#1455
WAB He 2/2 51–58
🇨🇭 Switzerland ·built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works· from 1909· class of 8 Swiss electric rack locomotives
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. C2.05 Bw Grindelwald Grund, He 2-2 53: Falk2· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. Werkaufnahme von Alioth der Zahnradlokomotive He 2 2 56 auf der Wengernalpbahn 1910: Unknown author Unknown author· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. Bahnhof Lauterbrunnen WAB He 2-2 31 und 32: Whgler· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. Bahnhof Lauterbrunnen WAB He 2-2 54: Whgler· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 5. Bahnhof Lauterbrunnen WAB He 2-2 52: Whgler· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. Wengernalpbahn He 2 2 55 in Münchenstein 2020: Nr. 13465· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. Wengernalpbahn reine Zahnradlokomotive He 2 2 32 in Lauterbrunnen im Sommer 2020: Nr. 13465· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. 15-08-04, Schynige Platte-Bahn Lok Nr. 18, ehemals Wengernalpbahn Lok Nr. 58 in Wilderswil, 2015: NearEMPTiness· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 9. 20080629Y352a SPB 16 Anemone: Markus Giger· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10. 20080629Y429a SPB 16 Anemone: Markus Giger· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The He 2/2 51 to 58 of the Wengernalp Railway, abbreviated WAB, are electric rack railway locomotive for 1500 volt direct current and a track gauge of 800 mm. They were built in 1909 and 1910 on the occasion of the electrification of the railway lines Lauterbrunnen–Wengernalp–Kleine Scheidegg as well as Grindelwald–Grindelwald Grund–Kleine Scheidegg and served as a model for the largely identical locomotives that were subsequently procured He 2/2 59 to 63. The machines with two running axles and two drive rack gears are pure rack railway locomotives.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 117 years ago, in 1909.
- Weighs about as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1909–1910
- number built
- 8
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- builders
- Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works, Elektrizitätsgesellschaft Alioth
- operators
- Wengernalpbahn AG
- top speed
- 12 km/h
- power
- 227 kW
- gauge
- 800 mm narrow gauge
- electric system
- Catenary
- wheel arrangement
- 2zz
- weight
- 16 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q106485413, Wikipedia: WAB He 2/2 51–58 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.