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…
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…
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…
Whatever happened to the North Downs Railway?
North Downs Steam Railway? Never heard of it! Surely you mean the North Downs Line? No it wasn’t that! Where was this other railway then? It was a short-lived heritage line in North Kent, based not far from the southern end of the Dartford tunnel. The NDSR began life with…