Wengernalpbahn
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The Wengernalpbahn (or WAB) is a 19.091 km long, 800 mm (2 ft 7½ in) gauge rack railway line in Switzerland, which runs from Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald (two branches) to Kleine Scheidegg, making it the world's longest continuous cogwheel railway.
At Kleine Scheidegg passengers transfer to the Jungfraubahn for the continuation of the journey to the highest railway station in Europe at Jungfraujoch.
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[edit] Introduction
- 1875 First plans for the Berner Bahngesellschaft were drawn up but the high projected costs meant that the concession expired.
- 1890 Leo Heer-Bétrix gained a new 80 year concession to build and operate the railway. The Wengernalp Bahn was founded.
- 1891 Construction work started.
- 1892 The first steam locomotive reaches Wengen on 18 April and Kleine Scheidegg on 10 August.
- 1893 The first line from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald opened on 20 June as a summer only service. The racks are of the Riggenbach rack system, as modified by Arnold Pauli.
- 1909 Originally operated by steam locomotives, electrification of the line from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg was completed on 3 June using 1500 V DC, with electric locomotives positioned, for safety reasons, at the lower end of the trains.
- 1910 Electrification of section between Grindelwald and Kleine Scheidegg completed on 24 June. Opening of the longer but less steep Lauterbrunnen to Wengen route on 7 July. (The original 3.8 km tracks are still in position, but since the introduction of the latest freight locomotives, which travel as fast as passenger trains, they are seldom used. The old line also has a loading gauge which would cause problems for some of the new rolling stock).
- 1912 Steam operation ceased.
- 1913 Winter operations from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg started.
- 1925 Year round from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg started.
- 1934 Winter operations from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg started.
- 1942 The headquarters of the railway moves from Zurich to Interlaken.
- 1947 The first 3 motorcoaches are purchased.
- 1948 The turning triangle at Kleine Scheidegg is constructed.
- 1960 Year round operations from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg started.
- 1984 First class services were removed and since then the railway has only offered one class of service.
- 1990 An avalanche shelter is built on the Lauterbrunnen side of the operation.
- 1995 Wengen station is rebuilt to include a freight delivery terminal.
- 2005 Wengernalp station platforms were extended from 127m to 181m usable length. The station extension went into operation on 16 November. Total costs were around CHF 950,000.
- 2007 Plans are announced to decommission and dismantle the old line between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen because of the steep gradient of 25% and the geological security risks.
[edit] Operations
Nowadays, most passenger trains are made up of railcars, the powered car still being positioned at the lower end of the train, and so train compositions do not usually cross Kleine Scheidegg. However, a triangular junction specially built into the mountainside at Kleine Scheidegg allows the train to be turned if necessary so that it can also be used on the other side of the pass. The newest of these trains reach 28 km/h on the steepest stretch.
At peak periods, additional trains can be put into operation at short intervals ahead of the scheduled train, allowing capacity to be optimised according to demand. This demands an extremely flexible organization procedure and enormous care and attention with regard to dispatching trains.
Trains do not travel directly from Lauterbrunnen over to Grindelwald.
The busiest stretch of railway runs from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen and this is also used to transport goods to traffic-free Wengen.
The railway operates two workshops at Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald Grund.
[edit] Stations
- Lauterbrunnen - connection to the Berner Oberland Bahn for Interlaken Ost and the Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren to Mürren. Also the home of one of the two depots of the Wengernalpbahn.
- Wengwald - request stop
- Wengen - connection to the Männlichen cable car Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen. With 4 platforms and a freight depot underneath the passenger station, this is the largest rack railway station in the world.
- Allmend - request stop
- Wengernalp
- Kleine Scheidegg - connection to the Jungfraubahn and terminus of services from Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald.
- Alpiglen - request stop
- Brandegg - request stop
- Grindlewald Grund - connection to the Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen. Trains travelling between Grindlewald and Kleine Scheidegg reverse at Grindlewald Grund. Also the home of one of the two depots of the Wengernalpbahn.
- Grindlewald - connection to the Berner Oberland Bahn for Interlaken Ost.
[edit] Rolling stock
[edit] Locomotives
| No. | Class | Builders | Date Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | He2/2 | Stadler/SLM/BBC | 1995 |
| 32 | He2/2 | Stadler/SLM/BBC | 1995 |
| 51 | He2/2 | SLM/Alioth | 1909 |
| 52 | He2/2 | SLM/Alioth | 1909 |
| 53 | He2/2 | SLM/Alioth | 1909 |
| 54 | He2/2 | SLM/Alioth | 1909 |
| 64 | He2/2 | SLM/BBC | 1926 |
| 65 | He2/2 | SLM/MFO | 1929 |
[edit] Railcars
The earliest railcars still in service, numbers 101 and 102 ( BDhe4/4, built by SLM/BBC ) date from 1947, No.102 being refurbished 1985. Of the other 14 cars of this class, No's. 104 and 106 - 118, built between 1954 and 1964, which still survive, ten have been refurbished (all except 104 / 7 / 9 / 10) since 2000. No.114 was refurbished along with 102 in 1985 but was returned to works in 2002 to be brought up to the newer specifications.
In 1970 a new class of railcar ( BDhe4/4 ) was introduced, numbered 119 to 124, built by a consortium of SIG, SLM, SAAS and BBC. These were refurbished in 1998. Four further cars, class BDhe4/8, numbered 131 to 134, and built by SLM ( Works Nos. 5363 - 66 inclusive ) with electrical equipment by BBC, arrived in 1988 with the latest additions, a series of four "Panorama" cars of Class Bhe4/8, built by Stadler arriving in 2004.
[edit] Driving trailer cars
The earliest coaches still listed to the company are three dating from 1893 and a single example from 1901. These have all been rebuilt twice, the final one in 1995 by the von Roll company. Later examples date from the period 1959 to 2003, some of the earlier of these have rebuilt. Building of the stock has been carried out by SIG, with electrical equipment by Brown Boveri / Asea Brown Boveri and later by Stadler with electrical equipment by Steck,(except No. 231 which was built by SLM with electrical equipment by ABB).
The line also operates with an extensive collection of goods stock, in the main used for services between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen.
