Until the arrival of the BDe 2/8 203 in May 1982, the Oensingen – Balsthal Railway OeBB not only had to run goods trains with passenger transport, but also a few ordinary passenger trains with small locomotive Ce 2/2 and coaches for capacity reasons. From 1974, three sky-blue painted former SBB passenger coaches of the Seetal type were available for this purpose, classified as OeBB Bi 501-503. In 1976, a further passenger coach with open platforms was added. This OeBB Bi 504 also had open platforms, but it was a conversion car of heavy steel construction made by the SBB main workshop in Zurich. It weighed 30 tonnes instead of 20 tonnes like the earlier Seetaler. Until 1982, the passenger train was accompanied by a baggage car, most recently the sky-blue painted D2 31 (2nd formation), which had been taken over from the SEZ in the Bernese Oberland in 1964.
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