Railway crisis

The behavior of the Zürich railway barons led the Swiss National Railway (Schweizerische Nationalbahn; SNB) to attempt to build a second rail link between Lake Geneva and Lake Constance to compete with the existing railway companies from 1872. As a defense measure, the NOB and SCB extended their existing networks between 1873 and 1882. The two companies founded the Aargau Southern Railway (Aargauische Südbahn) and the Bötzberg Railway (German: Bötzbergbahn) with equal shareholdings. The former was built and opened between 1873 and 1882 the Rupperswil–Immensee railway line with a branch line from Hendschiken to Brugg, connecting the network of the NOB and the SCB with the Gotthard Railway in 1882. The Bötzberg Railway, operated by the NOB, opened the Brugg–Pratteln railway in 1875, which together with the existing lines of the NOB and the SCB created a direct connection from Zurich to Basel.

In addition, the NOB under the new CEO Friedrich Peyer im Hof, tried to eliminate the competition in advance by an accelerated expansion of its own network. It secured concessions for various railway lines and entered into commitments with cantons and founding committees for the construction of these unprofitable lines. This forced the NOB to borrow money, which led to massive indebtedness. The financial difficulties brought the NOB to the brink of collapse. The construction of the Lake Zürich right-bank line, which it had begun in 1873, had to be discontinued because of the financial crisis. The important Lake Zürich left-bank railway to Ziegelbrücke, however, was opened in 1875. The NOB could not pay dividends for years from 1877. The price of its shares collapsed from Swiss Francs (CHF) 670 in 1871 to CHF 53 in 1879. An investigation commissioned by the General Assembly found grave mistakes in corporate governance.

On 2 March 1877, the NOB requested that the Federal Council release it from its obligations to build railways. On 14 February 1878, the Federal Assembly confirmed an agreement that the construction obligations would be maintained, but would be deferred until the completion of the NOB's financial restructuring. The construction period for the so-called "moratorium lines" (Thalwil–Zug, Etzwilen–Schaffhausen, Bülach–Schaffhausen, Koblenz–Stein, Dielsdorf–Niederweningen and the Lake Zurich right bank line) was extended. An agreement with the canton of Glarus set the date for the completion of the Glarus–Linthal line at 1 May 1879.^[2] The payment of dividends was suspended from 1880 to 1883. On 25 October 1887, the Federal Council instructed the NOB to begin construction of the Lake Zurich right bank line. The deadlines for the remaining moratorium lines were set on 27 June 1888.

The ruinous competitive project of the National Railway ended in insolvency. The participating towns and municipalities had to suffer decades of debt. The NOB took over the network of its rival for a fraction of its construction cost on 1 October 1880. The Zofingen–Suhr section was resold to the SCB.

Recovery and nationalisation

The situation of the NOB slowly improved again after 1880. Increasing traffic led to the extension of stations and the procurement of additional rolling stock. After Alfred Escher's death in 1882, Adolf Guyer-Zeller became head of the NOB.

The railway crisis had caused many domestic shareholders to sell their securities to major foreign shareholders. Railway shares played a major role in speculation on the stock exchange. A financial group led by Adolf Guyer was able to secure a majority of votes at a general meeting of the company, allowing it to select the board of directors and replace it with people who would cooperate with its interests.

The vast majority of the shares were in foreign hands, the majority of the bonds belonged to Swiss owners. At the time, the interest rate was 4% for secure Swiss rail bonds. In order to increase the return of the shares, bonds were converted into shares with an interest rate of 3½%. This reduced the company's interest burden and increased profits.

On 8 January 1885, a Winterthur–Zürich train ran into a train coming from Wettingen after passing a stop signal. The train from Wettingen was pushed back from Seebach over the junction on the open track towards Zurich. The accident caused seven casualties and major property damage.^[3] An NOB passenger train hit a group of Central Railway workers, which had been busy with track work, at the southern exit from Gütsch tunnel near Lucerne on 30 May 1898. Seven railway workers were killed immediately and four seriously injured.^[4] On 4 June 1899, the Zurich–Geneva night express of the NOB ran past a designated stopping point in Aarau and ran into two stationary Central Railway locomotives. The accident caused two deaths and three serious injuries.^[5]

Labour regulations and the wage demands of railway workers, which the other private railways acceded to in 1896, met with resistance from the profit-oriented NOB. This led to a labour dispute with NOB staff in 1897. In Zurich, masses of passengers wrote in the complaints book. At times, milk was scarce. The 5000 employees were able to enforce their claims after 41 hours of strikes. The industrial action at the NOB contributed to the holding of a referendum in 1898, which approved the nationalisation of the largest private railways.^[6]

The NOB with a route network of 853 km and the Swiss Lake Constance fleet passed into the possession of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) on 1 January 1902.

Lake Constance

The Lake Constance (Bodensee) route was the most important trade route for traffic between Switzerland and Germany. The Rhine only became navigable to Basel in 1904. The NOB started operating shipping services on Lake Constance with the Thurgau and the Stadt Zürich in 1855. The NOB merged with the Schweizerischen Dampfboot-Aktiengesellschaft für den Rhein und Bodensee (Swiss Steamboat Corporation for the Rhine and Lake Constance) on 1 January 1857. It was founded in 1850 in Schaffhausen as a cantonal enterprise and in the following four years put into service the steamships Stadt Schaffhausen, Rhein, Stadt St. Gallen and Bodan. In 1863, shipping operations on the Rhine were discontinued and the four steamships were relocated to Romanshorn.

On 11 March 1861 the steamer Stadt Zürich rammed and sank the Bavarian steamer Ludwig. Three persons survived, 13 were killed. On 12 February 1864 the Bavarian steamer Jura was also rammed and sunk by the Stadt Zürich.

In order to avoid the reloading of goods, the Bavarian and the Württemberg steamship administration together with the NOB decided in 1867 to transport railway wagons by train ferry. A steam ferry known as "steam ferry I" was used on the Friedrichshafen–Romanshorn route. This over 70 metre-long ferry was able to accommodate 18 freight wagons, but had a horrendous rate of coal consumption. It was retired in 1882 and subsequently scrapped. A second ferry known as "steam ferry II" started operating between Lindau and Romanshorn in 1874.

In 1884, the flat-deck steamer Stadt Zürich was converted into the semi-private steamer Zürich. In 1887, the NOB put the newly built saloon steamer Helvetia III into service, which caused a sensation with its clipper bow and bowsprit. In 1892, the mixed steam/sailing ship Säntis replaced the Stadt Schaffhausen. The mixed steam/sailing ship St. Gotthard was similarly replaced by the flat-deck steamer Stadt St. Gallen in 1897.

In 1902, with the nationalisation of the NOB the entire shipping company was transferred to the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).

• Flat-deck steamer Thurgau
• Flat-deck steamer Bodan in about 1880 in Rorschach
• Steam/sailing ship Helvetia in Romanshorn
• Stean train ferry I in Romanshorn harbour
• Stean train ferry II in the Romanshorn shipyard
• Steam/sailing ship Saentis
• Steam/sailing ship St. Gotthard

Lake Zürich

In 1864, the Dampfbootgesellschaft linkes Ufer (Left Bank Steamboat Company) was established in Horgen. In 1868, it merged with the older Zürichsee-Walensee-Gesellschaft AG (Lake Zürich-Walensee Company) to form the Dampfbootgesellschaft für den Zürichsee (Steamboat Company for Lake Zürich). Shortly before the commissioning of the Lake Zürich left bank railway (Linksufrige Zürichseebahn), the NOB took over the entire shipping fleet in 1875. The NOB curtailed operations immediately so rival companies formed. When the Zürich–Meilen–Rapperswil railway started operation in 1894, the existing fleet of six ships: Helvetia, Concordia, Lukmanier, St. Gotthard, Taube and Schwalbe was reduced.

With the nationalisation of the NOB in 1903, shipping operations were outsourced. All public shipping services were taken over by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (Lake Zürich Navigation Company; ZDG) in 1902. The paddle-wheel and screw steamers taken over from the NOB were replaced by more modern ships, with the exception of the Helvetia.

A train ferry operated on Lake Zurich only for a short time. The NOB put an unnamed train ferry built by Escher, Wyss & Cie. into operation in 1885. The traffic from the left bank transshipment port of Wollishofen to the right bank Uetikon was used practically exclusively for traffic to/from the local CU Chemie Uetikon chemical factory. Operations were discontinued with the opening of the Zürich–Meilen–Rapperswil railway in the autumn of 1894.

• Helvetia, commissioned in 1875
• Concordia (1864) operating to the Zürich theatre.
• Rear of the St. Gotthard (1865)
• Lukmanier (1865), sister ship of the St. Gotthard
• Schwalbe (1865), the first screw steamer on Lake Zurich
• Unnamed train ferry, commissioned in 1885

Assumed lines