File:ChärstelenbachBridgeGotthardbahnInAmstegTributaryToReuss.jpg

DescriptionChärstelenbachBridgeGotthardbahnInAmstegTributaryToReuss.jpg	English: original Chärstelenbach Bridge at km 47.9 of the Gotthardbahn spanning the Maderanertal in Amsteg, also showing later reinforcements of the bridge. English: original Kerstelenbach Bridge at km 47.9 of the Gotthardbahn spanning the Maderanertal in Amsteg, also showing later reinforcements of the bridge.
Date	1914, book (or prior source predating the publication of volume 5 of Röll's encyclopedia in 1914)
Source	Gotthardbahn in: Röll, V. Freiherr von: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens, Band 5. Berlin, Wien 1914, S. 354-361. digitized version on www.zeno.org/Roell-1912
Author	Dietler, Hermann (1839-10-01 - 1924-01-24); Röll, Victor Freiherr von (1852-05-22 - 1922-10-12)
Permission (Reusing this file)	Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or fewer. You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States.  Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 80 years: Mexico has 100 years and Jamaica has 95 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/PDMCreative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0falsefalse

The original German caption of the graph in the cited publication reads "Abb. 294. Kerstelenbach-Viadukt." which translates to "fig. 294. Chärstelenbach-Viaduct"
No scale or legend was provided with the map. The spans of the embankments, the free width under the beams and the distance from the surface of the Chärstelenbach at low water to the top of the rails are indicated in [m] as well as the incline of the route in [‰]. The Chärstelenbach is labeled as Kerstelenbach.

The part of the Gotthardbahn article referring to the Chärstelenbach Bridge in German: Die Gesamtzahl der Brücken und Durchlässe beträgt 1234, deren Gesamtweite 6471 m. (...) Brücken mit eisernem Überbau sind auf der Gotthardbahn sehr zahlreich; die Eisenbauten haben ein Gesamtgewicht von 17.723 t, sind sehr einfach und mit wenigen Ausnahmen geradlinig begrenzt. (...) Von größeren Bauwerken mit geraden Trägern sind zu erwähnen: (...) - Der nachträglich verstärkte Viadukt über den Kerstelenbach mit zwei Öffnungen zu je 50 m Stützweite, Schienenhöhe über Niederwasser 53 m (Abb. 294); (...)

in Englisch The Gotthardbahn and its branchlines pass over a total of 1234 bridges and open passages which span a total length of 6471 [m]. (...) Bridges with iron superstructures are very frequent on the Gotthard line and their iron structures weigh 17723 tons in total. (...) The following of the larger structures are worth mentioning: (...) - The subsequently reinforced viaduct over the Chärstelenbach with two openings spanning 50 [m] each and rails 53 [m] above low water (fig. 294); (...) end of translation

Note that in the article the name "Kerstelenbach" is used which is partly still in use today where "Chärstelenbach" seems to be the more frequently used name today. In the following also "Chärstelenbach" will be used. Note also that the valley of the Chärstelenbach is refered to as the "Maderanertal" or Maderaner Valley after a family originally living in the valley.

Chästelenbach Bridge on the Gotthardbahn in Amsteg

Going up the northern ramp of the Gotthardbahn starting at Erstfeld, passing the Amsteg-Silenen station you pass the Chärstelenbach Bridge over the Maderanertal, a valley cut by the Chärstelenbach a tributary to the Reuss (river) river. Having passed the Bristen Tunnel you will cross the Inschi-Reuss-Brige onto the other side of the Reuss valley before passing the abondoned Inschi station and entering the Gurtnellen station.

The Chärstelen Bridge is one of many very simply constructed steal bridges using truss beam constructions with straight outlines. The bridge stands out because of its two wide openings spanning 50 [m] each and and rails at 53 [m] above low water. Subsequently the bridge had to be strengthened with the fish-belly truss structures indicated in the illustration to account for increasing traffic and loads even before 1914, still during times of steam operation of the Gotthardbahn. With the Chärstelenbach Bridge like all the other iron bridges and their subsequent reinforcements being built to specifications based on traffic volumes and loads that were superseded again and again the iron superstructure of the bridge eventually had to be substituted with a concrete one. The new bridge still uses the original center pillar and the original arched stone abatments on the valley and mountain sides of the original bridge.

The author Dietler did not provide a copyright for the graphs used nor did he use specific citations within his article and listed sources as "literature" solely at the end of his chapter. It is not clear if he is the original author of any of the illustrations or whether he copied them from one of the books or periodicals listed or from elsewhere. Disregarding the listed business reports of the Gotthardbahn and its liquidation commission the most recent dated literature listed originates from 1895. Obviously all listed sources predate the publication of volume 5 of Röll's encyclopedia in 1914. Dietler lists the sources as follows below. Originals of the graph might be found there. With standard operation of the Gotthardbahn having started on 1 June 1882 the line was well established during the publication of of volume 5 of Röll's encyclopedia in 1915. The engineering drawing probably dates from somewhere between the final planning period and the time just before the last construction phase.

Literatur of the article:

– Die Gotthardbahn in kommerzieller Beziehung. Zürich 1864.

– Begründung von Distanztabellen, graph. Darstellung der Verkehrsgebiete. Basel 1864.

– Die Gotthardbahn in technischer Beziehung, enthaltend die technischen Gutachten von Beckh und Gerwig, Dezember 1864, und von Wetli, Januar 1865, sowie eine Rentabilitätsberechnung von Koller, Schmidlin u. Stoll, März 1865. Zürich.

– Koller, Schmidlin und Stoll, Die Gotthardbahn und ihre Konkurrenten. Zürich, August 1865.

– Koller, Schmidlin und Stoll, Die Gotthardbahn und der Luckmanier. Zürich, Oktober 1865.

– Les projets de chemins de fer par les alpes helvétiques. Zürich 1869.

– Conférences internationales pour la construction du chemin de fer par le St. Gotthard, tenues à Berne, Procès-Verbal des Séances, 15 Septembre – 13 Octobre 1869.

– Hellwag, Die Bahnachse und das Längenprofil der Gotthardbahn nebst approximativem Kostenvoranschlag und die Ursachen der Überschreitung des Voranschlags der tessinischen Bahnen, Zürich, 3. und 6. Februar 1876.

– Expertise concernant le chemin de fer du St. Gothard, Commission Plénèire et Sous-Commission, Procès-Verbal des Séances, 31 Juliett – 22 Novembre 1876. Bern.

– Conférences internationales pour la construction du chemin de fer par le St. Gothard tenues à Lucerne, Procès-Verbal des Séances, 4–13 Juin 1877.

– Erster bis achtunddreißigster Geschäftsbericht der Direktion und des Verwaltungsrates der Gotthardbahn über den Zeitraum vom 6. Dezember 1871 bis 30. April 1909; drei Geschäftsberichte der Liquidationskommission über den Zeitraum vom 1. Mai 1909 bis 30. Juni 1912.

– Rapports mensuels et trimestriels du Conseil federal suisse sur l'état des travaux de la ligne du St. Gothard.

– Wanner, Geschichte der Begründung des Gotthardbahnunternehmens. Luzern 1880.

– Dolezalek, Die Gotthardbahn. Hann. Ztschr. 1882.

– Wanner, Rückblick auf die Entstehung und den Bau der Gotthardbahn. Luzern 1882.

– Wanner, Geschichte des Baffes der Gotthardbahn. Luzern 1885.

– Stapff, Geologische Übersichtskarte der Gotthardbahnstrecke Erstfeld-Castione, 10 Blätter 1 : 25.000. Berlin 1885.

– Mémoire du Département Fédéral Suisse des chemins de fer sur la construction du chemin de fer du St. Gothard. Bern 1888.

– Rich. Bechtle, Die Gotthardbahn. Stuttgart 1895.