Biel / Bienne, Switzerland - Funiculaire de Macolin funicular railway - postcard

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Biel / Bienne, Bern canton, Switzerland - Funiculaire de Macolin [Macolin Funicular railway]
• Publisher:  Photoglob-Webrli AB, Zurich - probably real photo
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Biel/Bienne is a city in the district of the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Biel/Bienne is on the language boundary between the French speaking and German speaking parts of Switzerland, and is throughout bilingual. Biel is the German name for the town, Bienne its French counterpart. The town is often referred to in both languages simultaneously. Since January 1, 2005, the official name has been ""Biel/Bienne"", unofficially also ""Biel-Bienne"". Until then, the city was officially named Biel (BE).^[3]

The city lies at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains area, guarding the only practical connection to Jura in the area, on the northeastern shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee, Lac de Bienne), sharing the eastern tip of the lake with its sister city, Nidau, the administrative centre of the District of Nidau. Neuchâtel, Solothurn, and Bern (the capital of Switzerland) lie west, east and southeast of Biel/Bienne. They all can be reached in about 30 minutes, either by train or by car.

The city has about 50,000 inhabitants and in 2000 the agglomeration had almost 89,000.^[4]

The shoreline of Lake Biel has been inhabited since at least the neolithic. The remains of two neolithic settlements were found at Vingelz in 1874. The remains of the settlements became the Vingelz / Hafen archeological site, which is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. East of the Vingelz site, a late Bronze Age settlement was also discovered.^[5] After the Roman conquest, the region was part of Germania Superior. During the Roman era the Roman road from Petinesca to Pierre Pertuis or Salodurum (now Solothurn) passed through the village of Mett, which is now part of Biel/Bienne. The foundations of buildings and a 4th-century cemetery in Mett come from a late Roman or an early medieval military guard station.^[6]

A theory holds that the toponym is derived from the name of Belenus, probably from a Roman era sanctuary of that deity at a sacred spring nearby. However, no surviving records or inscriptions confirm this theory. Another theory states that the town grew up around a late Roman fortress. While no trace of the fortress has been found, the foundations of several Roman buildings have been found east of the medieval town.^[7]

The town is mentioned in 1142 as apud belnam,^[7] which is taken as evidence for its derivation from Belenus. In popular etymology, the name has been connected with the German name for axe (Bernese German bieli), reflected in the two crossed axes in the city's coat of arms.

The Biel/Bienne–Magglingen/Macolin funicular (German:Seilbahn Biel–Magglingen; French:Funiculaire Bienne–Macolin) is a funicular railway in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne in the Swiss canton of Bern. The funicular links Biel/Bienne with Magglingen/Macolin in the Jura mountains above the town.^[1]

The line is operated by the FUNIC company, who also operate the nearby Biel/Bienne–Leubringen/Evilard funicular.^[1]

Le funiculaire Bienne-Macolin est un funiculaire qui relie la ville de Bienne à Macolin dans le canton de Berne en Suisse.

Sa longueur est de 1 693 mètres, pour une dénivellation de 442 mètres. Immédiatement à la sortie de la station du bas, le funiculaire débouche sur un pont d’une longueur horizontale de 86 mètres, pour une portée totale de 90 mètres.

La ligne est inaugurée en 1887. Jusqu’en 1923, l’étiage d’eau fut utilisé pour sa propulsion, avant son électrification. Les deux cabines furent remplacées en 1923, 1954 et 2001^[3].

En 2009, le service des funiculaires Bienne-Macolin ainsi que celui de Bienne-Evilard sont assurés par la société FUNIC^[4].

Die 1887 eingeweihte Biel-Magglingen-Bahn ist eine Standseilbahn in der Schweiz und verbindet Biel/Bienne mit Magglingen. Die Höhendifferenz der Bahnanlage beträgt 442 m, die Strecke ist 1693 m lang.

Die Bahn wurde 1887 durch Pümpin, Herzog & Cie, Bern gebaut und bis 1923 als Wasserballastbahn betrieben. 1923 wurden die Wagen durch von Roll erneuert und der Wasserballast pro Wagen von 3,5 t auf 4,5 t erhöht. 1954 wurde die Anlage ebenfalls durch von Roll auf elektrischen Betrieb umgebaut, wobei die Bremszahnstange System Riggenbach entfernt wurde und die Wagen abermals erneuert wurden. 2001 wurde die Anlage durch Doppelmayr auf den neusten Stand gebracht.^[1][2]

Die Strecke war zu Anfang als dreischienige Anlage mit Mittelausweiche aufgebaut. Zusätzlich war zum Bremsen eine Riggenbach-Zahnstange eingebaut. Beim Umbau 1954 wurde die Anlage zu einer zweischienige Anlage mit Mittelausweiche ohne Zahnstange umgebaut. Unmittelbar nach der Talstation folgt eine 90 Meter lange Brücke.

Im Jahr 2000 hat die Bahn mit der Biel-Leubringen-Bahn zur FUNIC fusioniert.

type=real photographic (rp)

city/ region=bern

period=post-war (1945-present)

postage condition=unposted

number of items=single

size=standard (140x89 mm)