Spitzkehre Bleicherain/Aarauerstrasse Railway Switch

The Seetalbahn, which opened in October 1883, ran from Lucerne to Lenzburg station for the first 12 years. On October 1, 1895, the section from Lenzburg via Lenzburg-Stadt to Wildegg went into operation. This was the birth of the hairpin bend at the Bleicherain/Aarauerstrasse level crossing. For topographical reasons, the line to Wildegg had to branch off here. How did it work? A "Seetaler" - as these trains were called - running from Lucerne to Wildegg first drove into Lenzburg station. There, the station section for the "Seetaler" was around 100 meters west of the current "Seetaler" platform. The train then drove slowly backwards along the 500-meter-long stretch to the hairpin bend until the entire train had cleared the switch installed directly at the Bleicherain/Aarauerstrasse crossing. As the train driver had no view of the route during this reverse journey, the conductor stood on the rearmost, open boarding platform of the Seetalbahn carriages (this was still the case for all passenger trains at the time). His job was to be able to stop the train using the emergency brake in the event of danger. On the south side of the level crossing was a signalman's hut. The signalman working there operated the barrier, the switch and the signals that secured the system using wire pulls. The people who worked at the hairpin bend also called the "Spitzbuebe". Once the signalman had switched the switch in the direction of Lenzburg-Stadt, the train could resume its journey towards Wildegg. The Wildegg-Lucerne trains traveled the system in reverse order: from Lenzburg-Stadt station forward to the hairpin bend and then backwards into Lenzburg station.