The SCB based in Basel was founded on 4 February 1853 by Johann Jakob Speiser, Achilles Bischoff and Karl Geigy.
The shares were mainly owned by Parisian banks.
But Basel banks and the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft were also involved.
The issue of shares worth Swiss Francs (CHF) 36 million and bonds worth CHF 12 million were planned.
Speculation on the Paris stock exchange, however, led to a sharp fall in prices.
Thus, the value of the SCB shares fell from CHF 500 to 200 and the share capital finally amounted to only CHF 14.5 million.
The cantons of Luzern and Bern and Bernese municipalities rescued the company by buying shares and subsidies totaling  CHF 6 million.

The main goal of the SCB was the construction of a railway network in the shape of a cross with its centre at Olten.
Its intention was to forestall Zürich interests who wanted to build a line via Turgi to Waldshut on the Baden bank of the Rhine to Basel.
The Canton of Solothurn initially wanted to grant a concession only for the Hauenstein line to Olten.
It wanted to ensure that a direct Olten–Solothurn–Biel/Bienne line was built instead of a branch line from Herzogenbuchsee to Solothurn.

The issue of concessions for railway lines in Aargau was also controversial because there was a fight between the interests of Basel and Zürich in this canton.
Zürich and Neuchâtel planned a link via Les Verrières to France, competing with the SCB.
The canton of Basel-Landschaft refused to issue a concession for a Bözberg Railway, which caused considerable disagreement in Aargau.
Nevertheless, the SCB finally received a concession for the Olten–Murgenthal and Aarburg–Zofingen sections.
The section from Aarau to the canton border near Wöschnau was, on the other hand, given to the Northeastern Railway (Nordostbahn; NOB).

The line crossed the Jura between Sissach and Olten with gradients of up to 2.6% and passed through the 2.5 km-long Hauenstein Tunnel from Läufelfingen to Trimbach, Switzerland's longest tunnel at the time.
Cost overruns and building delays of more than a year brought the SCB close to bankruptcy.
CHF 4 million of investment aid from the federal government and bonds worth CHF 12 million from Basel and Stuttgart banks secured further funding in 1857.

SCB was able to build lines from Basel via Liestal and Olten to Bern, Aarau, Thun, Biel/Bienne and Lucerne.
In 1858, after the construction of the Schanzen tunnel, the SCB network was connected with the NOB network at Aarau.
In 1860, SCB's network connected on the cantonal border near Bern with the Lausanne–Fribourg–Bern Railway (Chemin de fer Lausanne–Fribourg–Berne) and on Lake Biel with the Schweizerische Ostwestbahn (Swiss East-West Railway).
In the same year, the Chemins de fer de l'Est linked its network in Basel with the Central Railway, giving the SCB a direct connection to the international rail network.

In Olten there is a stone relief documenting the zero point of the distance measurement of the railway lines prescribed by the Federal Government.
From the starting point in Olten, the SCB measured line distances in hours.
However, the stone never marked kilometre 0 for the SCB.
When the old Swiss measures were metricised in 1877, the Central Railway changed the distance designation of its railway lines.
Since then, the metric chainage of the SCB lines has had its starting point in Basel.
The SCB based in Basel was founded on 4 February 1853 by Johann Jakob Speiser, Achilles Bischoff and Karl Geigy. The shares were mainly owned by Parisian banks. But Basel banks and the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft were also involved. The issue of shares worth Swiss Francs (CHF) 36 million and bonds worth CHF 12 million were planned. Speculation on the Paris stock exchange, however, led to a sharp fall in prices. Thus, the value of the SCB shares fell from CHF 500 to 200 and the share capital finally amounted to only CHF 14.5 million. The cantons of Luzern and Bern and Bernese municipalities rescued the company by buying shares and subsidies totaling  CHF 6 million.
The main goal of the SCB was the construction of a railway network in the shape of a cross with its centre at Olten. Its intention was to forestall Zürich interests who wanted to build a line via Turgi to Waldshut on the Baden bank of the Rhine to Basel. The Canton of Solothurn initially wanted to grant a concession only for the Hauenstein line to Olten. It wanted to ensure that a direct Olten–Solothurn–Biel/Bienne line was built instead of a branch line from Herzogenbuchsee to Solothurn.
The issue of concessions for railway lines in Aargau was also controversial because there was a fight between the interests of Basel and Zürich in this canton. Zürich and Neuchâtel planned a link via Les Verrières to France, competing with the SCB. The canton of Basel-Landschaft refused to issue a concession for a Bözberg Railway, which caused considerable disagreement in Aargau. Nevertheless, the SCB finally received a concession for the Olten–Murgenthal and Aarburg–Zofingen sections. The section from Aarau to the canton border near Wöschnau was, on the other hand, given to the Northeastern Railway (Nordostbahn; NOB).
The line crossed the Jura between Sissach and Olten with gradients of up to 2.6% and passed through the 2.5 km-long Hauenstein Tunnel from Läufelfingen to Trimbach, Switzerland's longest tunnel at the time. Cost overruns and building delays of more than a year brought the SCB close to bankruptcy. CHF 4 million of investment aid from the federal government and bonds worth CHF 12 million from Basel and Stuttgart banks secured further funding in 1857.
SCB was able to build lines from Basel via Liestal and Olten to Bern, Aarau, Thun, Biel/Bienne and Lucerne. In 1858, after the construction of the Schanzen tunnel, the SCB network was connected with the NOB network at Aarau. In 1860, SCB's network connected on the cantonal border near Bern with the Lausanne–Fribourg–Bern Railway (Chemin de fer Lausanne–Fribourg–Berne) and on Lake Biel with the Schweizerische Ostwestbahn (Swiss East-West Railway). In the same year, the Chemins de fer de l'Est linked its network in Basel with the Central Railway, giving the SCB a direct connection to the international rail network.
In Olten there is a stone relief documenting the zero point of the distance measurement of the railway lines prescribed by the Federal Government. From the starting point in Olten, the SCB measured line distances in hours. However, the stone never marked kilometre 0 for the SCB. When the old Swiss measures were metricised in 1877, the Central Railway changed the distance designation of its railway lines. Since then, the metric chainage of the SCB lines has had its starting point in Basel.
Swiss Central Railway