Historical steam journey from Baden to Zurich
Tuesday is a historic day for Switzerland as a railway country: 175 years ago, the first railway line, the “Spanish Brötli Railway” from Baden AG to Zurich, began scheduled service.
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the essentials in brief
- For the anniversary, the steam train with Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga travels from Baden to Zurich on Tuesday afternoon.
Members of the federal parliament and the presidents of the cantonal parliaments of Aargau and Zurich as well as guests are also present in the wooden railway wagons.
Around 150 people travel to Zurich in several carriages of the historic steam train. If the steam locomotive causes unexpected problems, an electrically powered crocodile locomotive is also available in Baden just in case. The official ceremony with speeches by Transport Minister Sommaruga, SBB boss Vincent Ducrot and Renato Fasciati, President of the Public Transport Association, will take place in the SBB repair center in Altstetten ZH.
The locomotive of the “Spanish Brötli Railway” of the selected Swiss Northern Railway is a replica that is true to the original. The replica built for the 100th anniversary in 1947 is owned by the SBB Historic Foundation in Brugg.
The first two locomotives of the “Spanish Brötli Railway” were ordered in Karlsruhe (D). They are called “Limmat” and “Aare”. The original locomotives ran for 19 years until 1866, when they were converted into shunting tank locomotives. The «Aare» locomotive was demolished in 1868 and the «Limmat» in 1882.
A replica of the “Limmat” was built for the centenary celebrations in 1947. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary in 1997, the 11.6 meter long and up to 40 km/h fast locomotive was used.
The “Spanish Brötli Railway” started regular service on August 9, 1847 with four trips per day. The trains needed 33 minutes for the 23-kilometer route without stopping. A trip in third class costs 80 centimes (four hourly wages). Those who afforded first class paid twice as much. The rail connection was not profitable.
The first Swiss railway line was built in just 16 months, including bridges and stations. The five-meter-long Schäflibach Bridge near Dietikon ZH that was required for this is today the oldest railway bridge still in operation in Switzerland.
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