Gossau–Wasserauen Railway Line on:
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The Gossau–Wasserauen railway line is a
metre-gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
adhesion railway
An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. The term "adhesion railway" is used only when it is necessary to distinguish adhesion railways from ...
of the Appenzell Railways
Appenzell Railways (german: Appenzeller Bahnen, AB) is a Swiss railway company with headquarters in Herisau. It operates a network of railways in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen and Thurgau.
History
The ...
(Appenzeller Bahnen; AB). It runs from Gossau via Appenzell
Appenzell is a historic canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen.
Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, ...
to Wasserauen
Wasserauen is a place in the district of Schwende in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden in Switzerland.
The settlement consists of a few farms, the terminus stations of the railway line Gossau – Appenzell – Wasserauen of the Appenzeller B ...
in Switzerland and is given the abbreviation of ''GAW'' by the operator. The connection was built and electrified in several stages by different companies and has been operating continuously since 1949.
History
The line was developed in the following stages: * Gossau SG–Herisau
Herisau is a municipality and the capital of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated in Trogen.
The central hamlet and the houses around ...
, opened on 1 October 1913 by the Appenzell Railway (''Appenzeller Bahn'', which has been called the ''Appenzeller Bahnen'' since 1988), replacing the St. Gallen Winkeln–Herisau section, opened on 12 April 1875
* Herisau–Urnäsch, opened on 21 September 1875 by the ''Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Localbahnen'' (Swiss company for local railways; called the Appenzell Railway from 1885)
* Urnäsch–Appenzell, opened on 16 August (to Gontenbad) and 29 October 1886 by the Appenzell Railway
* Gossau–Appenzell has been operated electrically with 1500 volts DC since 23 April 1933
* Appenzell–Wasserauen, opened on 13 July 1912 by the (Säntis Railway) and initially electrified at 1000 volts DC; converted to 1500 volts DC by the Appenzell Railway to allow through operations on 22 April 1949
In order to be able to carry standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
wagons on the metre-gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
network, a Rollbock
''Rollbocks'', sometimes called transporter trailers, are narrow gauge railway trucks or bogies that allow a standard gauge wagon to 'piggyback' on a narrow-gauge line. The Vevey system enables a coupled train of standard gauge wagons to be autom ...
system was opened in Gossau on 1 July 1978, allowing operations on the Gossau–Wasserauen route. Rollbock operations were extended on the Appenzell–Gais– Teufen route from 1989. Goods traffic ended by the end of 2003 and the Rollbock system was taken out of service on 1 August 2010.
Operation
Appenzell Railways operates half-hourly service between and . This is designated as line S23 of the St. Gallen S-Bahn. In addition to regular station stops, the S23 stops on request at Gonten Alpsteinblick, between and , to serve the Alpsteinblickski lift
A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald.
Types
* Aerial l ...
.
Route
– – – * Gossau SG * Herisau * (stops only on request) * * (stops only on request) * * (stops only on request) * (stops only on request) * (stops only on request) * Appenzell * (stops only on request) * * (stops only on request) * Wasserauen
References
Footnotes
Sources
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gossau-Wasserauen railway line Metre gauge railways in Switzerland Railway lines opened in 1875 1875 establishments in Switzerland