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“This line connects Schuls, the major town in the Lower Engadin […], to the station Bevers at the Albula line. As part of a future connection Landeck–Chiavenna or rather Munich–Fernpass–Landeck–Milan, it will become a railway line of international significance to which the Ofenbergbahn coming from Meran might also connect in Zernez.” |
| The picture shows the medal that was issued for the opening ceremony on June 28, 1913. The text says “Eröffnungsfeier·der·Eisenbahn·Bevers·Schuls-Tarasp·28·Juni·1913 * Rh.B *” Note the old spelling of the towns' names! |
As we know today, these ambitious plans never became reality; we will discuss the planned extensions of the Engadin line later.
This youngest part of the RhB main network (railway operation began on July 1, 1913) has, however, seen a significant increase in traffic since the opening of the Vereina tunnel, and it has become one of the most important sections.
The Engadin line has much to offer for a (railway) traveller. There are many detailed descriptions of this line (cf. “References”), I only want to share some general information with you here.
The German names are more or less gone today; the Engadin is a domain of the Rhaetian language. This recollection of the original language of this region is not very old; it caused an extraordinary event at the RhB: the renaming of a locomotive. Ge 6/6 II No. 707 was christened “Schuls/Scuol” in 1965; in 1971, it was renamed to “Scuol.” In this text, we will use the Rhaetian names that are in use today.
DThe Bever–Scuol line was the first on the whole RhB network that was designed for electrical operation from the beginning.
The electrical equipment for this line which was built between 1909 and 1913 for a total amount of 17,850,000 Swiss Franken was delivered by Siemens-Schuckert, Berlin; the company had recommended itself for this task with the electrification of the Hamburg-Blankenese line. The catenary masts had proven their worth for more than 80 years; their replacement in 1996/97 had become necessary for the installation of the new 66-kV-cables for the Vereina line, they would still have been sufficient for operation on the Engadin line for years.
This had been a courageous decision by the RhB directorate which had joined the “Schweizerische Studienkommission für den elektrischen Bahnbetrieb” (Swiss Commission for the Study of Electrical Railroad Operation) as early as 1905. In addition, they observed the tests with electrical operation that were conducted by the BLS between 1910 and 1913; development was more or less parallel at both networks. As a result, the Lötschberg line Spiez–Brig began electrical operation only two weeks after the Engadin line, on July 15, 1913. One had been cautious enough to install a turntable at Scuol which also allowed to turn electrical locomotives with a fitted snow-plough. Today, railway enthusiasts highly estimate this caution; the turntable allows to run trains with historical steam engines on this line.
The locomotives that had been acquired especially for the Engadin line were Ge 2/4 No. 201-207 and Ge 4/6 No. 301, 351–355 and 391. Except for minor “teething troubles,” these locomotives proved their worth from the beginning; this fact (together with the coal shortage during WW I) was probably decisive for the electrification of the complete RhB network which was begun rather soon then and was finished on June 1, 1922.
The route is somewhat uncommon compared to, e.g., the Arosa line or the Bernina line, as nearly 60% of the total length of 49.6 km of track run straight. Gradients reach a maximum of 25‰ (average 8.6‰). The minimal curve radius is 160 meters.
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| Nairs viaduct below Ftan, autumn 1996 |
The really fascinating feature of this line are the numerous bridges, viaducts and tunnels:
On the Engadin line, there are 17 tunnels with a total length of 8,027 meters und currently 79 bridges and viaducts, 55 of them more than 10 meters long, with a total length of 2,254 meters. This means that more than 20% of the line run through tunnels or over bridges (RhB total: 13,6%).
This route had its price: The worst accident in the history of the whole RhB network happened on August 29, 1911, when the centring of the Val Mela viaduct near Brail crashed and killed twelve workers.
Until Zugwald and Vereina tunnel were opened, the Albula tunnel (Preda–Spinaz) had been the longest tunnel on the RhB network (5,865 meters). It is not commonly known that the (then) second and third longest tunnels are found on the Engadin line: Tasna tunnel (2,350 meters) and Magnacun tunnel (1,909 meters). Both buildings were the subject of disputes between the RhB and the construction companies that built them; the RhB claimed that the work was not up to standard. Both Tasna and Magnacun tunnel have continued to cause problems, the Tasna tunnel because of water penetration, the Magnacun tunnel due to its position in geologically instable rock. Both tunnels have undergone numerous repairs until today.
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| Station buildings Susch (1996, left) and Guarda (1999, right) | |
When travelling along the Engadin line, you will notice very soon that most of the station buildings can only be distinguished by looking at the name signs. Meinrad Lorenz, who had been appointed chief engineer for structural engineering along the new RhB lines in 1910, had developed a standard station building for the Ilanz–Disentis line; his Disentis station building is a classical example of Graubünden late Art Nouveau.
Lorenz also developed a uniform style for the station buildings along the Bever–Scuol line, he was influenced by the classical architecture of the Engadin farm house. The standard type was two stories high with a slate roof. These station buildings were built in La Punt, Madulain, Zuoz, S-chanf, Cinuos-chel, Susch, Lavin, Guarda, Ardez and Ftan. Individual station buildings are only found in Zernez and Scuol as these stations were supposed to be connecting stations to other lines (see below).
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Another characteristic feature of the stations along the Engadin line are the likewise standardized transformer stations (left: Susch). As they have lost their function a long time ago, you do not find them at all stations anymore. |
When the Engadin line was built, it had not been its builders' idea that it should remain a branch terminal line. This is not only evident from the text quoted at the beginning; the track layout of Scuol station clearly shows a through station and not a terminus. Unfortunately, it was never used as a through station – the eastern track ends at a buffer-stop in a meadow.
The end for all projects came with WW I. It is astonishing that none of them was pursued afterwards, especially when you see how far the planning for some of these projects had already advanced (cf. “References”). The disputes whether the Landeck line or the Ofenberg line should be built was, according to some sources, the reason that none of them was ever built.
To better understand the situation, a look at a map might help (not to scale):
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The major projects that were discussed were
After all, detailed plans for the Ofenbergbahn were made: On May 22, 1906, the directorate of the Bozen-Meran-Bahn applied for a concession at the Bundesrat (Federal Council) in Bern. This was granted for three years on December 22, 1909; it was prolonged twice because funding was a problem. The enclosures to this application show detailed plans for the route of this 52.68 km line from Zernez to Mals:
The minimal curve radius would have been 120 meters, the average gradient 29.4‰. A power station for the 6,000 V catenary was planned near Mals. Four pairs of trains in summer and two in winter would have transported passengers with 30 km/h and goods with 15 km/h. The projected cost was 317,800,– Swiss Franken per kilometer, i.e., 16,745,000 Swiss Franken for the whole line.
All these plans were never put into practice. It is possible that the Vereina tunnel has saved the Engadin line: As it is a branch terminal line, the RhB might have started to think about keeping up operation on this line some time. As it is now, the future of this line is ensured, and passengers will continue to enjoy the fascinating landscape on this route through the Engadin in future.
References:
Copyright © 1998–2008 and responsible for contents: Christoph Ozdoba.
First version August 1, 1998, last edited February 17, 2008.
