Schynige Platte Railway

The Schynige Platte Railway or Schynige Platte Bahn (SPB) is a mountain railway in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland, which connects the town of Wilderswil, near Interlaken with the famous wildflower gardens of the Schynige Platte.

An impressively varied natural landscape unfolds on your journey: fertile forests, Alpine pastures and breathtaking views of the Bernese Oberland with Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Then a sudden change of scenery to the almost overwhelming view of the glistening giants of the Bernese Oberland, directly opposite, the imposing peaks of the Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau.

History

*1890 The concession for the line was given and the company is founded on 16 September.
*1891 Construction starts.
*1893 A train with special guests reaches the top on 5 May and the line opens to the public on 14 June.
*1896 The Berner Oberland Bahn become the new owners.
*1914 The line was electrified. Electric services start on 9 May.
*1928 The Alpine Garden opens on the Schynige Platte.
*1964 The Schynige Platte Railway receives 4 locomotives from the Wengernalpbahn.
*1970 The Schynige Platte Railway receives 2 more locomotives from the Wengernalpbahn.
*1978 The Schynige Platte Railway receives another locomotive from the Wengernalpbahn.
*2001 Teddyland opens on the Schynige Platte on 7 June.

Operations

The Schynige Platte Railway connects with the meter gauge line of its owner company Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) at Wilderswil. The line is 7.25 km (4.5mi) long and has a rail gauge of 800 mm (2ft7in). It is a rack railway, using the Riggenbach rack to climb 1420 m (4659ft) to its summit with a maximum gradient of 25% (1 in 4).

Passage of the line would often be impossible in winter, and there is no winter sports possibility, so it only operates in summer months, generally from the end of April to the end October.

The line is electrified using a 1500 volt dc overhead supply since 1914. The line still operates the four original electric locomotives, numbers 11 to 14. More such locomotives, together with matching coaches, were bought from the Wengernalpbahn but had (until the recent delivery of additional train sets) often returned to this line to help in winter sports traffic. 1992 the company started a rebuilding program for the coaches. On old underframes, brought to a unified length of 10,695 mm over buffers, Ramseyer+Jenzer built a new steel body in the old compartment style.

BOB and all companies of the Jungfraubahn Holding (JBH) have a joint management, staff may be exchanged and technical services are available for other companies within the group.

Locomotives

References

* Brawand Hansruedi, "Schynige Platte Bahn, Die Bergstrecke der Berner Oberland-Bahnen, Mit nostalgischem Cachet". Prellbock Verlag, Leissigen, 2003, ISBN 3-907579-26-7
* Book "Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria", ISBN 0-900433-96-5, by R.J.Buckley, published by the Light Rail Transit Association, 1984.
* Rolling stock lists by Verein Rollmaterialverzeichnis Schweiz
* Wikipedia article " [http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schynige_Platte-Bahn Schynige Platte Bahn] " in German.

External links

* [http://www.jungfraubahn.ch/english/pages/FA/FA_BkSn.htm Schynige Platte Bahn website]
* [http://www.strollingguides.co.uk/books/berneroberland/places/spb.php Some Photographs and a brief description]