It beeps on this foggy morning in Reigoldswil BL. The sounds of the metal detectors can be heard over the wind and the occasional crowing of a Güggel. Around a dozen men are using equipment to search a field near the valley station of the Wasserfallen gondola lift. Here history is brought to light again.
Excited to see what comes to light from the tunnel construction: prospectors are using their metal detectors in Reigoldswil BL to look for remnants from 1875.
SRF
It’s the story of the Waterfall Railway Tunnel. «The tunnel has national importance. There is only one lost railway tunnel in Switzerland that was started and then forgotten.” This is what Elisas Vogt, project manager of the 150 Years of Waterfall Railway research group and vice president of the Swiss Prospection Working Group, which searches for unknown archaeological sites, says.
The tunnel project that failed in 1875 fascinated him even as a child, says Vogt. At the end of 2023 he managed to find a plan showing the status of the construction work. “Then I also found the tunnel entrances in Reigoldswil and Mümliswil SO.”
The end of the waterfall track
Open the box
Box zuklappen
The historical plan with the profile of the waterfall tunnel and the shafts.
zvg/SBB archive
The waterfall tunnel between Mümliswil SO and Reigoldswil BL was intended as a connection between Bern and Basel. After just one year of construction, the tunnel project in 1875 failed again – only a total of around 1000 meters of tunnels and shafts were dug.
Failure brought misery
The construction company went bankrupt. This had serious consequences for the two villages at the tunnel portals. Mümliswil in particular was hit hard, says project manager Elias Vogt: “Many people expanded their stables and attics for the Italian workers and invested a lot of money. When around 300 workers left from one day to the next, many families went bankrupt.
As a result, numerous people emigrated to America, as the surviving records of Beat Walter, the Ammann of Mümliswil-Ramiswil at the time, show.
Is the Centralbahn to blame?
Within days in 1875, the construction company that was supposed to dig the water trap tunnel went bankrupt. Spicy detail: The company received the order from the Swiss Central Railway, which already operated a north-south connection with the Hauenstein Tunnel.
Under these conditions, the bankruptcy was no surprise, Rémy Suter, curator of the local museum in Reigoldswil, is convinced: “The Wasserfallentunnel would have been competition. That’s why the Centralbahn tried to get the concession and consciously and deliberately brought the project to ground.”
Project manager Elias Vogt investigated this question in the archive: “Gross negligence can be proven, but intent is difficult to prove.”
Vertical shafts were used to build the tunnel. This construction method ultimately turned out to be a problem: the shafts filled with water. “It’s actually no surprise for a mountain called ‘Waterfalls,’” notes project manager Elias Vogt. When the construction company went bankrupt, the pumps could not continue to operate.
This is a time capsule from 1875. It is unique in Switzerland, perhaps even in the world.
This could turn out to be a stroke of luck for the project team. Because the shafts were filled with water within a short period of time and later filled in, there could still be a surprise waiting in the mountain: Vogt has discovered a tunnel that is around 50 meters long. He suspects that it is still in its original condition: wooden supports, track, tunnel cars, pumps and tools. “This is a time capsule from 1875. It is unique in Switzerland, perhaps even in the world,” enthuses Vogt.
Project manager Elias Vogt (left) explains his idea to Andreas Fischer from Baselland Cantonal Archeology: He would like to continue digging here. Behind about eight meters of rock lies the next tunnel, which is probably still in its original condition – possibly with numerous finds from 1875.
SRF
However, the tunnel is behind about eight meters of rock, at the very back of the pre-tunnel, which leads into the mountain right next to the valley station of the Wasserfallen gondola. The project team still lacks the money for the excavation work, around 50,000 francs. Foundations and communities are involved, says Vogt, and the rest will come together through crowdfunding.
Insights about the people who worked here
The research project has the approval of the two cantonal archeology departments of Solothurn and Baselland. Andreas Fischer from Baselland Archeology is excited about the findings: “What is often missing are the everyday, small stories that tell of the people who made their living here.” It is exciting, for example, how the around 300 workers on the north and south sides lived or interacted with the local population. Such aspects were missing from the traditions.
1 / 3 During prospecting in Reigoldswil, remains of the building that stood above one of the shafts came to light. Project manager Elias Vogt shows a hook from the construction from 1875. SRF/Barbara Mathys
2 / 3 Andreas Fischer from Baselland Cantonal Archeology (left) and project manager Elias Vogt examine another find from the Schacht Hut. SRF/Barbara Mathys
3 / 3 During prospecting at the site of the old canteen in Reigoldswil, a tunnel worker’s medallion comes to light. SRF/Barbara Mathys
One of the metal detectors beeps again. When you dig, all that comes out is a piece of aluminum foil – waste. But later the prospectors find a spoon, part of a harmonica and a medallion. Remains of the building that stood over one of the shafts also come to light.
These are the remnants of the tunneling that can be found on the surface. Whether there are more treasures waiting in the mountain will only become clear when the tunnel can be drilled.
