Uerikon–Bauma railway

Uerikon–Bauma railway
The CZm 1/2 steam railcar that formerly provided passenger service
Overview
Status	Closed (Uerikon–Hinwil) Preserved (Hinwil–Bauma)
Operation
Opened	1901
Closed	1948 (Uerikon–Hinwil)
Technical
Line length	25.2 km (15.7 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Maximum incline	2.9%
Route diagram Template:Uerikon–Bauma railway

The Uerikon–Bauma railway (German: Uerikon-Bauma-Bahn, UeBB) is a railway which formerly linked Uerikon, Hombrechtikon, Bubikon, Hinwil, Bäretswil and Bauma in the Swiss canton of Zurich. The line from Uerikon to Hinwil was closed in 1948, and little now remains other than a freight siding in the Bubikon area. From Hinwil to Bauma the line has been preserved by the Dampfbahn-Verein Zürcher Oberland (DVZO) and sees heritage railway services.

The Uerikon to Bauma railway opened in 1901 and was the brain child of Adolf Guyer-Zeller, who would become famous as the builder of the Jungfrau Railway. The line provided a link between Uerikon, on the shores of Lake Zurich, and the Zürcher Oberland, including the town of Bäretswil where he owned a textile mill.

Traffic on the line was never great, and for most trains a single steam railcar sufficed. There were never sufficient funds to electrify the line. In 1946 it was decided the UeBB, together with the Uster-Oetwil-Bahn and Wetzikon-Meilen-Bahn lines, was to be converted to bus operation by the newly formed Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO). The line from Uerikon to Hinwil was abandoned in 1948, although a section was retained as a freight siding near Bubikon.

By contrast, the section between Hinwil and Bauma was acquired by the Swiss Federal Railways and electrified. However it did not prosper, and passenger services ceased in 1979. Ownership of the section from Bäretswil to Bauma was transferred to the DVZO for use as a heritage railway in 2000. The section from Hinwil to Bäretswil remains in Swiss Federal Railway ownership, and sees freight trains as well as DVZO heritage trains.