December 31, 2000. As an independent company, the World Cup was deleted from the commercial register on July 12, 2012. After approval of the merger agreement dated April 24, 2018, the BDWM merged with the Wynental and Suhrentalbahn (WSB) - retrospectively as of December 31, 2017 - to form Aargau Verkehr AG (AVA).

The Wohlen – Meisterschwanden bus line was operated by the World Cup itself until 2001, and by the BDWM until 2018. The license, which runs until the end of 2022, is now AVA, and operation is carried out by the former BDWM subsidiary Limmat Bus AG .

Rolling stock

model series Manufacturer Construction year origin number of pieces Discarded Remarks source
series Numbers total today
Railcar (direct current)
CFe 4/4 1 SIG / AEG 1916 1 0 1966 canceled
Ce 2/2 11 SIG / AEG 1916 1 0 1966 canceled
CFe 4/4 2 SIG / MFO 1926 1 0 1966 to BDB sold
Railcar (alternating current)
BDe 4/4 1 SIG / SWS
SAAS / BBC / MFO 		1966 2 0 1997 EAV railcars ; at SOB sold
2 1997 EAV railcars ; sold to SOB , with DSF since 2004
BDe 2/4 3 SWS / SAAS 1938 STB (1987) (Ex)0 1 0 1997 ex BDe 2/4 101; at ZMB sold
Control car
Bt 11 SWP / BBC 1966 1 0 1997 EW I ; at SOB sold
Passenger cars
C 2 21st SIG 1916 1 0 1966
C 2 22nd SBB (1921) (Ex)0 1 0 1948 ex C 6617; Conversion to a company car
B 4 25th SIG 1948 2 0 1974 at RHB sold
26th 1997 from 1968 Vst III ; at CSG sold
Shunting locomotives
Fb 4/4
Ee 4/4 		51 SIG / AEG 1917 1 0 1926 at KLB sold
Em 2/2 101 SIG / BBC / Saurer 1961 2 0 1997 to Metrag sold
102 1966 1968 to BDB sold
Em 4/4 151 CEM / Poyaud 1968 1 0 1999 (?)
Tractors
Tm 2/2 Breuer 1930 1 0 1974 Rail tractor ; canceled
Ta 2/2 31 Hunter 1915 BBC (1966) (Ex)0 1 0 1997 , Battery tractor to BLS sold
Ub = takeover from outside stock (used vehicle); Um = conversion from our own stock

With the changeover to alternating current operation, the remaining direct current rolling stock was scrapped, only the CFe 4/4 2 railcar was taken over by the operating Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn (BDB), which was able to use it as a shunting vehicle on the three -rail track Wohlen – Bremgarten West. This turned out to be extremely inflexible compared to the network-independent Em 2/2 102 diesel shunter, which after just two years also switched from the World Cup to the BDB. Mostly parked in Bremgarten West, the railcar was finally demolished in 1972.

The Em 2/2 102, for its part, was largely made superfluous through the acquisition of the more powerful, four-axle Em 4/4 151; it kept its company number with BD and was sold to the track construction company Benkler in Villmergen in 1994 . The sister machine Em 2/2 101 was sold to the track construction company Metrag in Rümlang in 1997. Both companies have been part of Sersa Technik AG since 2010 and 2012 respectively . At Sersa the ex 101 was classified as Tm 237 914 "Erich", the ex 102 as Tm 237 897 "Madeleine".

Even after the rolling stock was sold in 1997, the Em 4/4 151 remained the last vehicle at the World Cup. With the cessation of freight traffic and increased deliveries by SBB Cargo , the locomotive became largely unemployed and sold to the sole proprietorship Stauffer Rail and Special Vehicles , which was then based in Schlieren . Stauffer sold the locomotive to Holcim (Schweiz) AG , where it was classified as Em 847 851 and assigned to the Untervaz plant . Around 2013 the locomotive was decommissioned.

literature

  • Sandro Sigrist: Electric Railway Wohlen – Meisterschwanden . Prellbock Druck & Verlag, Leissigen 1998, ISBN 3-907579-09-7 .
  • Ernst B. Leutwiler: Wohlen-Meisterschwanden-Bahn; History of rolling stock . Verlag Ernst B. Leutwiler, Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-906681-02-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sigrist, p. 9.
  2. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 11-12.
  3. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 12-14.
  4. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 14-15.
  5. ↑ Sigrist, p. 15.
  6. ↑ Sigrist, p. 16.
  7. ↑ Sigrist, p. 18.
  8. ↑ Sigrist, p. 18.
  9. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 21-23.
  10. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 27-29.
  11. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 29–31.
  12. ↑ Sigrist, p. 99.
  13. ↑ a b Toni Widmer: Wohlen-Meisterschwanden-Bahn celebrates its 100th with an anniversary trip. In: Aargauer Zeitung. December 12, 2016, accessed February 9, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 51-52.
  15. ↑ Sigrist, p. 54.
  16. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 59-60.
  17. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 63-67.
  18. ↑ Sigrist, p. 69.
  19. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 86-87.
  20. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 57-58.
  21. ↑ Sigrist, pp. 72-73.
  22. ↑ Sigrist, p. 75.
  23. ↑ a b Sigrist, p. 78.