The Wetzikon–Meilen tramway (german: Wetzikon-Meilen-Bahn, WMB) was a metre gauge rural electric

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

way in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It linked the town of Meilen, on the shore of

Lake Zürich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used ...

, with

Wetzikon Wetzikon is a small town in the Zurich Highlands (Zürcher Oberland) area of Switzerland, in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich. Geography The municipality Wetzikon has an area of . Of this area, 42.4% is used for agricultural pu ...

and

Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest town of Allgäu, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by the Romans, who called the town ' ...

in the Zürcher Oberland. The WMB had interchanges with the main line at Meilen station, on the Lake Zürich right bank line, at Wetzikon station, on the Wallisellen to Rapperswil line, and at Kempten station, on the Effretikon to Hinwil line. It also had a track connection with another metre gauge rural tramway, the Uster-Oetwil-Bahn (UOeB), at . Through the UOeB, the WMB had indirect metre gauge connections to the

Forchbahn The Forch railway (german: Forchbahn, FB, Frieda ) is a local railway line in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It is owned and operated by the Forchbahn AG, and is branded as line S18 of the Zürich S-Bahn. The standard Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV ...

and the Zürich city tram network. The tramway was opened on 3 January 1903, with termini on the lakeside in Meilen and at Kempten. The section between Meilen lakeside and Meilen station closed on 3 October 1931, followed on 14 May 1939 by the section between Wetzikon and Kempten. The rump of the line survived until 13 May 1950, when it was replaced by a bus service operated by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO). The line was electrified at 750 V DC. It had a length of , with 24 stops, a maximum gradient of 6.5% and a minimum radius of . Of the lines total length, ran in the street, with the remainder on its own dedicated right of way. Apart from one small concrete bridge, there were no significant engineering structures. The line's headquarters and workshops were located at

Grüningen Grüningen is a town and municipality in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, notable for its well-preserved historic nucleus. History Grüningen is first mentioned in 1243 as ''apud Gruningin''. The village of Itzikon ...

, with additional depots at Wetzikon and Meilen. The Grüningen site still exists and, with significant rebuilding, is now the headquarters of the VZO. Station buildings also exist at

Uetikon Uetikon am See is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Uetikon am See is first mentioned in 1150 as ''Uotinchova''. Until 1924 it was known as ''Uetikon''. Geography Uetikon am See has an ar ...

Männedorf Männedorf (High Alemannic: ''Mänidoorf'') is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Like in all other villages along the lake of Zürich, archeological findings indicate settlements in the ...

Oetwil am See Oetwil am See is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located in the Pfannenstiel region.

, Ottikon and Gossau, together with a goods shed at Grüt. None of the WMB rolling stock has survived. A tram car is displayed at the VZO's Grüningen site, in the colour scheme of the WMB and carrying the markings of car CFe 4/4 2 of 1903. However this is in fact Trogenerbahn BDe 4/4 23, a largely identical car that never actually operated on the WMB.

Gallery

References

External links

*
The route in openstreetmap.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetzikon-Meilen tramway Closed railway lines in Switzerland Metre gauge railways in Switzerland Tram transport in Switzerland Transport in the canton of Zürich Wetzikon