Waldenburg railway

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Waldenburg railway
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in).
Electrification1500 V DC
Maximum incline3.8%
Route diagram

Legend
km
elev
 SBB from Basel
0.0
 Liestal
327 m
 SBB to Olten
1.3
 Altmarkt
334 m
3.4
 Bubendorf
360 m
4.6
 Talhaus
373 m
5.8
 Lampenberg-Ramlinsburg
396 m
8.0
 Hölstein
423 m
8.5
 Hölstein Süd
434 m
 Unterfeld (opens 2022)
9.1
 Hölstein Weidbächli
446 m
10.3
 Hirschlang
461 m
11.0
 Niederdorf
469 m
11.9
 Oberdorf BL Winkelweg
490 m
12.4
 Oberdorf BL
499 m
13.1
 Waldenburg
518 m
Source: Swiss railway atlas[1]
This diagram:

The Waldenburg railway (

Oberdorf. It connects to SBB train services in Liestal railway station.[2][3]
The line was temporarily closed between April 2021 and December 2022 for modernisation and conversion to metre gauge.

Since 2016, the line has been operated by

1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in), and reopened on 11 December 2022.[4] The 750 mm gauge rolling stock was sold for further service on the Čierny Hron Railway in Slovakia
.

Since 2022 the line has used used ten metre-gauge seven-car Tramlink vehicles built by Stadler Rail. They are painted in the standard yellow Baselland Transport (BLT) livery.

History

Logo of Waldenburgerbahn AG, which operated the line until 2016

A concession was granted by the canton of Basel-Landschaft on 18 June 1871 for the construction of a narrow gauge railway from Liestal to Waldenburg and eventually further to Langenbruck. In 1873, the concession was altered to give the Swiss Central Railway the commission to build the railway. For financial reasons in 1876 the Swiss Central Railway requested a deadline extension. On 25 November 1879, the Waldenburgerbahn was founded as a separate company and took over the concession for the railway from Liestal to Waldenburg.

After only eight months' construction, the railway opened on 30 October 1880. Seats were provided in second- and third-class carriages. In 1881, the railway served eight stations with four journeys in each direction. The fastest journey over the whole 13 km line took 56 minutes.

In 1909, a committee made an application for the construction of and operation of an electric narrow-gauge railway from Waldenburg through Langenbruck to Balsthal, with a connection from St.Wolfgang to Mümliswil. The outbreak of

1,000 mm
(3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge.

On 26 October 1953, electric operation of the railway began, using 1500 V DC. New rolling stock was acquired for this.

The pre-2021 rolling stock, consisting of seven

control cars
was acquired between 1986 and 1993, replacing the 1953 stock.

In late 2015, the government of

meter gauge in 2023.[5] This will involve new passing loops and extensive reconstruction at Liestal and Waldenburg. The first step was the remodelling of Talhaus station (finished in 2018).[6] Fully automatic operation is also being contemplated.[7] Waldenburgerbahn AG merged into Baselland Transport in 2016.[8] In 2019 BLT ordered ten new light rail vehicles for use on the line after the conversion to metre gauge.[9]

The line closed for conversion to 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) on 6 April 2021, and reopened on 11 December 2022. The 1980s era rolling stock was sold to Čierny Hron Railway in Slovakia.[10][11] In addition to regauging the line, the following improvements were made:[12]

Operation

The line was originally built to 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge, and is electrified at 1500 V DC. For most of its route, the line takes the form of a single-track roadside electric tramway. There are 11 intermediate stops, and six passing loops.[3] In December 2022, the line was reopened as a metre gauge railway.

The journey over the whole line takes around 24 minutes. The line forms part of the Tarifverbund Nordwestschweiz (TNW) common fare network, and is numbered 19 in that network's publicity, but this number is not displayed on the vehicles. The line runs a half-hourly service throughout the day, with additional trains during peak hours. Tourist services were formerly operated from spring to autumn by the only operating steam locomotive on the line, 1902-built Number 5 Gédéon Thommen.[3][13][14][15][16] With the forthcoming conversion of the line to metre gauge, the "Thommen" was retired in September 2018 and is now in a new static display at Talhaus station

Rolling stock

Current rolling stock (since 2022)

New train at Hölstein

Ten metre-gauge seven-section articulated "Tramlink" vehicles were built specially for the line by Stadler Rail. They are painted in the standard yellow Baselland Transport (BLT) livery.

Former rolling stock (until April 2021)

The rolling stock built between 1985 and 1993 has been sold for further service on the Čierny Hron Railway in Slovakia.

Image Numbers Notation Year Notes
5 G 3/3 1902
plinthed at Liestal station
in 1961 but returned to working order in 1980; used for tourist service until 2018, now stored in a museum with no intention for future operation.
11-17 BDe 4/4 1985
to
1993 		Bogie motor cars; 11-14 built in 1985-86; 15-17 in 1993
111-120 Bt 1985
to
1993 		Bogie
driving trailers
; 111-114 built in 1985-86; 115-120 in 1993
Four historic carriages; used for tourist service

Older former rolling stock

Image Numbers Notation Year Notes
2 G 2/2 1880
Hauenstein Tunnel; ultimate fate unknown[17]
4 G 3/3 1887 Steam locomotive Waldenburg; built by SLM; out of service in 1910 and subsequently scrapped[18]
4 G 3/3 Steam locomotive Langenbruck; in use up to electrification in 1953; ultimate fate unknown[19]
6 G 3/3 1912 Steam locomotive Waldenburg; built by SLM; sold into preservation in 1954; now at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne[19]
7 G 5/4 1938 Steam locomotive; built by SLM; continued in use after electrification but scrapped in 1960[19]
1-3 CFe 4/4
BDe 4/4 		1953 Motor cars; out of service; scrapped

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-948106-27-1
    ..
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7
    .
  4. ^ "Two times Tramlink – two inaugurations in Switzerland: 1) Waldenburgerbahn". Urban Transport Magazine. December 11, 2022.
  5. ^ "Medienmitteilung Umspurung der Waldenburgerbahn". Basel Landschaft (in German). November 26, 2015.
  6. ^ "Bahnhof Waldenburg" (PDF). Das BLT Magazin zur Erneuerung der Waldenburgerbahn (in German). No. 1. BLT Baselland Transport AG. 2017. pp. 5–7.
  7. ^ Napoli, Sandro (December 11, 2018). "Automating Switzerland's Waldenburg Railway". International Railway Journal.
  8. ^ "Die BLT und die Waldenburgerbahn fusionierten". Bahnonline.ch (in German). December 24, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  9. ^ "Baselbieter BLT bestellt zehn Stadler-Züge für 54 Millionen". bz (in Swiss High German). April 26, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Gächter, Elmer (April 10, 2021). ""Aadie Waldeburgerli"". Neue Fricktaler Zeitung [de]. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "Waldenburgerbahn: Letzter Regelzug auf 750 Millimeter-Gleisen abgefahren [aktualisiert]". bahnonline.ch (in German). May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  12. ^ "Das Projekt" (in German). Baselland Transport. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "Abfahrtszeiten ab Waldenburg Station Richtung Liestal Bahnhof" (PDF). Waldenburgerbahn AG (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  14. ^ "Abfahrt Bahnhof Liestal" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  15. ^ "Linienfahrpläne" (in German). Tarifverbund Nordwestschweiz. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  16. ^ "Dampf- und Sonderzüge". Waldenburgerbahn AG (in German). Archived from the original on March 5, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  17. ^ Moſer 2006, p. 325.
  18. ^ Moſer 2006, p. 331.
  19. ^ a b c Dickinson, Rob. "Switzerland's Waldenburgerbahn, 2010". The International Steam Pages. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  • Moſer, Alfred; et al. (2006). Der Dampfbetrieb der ſchweizeriſchen Eiſenbahnen 1847—2006. Ein abſchließendes, umfaſſendes Werk über ſämtliche Dampflokomotiven der ſchweizeriſchen Eiſenbahnen (in German) (7th ed.). Schweizerischer Verband Eisenbahn-Amateur, SVEA.
    ISBN 978-3-033-00948-6
    .

External links
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