United Swiss Railways

The United Swiss Railways (German: Vereinigte Schweizerbahnen, VSB) is a former railway company in Switzerland.

The United Swiss railways was created on 1 May 1857 through the merger of the Glatt Valley Railway (German: Glatthalbahn; Wallisellen–Uster), the original Southeastern Railway (German: Südostbahn; Rorschach–Sargans–Chur, Sargans–Walenstadt–Weesen–Rapperswil, Weesen–Glarus) and the St. Gallen–Appenzell Railway (German: Sankt Gallisch-Appenzellische Eisenbahn; Winterthur–Wil–St. Gallen–Rorschach). Its headquarters was located in St. Gallen. The VSB operated in competition with the Swiss Northeast Railway (NOB) lines from Winterthur and Wallisellen to St. Gallen and Lake Constance and from Uster to Glarus. The Rhine valley railway from Rorschach to Chur remained a regional line, as did the eastern Alpine line from Chur towards Italy prior to the construction of the Gotthard Railway. The network also included the Toggenburg Railway (German: Toggenburgerbahn) from Wil to Ebnat-Kappel and the Walensee Railway (German: Walenseebahn). On 1 July 1902 the VSB with a route length of 269 km was nationalized and is now part of the network of the Swiss Federal Railways.^[1]

In Uster the railway built what is now the oldest roundhouse with a turntable in Switzerland.^[1] The depot has been restored and now serves as a depot and workshop for the Zürich Highlands Steam Society (German: Dampfbahn-Verein Zürcher Oberland), operator of the Bauma–Hinwil heritage railway.

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