Winterthur
 |
Two generations of trolleybuses during a TVS extra course at the loop Waldegg in 1998 |
After the now usual trolleybus system was introduced successfully in Lausanne in 1932, other Swiss cities started to be interested in this system. Winterthur was the first city in German-speaking Switzerland, which decided to build a trolleybus. First, the tramway line between Hauptbahnhof (main station) and Wülflingen was replaced, in 1941 the line to Seen was added, which led to a single through route Wülflingen - Hauptbahnhof - Seen (line 2). In 1948, the trolleybus network was expanded by the newly electrified line 3 Hauptbahnhof - Rosenberg. The era of the tram in Winterthur ended in autumn 1951, when the remained tram line 1 Oberwinterthur - Hauptbahnhof - Töss was converted to a trolleybus line. With the circular route to Breite (connected with the line 3), the development of the network stopped in 1960 for several years. The next large expansion followed in 1991, when the line 6 from Hauptbahnhof to Oberseen was opened, hence the network reached its biggest dimensions, which stayed for only four years. The line to Breite (since the 80ies line 4) was taken out of service in 1995, due to road works and later completely deconstructed. After a reorganisation of the bus network in 2006, nowadays there exist three trough routes 1, 2 and 3. The current line 3 was created by connecting the line from Rosenberg with the former line 6 to Oberseen.
Trolleybus fleet
Numbers |
Type |
In use |
Comments |
Preserved vehicles |
11-19 |
Rigid trolleybus |
1938-1966 |
No. 11-13 were the first trolleybuses in German-speaking Switzerland |
|
20-25 |
Rigid trolleybus |
1948-1972 |
No. 22 Defrosting vehicle 1978-1995 |
25 (TVS), 22 |
30-39 |
Rigid trolleybus |
1951-1983 |
|
|
40-41 |
Rigid trolleybus |
1951-1967 |
1950 purchased from Bern (there No. 1-2, built in 1940) |
|
161 |
Bus trailer |
1953-1968 |
Sold to Autobusbetrieb Sernftal, 2010 returned |
161 (SBW) |
45-46 |
Rigid trolleybus |
1954-1983 |
|
|
50-57 |
Rigid trolleybus |
1960-1996 |
|
50 |
101-105 |
Articulated trolleybus |
1958-1989 |
No. 101 oldest preserved articulated trolleybus in Switzerland |
101 (SBW) |
106-119 |
Articulated trolleybus |
1965-2001 |
Some buses sold to Burgas and Ruse (Bulgaria) |
118 |
120 |
Articulated trolleybus |
1974-1989 |
Engine out of a discarded rigid trolleybus |
|
121 |
Articulated trolleybus |
1978-1995 |
First trolleybus with three-phase asynchronous motor |
121 (TVS) |
122-131 |
Articulated trolleybus |
1982-2007 |
Eight buses sold to Baia Mare (Romania) |
131 |
141-155 |
Articulated trolleybus |
1988-2012 |
|
|
156-160, 161II |
Articulated trolleybus |
1992-2011 |
|
|
171-180 |
Articulated trolleybus |
since 2005 |
Solaris Trollino |
|
101II-121II |
Articulated trolleybus |
since 2010 |
Hess Swisstrolley 3 |
|
122II-123II |
Articulated trolleybus |
since 2012 |
Hess Swisstrolley 3 (analog 101II-121II) |
|
124II |
Articulated trolleybus |
since 2014 |
Hess Swisstrolley 3 (analog 101II-121II) |
|
Note: No. 101 built in 1958 represents the eldest preserved articulated trolleybus of Switzerland. It belongs to the historic fleet of Stadtbus Winterthur (SBW). The former bus trailer No. 161 is - still in the livery of the previous owner - also part of this collection.