Noah & Federer ride the GPX!
On the heels of the launch of the Goldenpass Express (GPX) late last year came the revelation that Roger Federer had been lined up for a publicity stint on behalf of the Montreux Oberland Bernois (MOB). Previously Federer had done other Swiss tourist publicity films including rail based ones and…
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…
Tyne & Wear Metro on the Rigi!
As the news blurb said, it was an unknown train that had heated up the rumor mill. ‘For some time now, a strange train has been standing on track 13 at Arth-Goldau station.’ What was this strange train doing in this part of Switzerland? It was a brand new Tyne…
Rhätische Bahn sets a record!
The Rhaetian Railway established a record for the world’s longest narrow gauge passenger train and exploited the scenic abilities of one of its best lines through the Alps for that attempt. The company ran the 1.9-kilometre-long train composed of 100 coaches on its UNESCO heritage world famous Albula line between…
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…