Rorschach-Heiden-Bahn

The Rorschach -Heiden mountain railway is a railway line in northern Switzerland. The former operating company of the same name, abbreviated RHB, 2006 went up in the Appenzell Railways (AB). Built by the RHB route is a 5.60 km long standard gauge rack railway from Rorschach on Lake Constance in the nearly 400 meters higher elevation Gentiles.

Route

The property line starts well half a kilometer east of the station Rorschach, shortly after they of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB ) belonging railway St.Margrethen -Rorschach branches. The property boundary is exactly at 64.41483 kilometers. The entry signal of Gentiles in the Rorschach train station is located at km 64.476. This passage is often mistakenly given as property boundary, but in fact it is the operational limit. The property boundary between SBB and AB and the zero point of the chainage toward Gentiles are behind the depot of the SBB, just before the two switches in the parking area of the Appenzell Railway. Also the rack begins immediately after the two switches. The subsequent onset slope is on average 91 ‰ steep, the maximum value is 93.6 ‰. Above Wienacht -Tobel the track is a little flatter and reached only 79.6 ‰.

Next, the route runs through the stations Seebleiche, Sandbüchel, Wartensee, Vienna eight- Tobel and Schwendihotel with Gentiles until after Gentiles. All intermediate stops are request stops. The terminus Heiden is at an altitude of 794 meters. Trains to Gentiles start on Rorschach Hafen Train Station, follow first a piece operated by the SBB railway novel horn -Rorschach Rorschach to the station and from there the route towards St.Margrethen up to the branch.

History

First efforts to achieve a rail connection of the place Gentiles began in 1871. Early plans for an adhesion railway were soon discarded in favor of the gear track in track gauge to Rorschach. After receiving the concession in January 1874, the construction began in the spring of the same year. After one and a half years of construction, the track was finished. It was built so that an extension to Trogen was possible. This was dictated by the Swiss Federal Assembly. The route was opened on September 6, 1875. The entire route was 7'163 m long operating at the opening of which is 5'784 m were owned by the railway company. The construction cost of the route amounted to CHF 2'225'000, the cost of the rolling stock amounted to CHF 218'200. At the beginning of the railway company were three steam locomotives, nine passenger cars with a total capacity of 400 people and eight wagons with a total capacity of 56 tons.

1897, the company has been issued a license, the construction of a diversion of their line of km. 2,666 allowed for a quarry in the Krinne in Vienna night. For this purpose, a new track has been added to the length of about 250 m, which was an integral part of the whole railway system.

Since 1930 she has been electrified with the same power system as the SBB network, with single-phase AC 15,000 volts and a frequency of 16.7 Hz.

Retroactive to January 1, 2006, the merger was decided by mountain railway Rheineck - Walzenhausen ( RhW ), the Trogenerbahn (TB) and the earlier Appenzell Railways (AB) at the 2006 AGM. The four trains run today under the name Appenzeller trains.

Traction

History

The first two years had the trains from the rack end in Rorschach Rorschach be promoted to the train station with a strange steam locomotive, the driven gear with RHB steam locomotive were dragged along the 560 meters. Since it was going to rely on the goodwill of the former VSB, it was decided to equip its own locomotives with an adhesion auxiliary drive. Thus, it was possible in 1877 to reach the Rorschach train station on its own. Soon they began to extend the trains to Rorschach harbor to pick up passengers directly from the steamboats. This form of operation is maintained until today.

Until the delivery of the BDeh 3/6 in 1998, the RHB offered two classes of cars. That was until the class reform of 1956, the second and third class, to 1998, the first and second class.

The cog railway has long had an active volume of goods, was still above Rorschach a flour mill with siding. On the route normal freight cars can be transported, as they structurally the transport of all cars by UIC / RIC allows for weight reasons, but only as individual cars. Until the closure of the mill even 90 -ton cars were delivered. This had to last between two BDeh 2/4 be placed in the "sandwich method ", since once you change the rules just a Vorstelllast of 73 tonnes was permitted.

Presence

Today is a train every hour per direction between Rorschach and Gentiles. The clock times in the morning differ from those after 9:00 clock.

In the summer, public steam rides are offered, while the former works locomotive Rosa takes to the track. The historic summer cars are used in regular operation, for bicycle transportation is a bicycle car to use.

Goods traffic, except their own work trains, no longer held as the main customer has been dropped. Even with the reorganization in Swiss freight many operating points have been set with a smaller volume of goods, including all of the RHB.

The railcar BDeh 3/6 25 was from September 2009 to May 2010 on the revision in the main workshops of the Rhaetian Railway in the country Quart. In the course of this revision, it was repainted in the current colors and stamped with the signet of the AB.

The Rorschach -Heiden mountain railway is included in the composite rate easterly wind.

Incidents

On 1 December 2002, a special train crashed because of an incorrectly placed turnout in Vienna eight- Tobel to a buffer. 38 passengers were injured.

Rolling stock

  • H 2/2 Pink 3 (1951 ) 2/2 3 passed SLM, formerly Maschinenfabrik Ruti H 1997 EUROVAPOR, Section Sulgen
  • BDeh 2/4 23-24 ( 1953.1967 ) SLM, BBC, remote control from Bt 31 from
  • BDeh 3/6 25 (1998) Stadler, radio remote control
  • DZeh 2/4 21-22 (1930) SLM, MFO
  • Tmh 2/2 20 (1962 ) SLM, BBC, formerly Tmh 2/2 4 or 237 916, formerly Maschinenfabrik Ruti. Adopted by the AB 2006 2012 Red paint
  • Bt 31, formerly Bodensee- Toggenburg -Bahn (BT) ABt 142, taken from the 1985 RHB, remote control on 23 and 24
  • B2 3-7, open summer car of 1875
  • B 10-11, formerly SBB standard cars, I with light metal box ( aluminum box ), adopted by the RHB 1971
  • B2 12-13 (1930 ) SIG, ex AB 12-13
  • D2 9 (bicycle transport vehicles), conversion of B2 1994 9, ex C2 9 (1901 )
  • X 152 (1859/1935) SCB / RHB, snow plow
  • X 257, 262, 264 (1898 ) flatcar ( from the M4 SP 252-264 series)
  • X 602, 603, 631, 641 formerly MThB
  • X 633
  • X 9054 formerly BT
  • H 1/2 1-3 ( 1875), Aarau, Hilfadhäsionsatrieb from 1886/87, new boiler and adaptation to number 4 of 1910
  • H 1/ 2 4 (1900), SLM

Of the four original steam locomotives, the number 2 and number 3 in 1930 were scrapped, the number 1 and number 4 followed in 1949. All four were scrapped.

Gallery

BDeh 3/6 25 in Vienna eight- Tobel

A train - consisting of a railcar, a bicycle cart and three Summer car - at the exit from the railhead Gentiles

Entrance to the Gentiles Station

Riggenbach rack rail and soft in Heiden

Station heathen

Grade (slope) Heiden, Switzerland Rorschach, Switzerland Passenger car (rail) United Swiss Railways Bodensee–Toggenburg railway
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