Hauenstein Steam hauled railway.

[M. Hardy-Randall]

In 1857 the final section of the route from Basel to Olten was opened over the Hauenstein mountain. The 18 km section from Sissach to Olten being the most difficult with ramps of 23‰ and a 2.5 kilometer tunnel bored through very tough rock. As a through route the line was economical, but in 1916 a new route lower down the mountain with an 8 kilometer tunnel was opened, and this left the old Hauenstein route trying to pay for itself with a low level of population, Lower frequency of trains and then shorter trains failed to make the route pay, As a result the Swiss Federal railway has decided to transfer the passenger traffic to buses.

Now a group of people have proposed to build and operate a train service over the line powered by new steam locomotives. As the proposal is to operate a regular service it will provide a service to the local population and being steam hauled will hopefully become a tourist attraction. Should the service become viable it could be extended into Basel itself.

For information, in German, on this proposal go to http://www.modern-steam-hauenstein.ch. However, for those who do not speak German, there is a brochure in English that is listed at the bottom of the download section. There is a short video on this site showing a rebuilt - by DLM Winterthur - German Br 52 hauling a special over the Hauenstein.