Switzerland: Leistal - Waldenburg 750 mm narrow gauge railway

A selection of clips showing the Leistal - Waldenburg 750 mm narrow gauge railway in Switzerland.

All clips were recorded on Sunday 28th February 2016.

Clip 1 - Arriving at Leistal Station
Clip 2 (0:25) - Onboard arriving into Bad Bubendorf station
Clip 3 (1:15) - Leaving Holsten Station
Clip 4 (1:52) - Arriving into Waldenburg station
Clip 5 (2:23) - Passing over level crossing between Niederdorf & Oberdorf
Clip 6 (3:00) - View from rear cab near Bad Bubendorf station
Clip 7 (3:25) - Running alongside the Swiss Federal Railway's Hauenstein main line passing a Class 460 hauled passenger service
Clip 8 (3:45) - Arriving into Leistal station
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Liestal is the capital of Liestal District and the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland, 17 km (11 mi) south of Basel.

The official language of Liestal is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Liestal railway station is on the Swiss Federal Railway's Hauenstein main line, which connects Basel and Olten. It is served by five trains per hour to Basel, four trains per hour to Olten, and hourly trains to Bern, Lucerne and Zürich. Several trains a day operate through to Frankfurt and Berlin. The station is also the junction for, and terminus of, the Waldenburg narrow gauge railway, which operates a half-hourly train service to Waldenburg.
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Waldenburg is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland, and the capital of the district of the same name.

The entire old village of Waldenburg is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
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Liestal District is one of the five districts of the largely German-speaking canton of Basel-Country, Switzerland. The city of Liestal serves as capital of both the district of Liestal and the canton of Basel-Country.
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The Waldenburg railway (German: Waldenburgerbahn; WB) is a narrow-gauge light rail system in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. The 13.1-kilometre (8.1 mi) long] single-track line runs from Liestal, the capital of the canton, to Waldenburg, with stops in Bubendorf, Hölstein, Niederdorf, and Oberdorf. It connects to SBB train services in Liestal railway station.

The line is operated by the Waldenburgerbahn AG, and is, with the exception of a few industrial and funicular lines, the only line in Switzerland with a track gauge of 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in). It was opened on 1 November 1880 and was operated by steam-hauled trains until 1953, when electric operation began.

On 26 October 1953 electric operation of the railway began, using 1500 V DC. New rolling stock was acquired for this.

The current rolling stock, consisting of seven railcars and 10 control cars was acquired between 1986 and 1993, replacing the 1953 stock.

The line is built to 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge, and is electrified at 1500 V DC. For most of its route, the line takes the form of a single-track roadside electric tramway. There are 11 intermediate stops, and six passing loops.[2]

The journey over the whole line takes around 24 minutes. The line forms part of the Tarifverbund Nordwestschweiz (TNW) common fare network, and is numbered 19 in that network's publicity, but this number is not displayed on the vehicles. The line runs a half-hourly service throughout the day, with additional trains during peak hours. From spring to autumn tourist trains are also operated, hauled by the only operating steam locomotive on the line, 1902-built Number 5 Gedeon Thommen.
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