Uster–Oetwil tramway

The Uster–Oetwil tramway (German: Uster-Oetwil-Bahn, UOeB) was a metre gauge rural electric tramway in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It linked the town of Uster with Esslingen and Oetwil in the Zürcher Oberland.[1][2][3]

Uster–Oetwil tramway
Opening of the UOeB at Oetwil in 1909
Overview
Status	Closed and removed
Locale	Canton of Zürich, Switzerland
Termini	Uster Oetwil
Stations	18
Service
Services	1
Depot(s)	near Uster
History
Opened	1909
Closed	1949
Technical
Line length	10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Minimum radius	30 metres (98 ft)
Electrification	800 V, DC, overhead
Maximum incline	7%
Route map km elev in m 0.0 Uster SBB 464 Uster Sternen Uster Zenkelhof Uster Kreuz Uster Thalacker 1.0 depôt 458 2.0 Riedikon 444 Riedikon Kies Mönchaltorf Haldengut Mönchaltorf Unterdorf 4.9 Mönchaltorf 464 Esslingen Lieburg 7.4 Esslingen Forch Rly to Zürich 486 Oberesslingen Oetwil Felsengrund Oetwil Gusch 9.6 Oetwil am See 542 Oetwil Rebacker 10.5 Langholz 581 Wetzikon–Meilen tramway ← Meilen│Wetzikon →

The UOeB had an interchange with the main line at Uster station, on the Wallisellen to Rapperswil line. It also had track connections with two other metre gauge rural lines, the Wetzikon-Meilen-Bahn (WMB), at Langholz, and the Forchbahn (FB), at Esslingen. Through the FB, the WMB had an indirect metre gauge connection to the Zürich city tram network.[1][2]

The line was electrified at 800 V DC. It had a length of 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi), with 18 stops, a maximum gradient of 7% and a minimum radius of 30 metres (98 ft). Of the lines total length, all but 100 metres (330 ft) ran in the street.[1][2]

The line opened on 28 May 1909. It survived until 10 January 1949, when it was replaced by a bus service operated by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO).[1][3]

The line's headquarters and workshops were located near Uster, with an additional depot at Langholz. Both buildings still exists, in other uses, together with a goods shed at Mönchaltorf.[1]