The Aigle–Leysin Railway, abbreviated AL, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 Chemins de fer Aigle–Leysin, was the earliest of the narrow gauge line in the Chablais

Chablais

Chablais was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains.This region is currently divided into three territories, the Chablais savoyard, the Chablais valaisan, and the Chablais vaudois, and is now split across two countries: France and Switzerland...

 area of south west Switzerland. The line was opened on 24 July 1892, a -gauge

Rail gauge

Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

 cog-wheel railway

Rack railway

A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...

 using the Abt rack system.

Nowadays it is joined in Aigle's main railway station by express trains of the Swiss Federal Railways together with thse of three other, local, narrow-gauge railways: the Aigle-Ollon-Monthey-Champéry

Aigle–Ollon–Monthey–Champéry Railway

The Aigle–Ollon–Monthey–Champéry is a metre-gauge railway operating in the Chablais region of Switzerland. It was created in 1946 by the amalgamation of the Aigle–Ollon–Monthey Railway and the Monthey–Champéry–Morgins Railway . Today its starting point is two newly built bay platforms at the main...

 Railway (AOMC), the Aigle–Leysin Railway and the Aigle-Sépey-Diablerets

Aigle-Sépey-Diablerets

Railways came to the Chablais area of Vaud and Valais in 1857 when the Lausanne - Simplon railway opened its line through Aigle. This was to act as the catalyst for other projects in the late 19th century which were designed to link the valley floor with communities in the mountains. The first...

 Railway (ASD).

History

The Aigle–Leysin railway line is 6.5 km (4.04 mi) long and rises 1047 m (3,435 ft) from its terminus outside the main line station in Aigle to its summit at the Grand Hôtel at Leysin. The first 1 km of the route is through the streets of Aigle from the railway station to the railway depot where the train reverses to enable the powered vehicle to be at the rear of the train for the uphill journey, normal working on a rack (cog-wheel) railway. From this point the line climbs steeply through the vineyards, the steepest gradient being 1 in 4.3 (23%).

The operating voltage of the line has changed four times, increasing from 600 V DC at opening, first to 650 V DC, then in 1946 to 1300 V DC, and later to the present operating voltage of 1500 V DC.

Mergers

In 1975 the four local railway companies, Aigle–Leysin, Aigle–Ollon–Monthey–Champéry, Aigle–Sépey–Diablerets and Bex–Villars–Bretaye (BVB) merged to form a single operating company, known as the Transports Publics du Chablais (TPC). This brought about increased co-operation between the companies in the provision of community based services.

Federal involvement

In 1985, the Federal Government informed Aigle–Leysin Railway, and other privately operated railways, that it would cease all funding the following year, however they renewed a federal concession for a further period of 50 years. An agreement was signed between the Canton of Vaud, the communities served by the railway and the Aigle–Leysin Railway and its partners to renew rolling stock and upgrade the track.

In the mid-1990s, faced with greatly increased operating costs, the Canton of Vaud and the communities served by the railway petitioned the Federal Government to revoke its 1985 decision. The Federal Government did so and in 1996, recognizing the importance of this regional line as a public transportation carrier, awarded the line with a contract to provide a public transportation service. This brought about, in 1999, talks which resulted in the founding, the following year, of Transports Publics du Chablais as the parent body of local public transportation with the four local railway companies as founding members.

For further details since 2000 refer to Transports Publics du Chablais

Transports Publics du Chablais

In the interests of the communities in the Chablais region, at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, it was decided in 1999, to bring together passenger transport companies, to co-ordinate and develop services and investment in transport in the area...

Locomotives, railcars and rolling stock

The line owns just two locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s. Their class He 2/2, built by SLM /SIG in 1915 was rebuilt in the company workshop during 2006/7, and has returned to service in near original condition and in its original red livery. They also have a 1949-built class Te 2/2.

The "automotrices" (railcar

Railcar

A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...

s), painted in a light chocolate and cream livery, are, with the exception of No. 201 which is a class Arseh 2/4, of class BDeh 2/4. The company also owns 5 "Voiture Pilote"(driving trailers

Control car (rail)

A control car is a generic term for a non-powered railroad vehicle that can control operation of a train from the end opposite to the position of the locomotive...

) of class Bt and retains 2 older coaches, class B2 for historic trains.

Details from official stock lists, May 2006 and personal observations 2006-2009.

No.	Name	Class	Builders Details.	Date Completed	Notes
12		He 2/2		1915	Static monument, En Chalex
101		Te 2/2	Reb. AL	1949	Rebuilt 2006/7, returned to traffic, 2008. Out of service, Les Diabrelets, Sept 2009.
201		Arseh 2/4	SLM/BBC	1946	Converted to 1st class Restaurant Car
202		BDeh 2/4	SLM/BBC	1946
203		BDeh 2/4	SLM/BBC	1946
301	Aigle	BDeh 2/4	SIG/SAAS	1966
302	Leysin	BDeh 2/4	SIG/SAAS	1966
311	Yvorne	BDeh 2/4	Vevey/BBC	1987	Ex-No. 303
312	Ollon	BDeh 2/4	Vevey/BBC	1987	Ex-No. 304
313	La Berneuse	BDeh 2/4	Vevey/BBC	1993	Ex-No. 305
351		Bt	SIG/SAAS	1966
352		Bt	SIG/SAAS	1966
361		Bt	ACMV/SIG/BBC	1987
362		Bt	ACMV/SIG/BBC	1987
363		Bt	ACMV/SIG/BBC	1993
		B2		1900
		B2		1955

Abbreviations

• BBC.............Brown Bouvrie & Cie
• ACMV............Ateliers Construction Mechaniques de Vevey
  Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey
  Ateliers de constructions mécaniques de Vevey was an metal engineering company based in Vevey, Switzerland. Founded as Ateliers B.Roy & Cie in 1848 by Benjamin Roy it became Ateliers de constructions mécaniques de Vevey SA in 1895....
  
  
• SIG.............
• SLM.............Swiss Locomotive Works
• Vevey...........Vevey Technologies (previously ACMV).

Further reading

For changes to the railway and development of the regional transport system in the area after 1999 see Wikipedia site Transports Publics du Chablais

Transports Publics du Chablais

In the interests of the communities in the Chablais region, at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, it was decided in 1999, to bring together passenger transport companies, to co-ordinate and develop services and investment in transport in the area...