Swiss Rail "Holiday Snaps"

[Glorious NSE]

So we left Reichenau just after 2pm and headed for Thusis, where the timetable predicted an hour of our time would get us two freights pausing to work there concurrently...

When we arrived 20601 was waiting on one of the lead tracks with three ATCS wagons loaded with low sided gravel carriers - we had chance to get some shots of 20601 before 705 arrived with the first arrival, the Samedan bound freight, with 3 wagons loaded with concrete sleepers.



705 ran through the platform and backed onto the 3 loads on the lead, making for an easy pickup.



Once it was coupled on 20601 ran down the other lead back to the yard ready for the next arrival - there were 4 shunters here which seems excessive, but I think at least 2 (88 and 89) were engineers units - Thusis yard really does have a dramatic backdrop!



While we were watching 20601 the first St Moritz GEX snuck up on us - 633 had run round in Chur and stayed with the train - this loco has one traditional red end and one white end.



"This Is Not The Glacier Express"

(Okay, last one of those I promise.) - Glacier Express liveried 651 is back, another decent length freight, behind the 3 cement tanks are 3 vans and 3 flats with empty ACTS skips which were dropped off, similar to the ones being picked up the other way loaded.



Whilst 651 finished up it's shunting our next train arrived behind "large logo" liveried 644. 705 would follow us up the Albula...



We passed Filisur, arriving in parallel with 415's run round - we resisted and stayed on for Preda...

 

Preda is currently a bit of a building site - the station has just a single track at present with some temporary connections making the double track north of there just a passing loop for the moment - when finished it will have a new island platform and a bay for the Sledging train - but for now it's a bit messy and the sites both sides rather limit what you can do photography-wise.

Our train disappears into the tunnel.



We had a look at the tunnel worksite, just these 4 cement wagons visible this end.



The info and visitors centre was worth a look - we liked these "seats".



We'd decided to turn here as there were 3 extra moves between the hourly meet of the Albula passenger trains, so it was unfortunate that we struggled to find somewhere to shoot from - these are not the best results, but hey:

3503 heads for Chur with the Bernina Express returning from Tirano.



705 crests the grade after following us up the mountain with the freight from Chur...



And with the fourth and final GEX of the day, 622 is back, nearly at the end of it's journey from Zermatt.



After that, with light levels starting to tail off we headed back to Davos via Filisur - a pretty fulfilling Monday!

Want to see more? All the Monday pics are on here:
https://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/Daybyday/2020/2020-08-24-Davos-to-Untervaz-Trimmis/
(As before - still with camera and phone images out of synch)


 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Glorious NSE

[Glorious NSE]

Tuesday 25th Aug (and you'll be glad to know I'd synched my camera and phone clocks at last!)

Jon and I had discussed walking from Preda down to Bergün and we'd come to the conclusion that we'd lose too much of the day in parts of the walk away from the tracks - plan B was to spend the morning in the fields above Bergün before heading further South.

Capricorn 3117 was on our 07.31 train for Filisur - here's an internal pic in 2nd to give you an idea - nice, smart, bright and airy.

Not in shot here but every other window on the "high" floor sections opens like the Allegra.



Our connection on from Filisur to Bergün was a scratch set of hauled stock with Allegra 3503 for power, rather than the usual Alvra rake.

 

A quick hello to Krok 407 in it's shelter outside the railway museum in Bergün - more loco's should have window boxes IMHO. 



If there's anyone that isn't familiar, south of Bergün the railway does a big zigzag up the hillside, via a pair of spiral tunnels, so there's a nice bowl-shaped valley that the railway crosses 3 times, giving lots of opportinity for different shots.

Soon after we arrived, 704 climbs away from Bergün with a freight (we'd beaten the daylight to this side of the valley slightly!)
 

Before passing us again heading the opposite direction on the middle level...



Before looping round the ridge and popping out of the tunnel on the upper level...



We climbed a bit higher, and the shadows cleared the valley - Coop liveried 641 pushes down the hill on the hourly Chur bound train

ABB liveried Allegra 3510 on the middle level with the daily Chur-Tirano Bernina Express



622 heads downhill with the first Glacier Express of the day



A surprise - Tmf2/2 89 which had been at Thusis yesterday heads up the hill with a pair of side dump ballast wagons.



Our train from earlier was back from St Moritz and heads downhill, a rag-tag set of coaches with an Allegra for power, and one of the 2nd class Allegra style push-pull cabs in the lead.



633 with the second GEX of the day



643 climbs - I like this angle but I think the camera struggled with sudden big blocks of white paint arriving in shot!



Moving a bit further up/round - another downhill...



705 climbs the hill with another freight



And 704 comes back down...



As we work our way back to the station, 89 is back again, still with the two empty side dump cars (we suspect this is a driver training run?)



A final shot from the hillside - 642 pushes down the hill on the middle level (the upper level tunnel is just above the middle of the train)



Back at the station just after 1pm - and 641 is back from Chur with our train south, including the daily Gourmino round trip - I think this makes it 3 days in a row we'd ended up with this one for power!

[Glorious NSE]

South, past Preda, and into new territory for me.

A tight (but simple cross platform) change at Samedan connected us to a Pontresina bound train.

Past the world's highest intermodal rail terminal, at Cho D'Punt...



Another (less simple, but with much more time!) connection at Pontresina - 3502 arrives with our next train on the left, 3515 for St Moritz on the right - and you can just see the end of a wagon of logs which the shunter backed onto our train before departure.



With the St Moritz train gone we're well placed to do a nice portrait of 615 which had pushed our train from Samedan



The Bernina is a great route, and we had a perfect day for it...



OTP with a view - Xmf6/6 24402 at Ozpizio Bernina



Jon was trying to avoid going as far as Italy to reduce the risk of quarantine (ironically quarantine for Switzerland was brought in later in the week, but we weren't to know that!) - plus the late start meant we were only going to go as far as Alp Grüm.

Unfortunately the normal place to shoot from, in the middle of the loop, was hard to access - the snowsheds below are being worked on at present and this area is the base work site with an aerial ropeway down the mountain. (That pallet isn't really levitating.)

 
Flat 8271 trails our train round the curve...



We worked out you could work your way around the worksite to get a bit of a view, 54 leads the next train uphill.



Jon stayed here whilst I checked out some other angles...

3512 swings round the curve with the returning Bernina Express to Chur

Sister 3515 makes it's station call and heads down the hill for Tirano, with some open coaches on the back...
 

53 and 51 arrive to take us back North...



We stayed on right through to St Moritz, which we'd figured was a good bet for getting a GE4/4ii nose herald shot for Paul (did you get the email Paul?)

622 has just arrived with the Glacier Express, 642 waits with our onward connection.



Station with a view...



At Filisur our connection was the Pendelzug set powered by 511, with an ambience a little different to the Capricorn this morning!



Back at Davos Platz, and we end up platform sharing with 651, working Davos push pull sets now rather than yesterday's freights.



All the pics from this day? They would be here:
https://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/Daybyday/2020/2020-08-25-Davos-to-Bergün-Alp-Grüm-and-St-Moritz/
 

 

[PaulRhB]

10 minutes ago, Glorious NSE said:

for getting a GE4/4ii nose herald shot for Paul (did you get the email Paul?)

Yes thanks, Just checked as I wondered if it hadn’t gone but I did reply on 26th along with another mail warning that Switzerland was about to be added to the list in case you weren’t getting them out there. 
 

Cracking shots, I may well spend a full day on the middle of the Bernina next time as I’d like to walk around Alp Grum and Brusio so I need to look at staying in Samedan next time. 

Edited September 22, 2020 by PaulRhB

[Glorious NSE]

Thanks Paul, couldn't remember if I'd sent it or not! 

 

Oddly enough, Jon did a walk from Ospizio Bernina later in the week whilst I went to Tirano and back, but thats for another day's update. 

[Joseph_Pestell]

Do all these journeys require separate tickets? Or is there a Rover type ticket?

 

Your pictures certainly tempt me to make a visit in the future if I can get through the wreckage of my life that is being caused by Covid and its financial implications.  

[RFS]

38 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

Do all these journeys require separate tickets? Or is there a Rover type ticket?

 

Your pictures certainly tempt me to make a visit in the future if I can get through the wreckage of my life that is being caused by Covid and its financial implications.  

 

There's quite a range of travelcards and multi-day passes to choose from. Some of these also give you a 50% discount on the mountain railways too. 

 

Have a look here - https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets.html

[Glorious NSE]

We both had Interrail tickets if it helps, they come in a little less than the Swiss pass, though without the benefit of the post buses/boats/museums that one also covers. 

[PaulRhB]

27 minutes ago, Glorious NSE said: the Swiss pass, though without the benefit of the post buses/boats/museums that one also covers. 

And on most cable cars if serving a village and beyond that to the summits it’s half price on many too. 
I generally use enough other forms of transport to make the Swiss Pass cheaper and I got in the Albula Museum free too which is a tad overpriced otherwise I think. 
It really depends on your itinerary, for pure rail travel as Martyn says Interail is usually cheaper. 

[Glorious NSE]

Yep totally.

 

Once this moved from being a family holiday towards a RHB-Centric railfan trip it simplified the choice rather. 

 

The 2nd class 10 day Interrail pass is £357, so £35.70 per day, and apart from the Eurostar reservation fees (circa €30 each way) and the Underground that would have covered me from Exeter St Davids all the way there, all the trains we used in Switzerland, and back.

 

(Pretty sure I've paid more than £35.70 to get to London before.)

 

In the end, with Covid I decided to get a first class pass (£475) mainly as that gave me a single seat in a quieter coach on GWR/Eurostar/DB/SBB on the way there and back, I wouldn't have done that in normal times. 

 

Also worth checking out is whether you get anything free with your accommodation, ours came with a Davos pass that would have let us use the trains as far as Klosters Dorf and Filisur (including the heritage one) for free, plus local buses and discounts on lifts, cable cars and funiculars. 

 

In the end we didn't use it, but I'd have used that to save a couple of pass days if I'd have been doing the family version, and if I'd needed to free up an extra pass day it would have been no hardship to replan things to railfan only between those points for one of the days. 

Edited September 22, 2020 by Glorious NSE

[jonhall]

I looked at all the options as I was flying in and out, 

 

The Buega system seems to be a pre-load system https://www.buega.ch/DE/home.html I couldn't quite work out if it was for residents only.

 

There is also a day pass https://www.rhb.ch/en/tickets-travelcards/tickets/1-day-travelpasses

 

and a graubündenPASS - there were two zones, and an all zones , but it seemed a bit limited because of where the zones meet.

 

In the end once I added the cost of a train to and from Zurich airport (not necessarily direct   ) and the possibility I might go track bashing elsewhere if the weather or local lockdowns became a problem, I stuck with an Interrail one country - if I'd know Martyn had a 1st class pass I might have done the same.

 

Jon

 

 

[MOB 2002]

I can’t recommend the Swiss Pass enough. It makes a holiday in Switzerland one of the most relaxing experiences on earth. it might look pricey on the surface, but when you break it down and look at what it does for you, and your time in the country, it’s worth every penny.
 

Genuinely hassle free, multi-modal travel of the type most of the rest of the world can only dream of. Paddle steamer from Montreux to Lausanne, Metro within Lausanne then train back to Montreux without a single stop at a ticket machine or booking office ... you could easily take it for granted. 

 

It looks like I was at the other end of Switzerland at the same time as the authors of this thread. The MOB is undergoing many of the multiple unit focussed changes that the RhB appears to be. Still a few opportunities to sample the old order though thankfully.

 

Mark

[jonhall]

 

The other thing that confuses me about the graubündenPASS is the cost structure - the full fare is CHF149 but with the HALF fare card, it reduces to... CHF116.... perhaps Swiss fractions work differently?

 

Jon

[MOB 2002]

The Half Fare card is geared up for Swiss residents from what I’ve seen. I get the impression most Swiss have one.
 

I’m guessing that the Graubunden Pass is geared up for foreign visitors. Perhaps that’s why there’s an apparent disjoint?

 

Mark

[DGO]

15 hours ago, jonhall said:

 

The other thing that confuses me about the graubündenPASS is the cost structure - the full fare is CHF149 but with the HALF fare card, it reduces to... CHF116.... perhaps Swiss fractions work differently?

 

Jon

 

I think I can answer this, maybe, It's almost certainly because the half fare card is probably not valid for some of the things the graubündenPASS covers (typically private railways, funiculars and busses) so you end up with a reduced reduction probably between 20 and 25 percent, you get a similar deal in the Jungfrauregion.

 

Special note if you travel with your children and they are under 15 Get a family card, kids with a family card get a massive reduction om Swiss Rail 

[Glorious NSE]

Mini update - I did an early, slightly pre-dawn walk out on the morning of Weds 26th to catch the Spar container arriving - this travels up on the back of RE4011 Monday to Saturday, 05.13 off Landquart, 06.33 into Davos Platz - wagon and swapbody returns to Landquart on the daily freight in the afternoons.



As soon as it arrives, the shunter zooms into action, pulling the wagon off the back...




And moving it to the crane at the West end of the station...

There is only a 4 minute time difference between the image above and the one below, and by the time I walked out of the station the swapbody was already being transhipped - as soon as the flat is spotted the truck driver transloads the swapbody and secures it.




06.44, 11 minutes after arrival and the truck leaves the terminal!



Intermodal terminals as walking routes is one thing - but on the Saturday evening this area was being used as the venue for a womens yoga class.  (No photo's, sorry...) 

[eastwestdivide]

On the variety of travel passes, it helps to know what you’re planning to do - I’ve ended up with a spreadsheet for previous holiday planning, sometimes yielding surprising results like an Interrail despite staying in a relatively small area. Also worth a mention are the discounted advance purchase day passes for all of Switzerland, the Saver Day Pass: https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/1-day-travelpass/saver-day-pass.html

[jonhall]

By the time I was up and about (in time to catch the 9.30 to Filisur) the truck was not only back, but the container unloaded and back on the wagon, and the truck pulling away.

 

Jon

[Glorious NSE]

After nipping back to finish getting ready I headed back out again before Jon - something I wanted to do was the walk between Monstein and Wiesen, so off we go with the 07.31 departure formed of Capricorn 3112

First class end - presume the 2nd class end car also has the see through view though - unlike the 3 car Allegra these have all the first class one end...



Davos Monstein - I did this walk a little early and the sun hadn't hit the valley yet - but as it was set to be a scorcher of a day that may have been for the best in terms of comfort, if not photography.
 

Just west the river and railway enter a deep section of gorge - this viaduct/gallery/tunnel combo is quite modelleable...



I hung around for 3112 to come back from Filisur before continuing down the path in the photo above - the path is the old road down the valley, replaced by a long road tunnel in the 70s, it's a good example of what passed for transport pre-railway.



3117 was on the next Filisur round trip - this bridge is sandwiched between two tunnels and leaps the river and road in one span.



Looking back - 1850s road tunnel, 1910s railway, 1970s air vents for the road tunnel looking like a bond lair.



The gorge gets rapidly deeper after this point, the next clear view of the railway is here - a tiny gap between two tunnels, where a waterfall crosses and then plunges down into the now much deeper ravine below...



Wierdly I messed up at this point, I hurried on to Wiesen believing I needed to catch the next train, in reality i'd planned and had time to wait here to try for a shot.

The path leaves the old road and heads through the woods, with more occasional glimpses...



Before arriving at Wiesen in time for 3112 to arrive with Jon on board.

We checked out a shot i'd wanted to do from the old road bridge over the gorge here, but it was being rebuilt and there was nowhere to shoot from.



We used the footpath to cross the gorge on the railway viaduct and I shot 3112 heading back to Davos



Jon stayed on here to shoot the next train, and I went back to the station to catch it...415 arrives with the heritage train.



Was very lucky the first compartment was empty, which gave me a small forward facing window - we cross the viaduct again.



One of the other viaducts, shot from the corridor doorway.



Running round at Filisur



642 shoves away northbound to Chur



And I get 641 again for my journey south!



Farewell 415...

Edited September 25, 2020 by Glorious NSE

[Glorious NSE]

Our choice for the heat of the day was Samedan - with the benefits of plenty of traffic and nice big canopies for shade plus the usual attached supermarket for ice cream supplies!

Jon would join me an hour later after shooting 415 on the viaduct back at Wiesen.

So what's it like - Samedan is a major hub on the system. This view is looking roughly North East towards Bever - P1 on the left is used for freight moves, P2 is used by the hourly Chur-St Moritz services in both directions. P3 by the hourly Scuol-Tarasp to Pontresina in both directions - those have a cross platform connection and I suspect when the rebuild currently underway at Bever (temporarily a single track through there at the time of our visit) is complete they will have parallel routes right through using the new double track section.

P4/5 are used by Landquart-St Moritz services, currently running at a slightly uneven service with one or two hour gaps.

There's a siding in the distance on the left used as a mail hub - a yard on the right, and various depot buildings too.



The yard sported this nice pair of Kirows and their runners.



On arrival - 89 waits to depart, looks like another training run.



Sister 86, the Cho D'Punt shunter waits by the goods shed near P1



And 633 waits with a Pendelzug set (and the sole 2 axle cement wagon still on the revenue roster?)
The Pendelzug didn't move, and wasn't there on the other days we passed through.



There's 3 push pull sets in use on Scuol-Pontresina trains, happily presenting us with some new GE4/4ii to shoot over the time we were there (the Landquart trains were all 4/4ii as well.)



Our first freight move - 652 arrives with 5129 off the Albula. The 8 wagon rake was quickly split into 3 sections with 652 drawing the Galliker container wagon forward before uncoupling and heading to the other side of the station for it's return loads.

One of the wagons was a Valser van that had been in the Valser siding at Ilanz on Sunday, suggesting they do use them to move the occasional Valser load on other routes.



86 came out of the siding between the Galliker container and vans, and took them off towards Cho D'Punt. 652 is coupling up to some vans for a later departure.



Whilst 633 sprung into action and picked the remaining 4 wagons from the rear and moved them into the yard.



GE4/4i arrives with another freight giving us our second and final one of these this trip - not sure where this working came from but I presume from the Zernez direction. I went to shoot the Kirow's from the other side of the yard at this point, but I think 633 then dropped the wagons of gravel which had arrived behind 652 onto the back of this rake and took them up to the Albula tunnel site at Spinas.



The posties deliver some mail, and the Samedan yard shunter goes over and picks up 3 mail vans - these would be added to the back of a Chur bound train



652 comes back into the station from the headshunt with 4 vans to form Albula freight 5152

 

Another unexpected move, diesel 23403 arrives with a short rake of ballast hoppers to run round.

 

Albula freight 5135 arrives with 703 for power. 703 and the van would head off to Pontresina...215 would shunt the rest once the mail has gone.
 

703 returned from Pontresina with 3 tanks...



Shunter 215 with 633, back from Spinas light engine and waiting to head for St Moritz to pick up a passenger train.



With a decent haul of pics, time to move on - and time for me to knock some more routes off, as we board a Landquart bound train...
 

[jonhall]

Having reunited Martyn with his lunchbox as we bumped into each other at Weisen, I photographed the outbound croc on the viaduct, then returned to Davos Glaris, where I got off the train with the intention of photographing the croc's departure, and waiting for the service train - then I was given a nasty surprise when the service train arrived before the croc left, and I had to scuttle back to the station to catch the service train to catch Martyn up.

 

Jon

[PaulRhB]

2 hours ago, Glorious NSE said:

and the sole 2 axle cement wagon still on the revenue roster?

Not quite there’s four left 93121-4 now under the Xc group. 

http://www.haribu.ch/RhB_Roma/X.pdf

93121 was at Chur last year

[Glorious NSE]

X types are engineers wagons though, hence the "revenue" qualifier.

 

8001 is I think the last one in the revenue number range judging from the Haribu lists.

 

(This was a shot from another day, showing the nice new shed here for the heritage coach fleet too, I hadn't spotted that logo till just now!) 

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Glorious NSE

[PaulRhB]

55 minutes ago, Glorious NSE said:

 

X types are engineers wagons though, hence the "revenue" qualifier.

 

Good point, well made  

 

I guess it uses the same hose fittings as the container tanks so I wonder why they didn’t just move the whole lot over as they could easily requisition them in the unlikely event of a job where only a short wagon would fit? 
I’d ask over on Grischun but it keeps blocking me for days on end because 3 is a blacklisted network! 

Edited September 26, 2020 by PaulRhB

[JHRL6971]

Having also been in Switzerland from 20th-23rd August, I have found this thread all very interesting. 

 

One question I do have is how many Innotren salons RhB have? Certainly in the post of 14th September above there is apparently one of them on the rear of a Disentis/M-Scoul/T train hauled by Ge4/4 II 632 - and apparently taken in the afternoon on Saturday 22nd August. I ask as I saw one together with a stabled Ge6/6 II 707 at Samedan around 11:45 on the same day. We had arrived at Samedan from Filsur where we'd taken the first Crocodile trip of the day. 

If there is only one Innotren salon - any ideas what its moves where that day?  

"6971"