Gauge change – Zweisimmen
The Montreux Oberland Bernois (MOB) and the Bern Lötschberg Simplon (BLS) railways have begun through services between Montreux and Interlaken. The project to provide a single train service between the two destinations was put on hold mostly due to the pandemic that took hold of the world in 2020 and…
Auto train for a rack railway
The Appenzeller Bahn (AB) in Switzerland has ordered a rack-and-pinion rail vehicle for its 1.96km long Bergbahn Rheineck–Walzenhausen. The line has one intermediate station at Ruderbach. What is most unusual for this rack railway is its new vehicle is to be fully automated and have no driver – thus the…
Swiss rack lines’ new trains
The Pilatus, Rigi and Gornergrat rack railways recently got some very smart looking and futuristic new stock. The designs are a radical departure from the classic look that has been a feature of the Swiss rack lines for years. Even when the Wengernalp and Jungfrau Bahn acquired new stock a…
Montreux Oberland Bernois (2)
The second part of the Montreux Oberland Bernois special. The first part looked at the line and its history, with coverage of the route from Montreux to Les Sciernes. In this instalment we take a look at the line from Montbovon to Zweisimmen. There’s four further posts coming soon, these…
Transports Publics Fribourgeois #3
With the conversion of the line from Bulle to Broc-Fabrique (and its continuation as a private rail network right into the Nestle chocolate factory itself) the delightful La Gruyère system (the GFM, aka the Gruyère-Fribourg-Morat or as it was officially known, the Compagnie des Chemins de fer Fribourgeois) is no…
Montreux Oberland Bernois
The Chemin de fer Montreux Oberland Bernois (MOB) n Switzerland first opened during December 1901 between Montreux and Les Avants – a climb of about 1866 feet or 575 metres in a mere 3km (just under two miles) distant as the crow flies. The line was originally planned to go…
Transports Publics Fribourgeois #2
This second part covers the new Bulle station and the famous Bulle to Broc line in part. This line is famous because it connected directly to the celebrated Nestle chocolate factory in Broc. Also famous for considerable standard gauge freight traffic carried via the narrow gauge as well as the…
Transports Publics Fribourgeois upgrade
In the canton of Fribourg, the TPF (previously known as the GFM) has a long metre gauge route (as well as two standard gauge lines) that make up the authority’s diverse transportation offerings, which include trolleybuses. Enhancements have been made to almost all of the company’s lines, including the standard…
Köln – Bonner Eisenbahn
The Köln-Bonner Eisenbahn’s (KBE – or the Cologne to Bonn Railway) Rheinuferbahn once provided local and express trains between Köln and Bonn. There was a substantial freight operation too with large marshalling yards servicing local industries. The company stayed independent to the very end and it would have been around…
New cableway for Piz Gloria
The Schilthornbahn has been in operation for 55 years. The first stage from Stechelberg to Mürren/Birg opened on 20th June 1965. That to the summit of the Schilthorn opened in 1967 and it was soon made famous because of 007! The summit facilities had been left incomplete due to shortage…