Seebach-Wettingen railway electrification trial
For this purpose, MFO electrified the 19.45-kilometre-long Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) route from Seebach to Wettingen at its own expense with single-phase alternating current at 15,000 volts.
By 1900, the use of direct current (DC), usually at 500-600 volts, to supply power to electric trams and trains was well-established.
This was satisfactory for urban systems but, for long distance railways, a higher voltage was desirable to reduce energy losses.
The 106 km Valtellina line in Italy was electrified using three-phase alternating current (AC) at 3,000 volts and opened on 4 September 1902.
The use of single-phase AC, which only required one overhead wire, had been held back by the lack of suitable motors.
At the suggestion of MFO, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) agreed on 31 May 1902 to set up a trial operation on the Seebach-Wettingen route with single-phase alternating current at 15,000 volts.
Since the traction motors could not yet be operated with single-phase alternating current with the technology of the time, MFO first built the four-axle pilot locomotive No.
On 16 January 1905, the regular test runs between Seebach and Affoltern were started with a timetable set by SBB.
At Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, a small steam power plant was built to supply the energy needed for the Seebach-Wettingen line.
The three-phase current produced had a voltage of 230 volts and a frequency of 50 hertz to match the factory's existing power plant.
The converter station with AC buffering was housed in a special building, which was located near the steam turbine plant.
The exact layout of the converter station is unclear but the presence of the batteries suggests that it used a back-to-back connection.
The current collector mounted on the roof of the locomotive, the so-called tail, consisted of a slightly curved tube with a replaceable contact strip.
The pantograph (current collector) was usable for both directions of travel and could follow height differences of the overhead line even at high speeds.
In July 1910, the Bernese Alpine Railway Company Bern - Lötschberg - Simplon (BLS) opened its Spiez-Frutigen test track electrified at 15,000 Volts, 15 Hertz.
