Glorious NSE

Yep, agree that it's definitely a fine line between "iconic" and "cliched".

Thanks - yes good call. To all RMWeb-peeps - if there's anything specific on RhB that folk want shots of, let me know. No guarantees and no promises obviously, but if I can I will...

I would suggest including at least a representation of Campocologno station, as from what I can see, the station is where the freight traffic is attached/detached from passing trains. No Brusio spiral either? Signature scene, and would increase the run between Campocologno and Brusio to be closer to the longer distances between the "higher" stations?

The flats can take a 40' (deck length is just over 50'), and the weight is ok (they are designed to also do log traffic!) I've never seen a 40' loaded tho! Always wondered whether High cubes would fit too! Guess there's just not the demand to move that much of anything in one hit!

Minor intermodal-nerd observation - I knew the wagons had the capability but i'd not seen it used - a couple of days last week there were ISO 20' boxes being carried on some of the Albula freights: https://www.schmalspurbahn.ch/filisur/webcam/a200807113855727 https://www.schmalspurbahn.ch/filisur/webcam/a200806113939887 They all look very patched/weathered, so I'm unsure whether that points to old boxes moving to be used as storage units somewhere? (The 30' fuel tank containers in one of those pics are pretty cool also...)

I'd be amazed if the number of Allegra purchased wasn't based on cascading the last 3x pair of Bernina railcars out of use at some future point to be honest! It's also an intermodal terminal - check the crane with the spreader bars. If you look at the RhB website (make sure you switch to the German language version, as lots doesn't show up on the English version) there's an awful lot of info on freight traffic capability, what different terminals can handle, and even GA drawings of many of the wagon types.

A nice contrast between cab rides - Filisur to Davos with a Capricorn, and return to Filisur (including the shunt moves) on the Krok. Performance on the Capricorns is pretty smart! (And if anyone has the question "what does the inside of Davos shed look like?", this will help.)

Also Scuol-Tarasp over the Austrian border to Landeck is another good "what if" - something that's had real-life studies done on building it more recently too! https://www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/bvfd/ds/projekte/nvv/Bahnverbindung Scuol - Landeck/Seiten/default.aspx (The link to download the PDFs is on the right of the page - lots of other fun "what ifs" there as well for any proto-freelancing RhB fans!) One plus with modelling the Bernina accurately is that you should be able to model most of the stock - Kato makes the 3 car Allegra units that pull most trains, plus the Bernina Express panoramic cars - Pirata are producing the older railcars (not cheap, but for the present day you want more Allegra which are relatively affordable.) Short Bernina versions of the various other hauled coach builds are available as 3d prints, you might be able to kitbash the Kato ones down in length too. The Bernina doesn't see freight trains but the freight is worked as tail traffic on the regular passenger trains, wagons (as with all bits of the RhB) are harder to find in the scale, but there are kitbash routes - logs to Tirano seems to be common so the Pirata wagon could help here. Doesn't mean you *have* to do it accurately and exclude the other stock available of course - but if you wanted to it wouldn't be hugely hard to cover the bulk of the stock needs.

That whole gorge section is effectively a massive ancient slide! Another pic here - doesn't look like a huge amount of damage, but if they have spare power right now who knows... https://www.suedostschweiz.ch/ereignisse/2020-08-02/zugverkehr-zwischen-reichenau-tamins-und-ilanz-laeuft-wieder

Or with dodgy suggestions on what people could do with the knowledge maybe? Either way, I suppose its good that it's a choice he has made and not a situation where he's been reprimanded.

I wish!

Thanks - just trying to work out what I can get away with balancing riding the trains and shooting them...

Quick query - this is just outside Filisur? If you shoot this one here - is there still time to get back to the station to ride it back? Looks tight but do-able for the heritage train due to the runround, but presumably won't work for the normal trains?

Buchs is the traditional traction change point for wagonload freight between OBB and SBB/CFF/FFS, common to see both railways loco's there.

Makes note to try and add trains R4367 and R4718 to the must-try-and-ride list.... Here's 701 on R4718 waiting to depart Ilanz for Chur last August:

Yep, it'd be getting the Parsennbahn funiculars up to the ridgeline then walking down to pick up the Arosa train at Langweis, that's a marked path so far as I can tell. Not sure I like the idea of walking up the mountains as well.

Yep, will be just me rather than the family, which is a shame, but on the up-side it'll let me chase more trains and go to places I wouldn't have taken them. (Looking at things like going Davos to Arosa including a walk down from the ridge to Langweis for example, Sophie and Rach wouldn't have handled that walk but it looks fun.)

They've had essentially 4x spare Allegra's for the past few months with the 4x pairs of BEX trains being out of action, so their use in different places is logical - i'm expecting that to have reduced now that most of the BEX pairs are back, they should only have one extra spare now in theory. Don't think much else will change till the December timetable change - even then the depot for them is still under construction and there are only a relatively small number of the 56 delivered at this time. Looks like delivered Capricorns are being stored in odd quiet sidings though. I'd still expect fewer loco hauled trains diagrammed every year for the next couple of years. Though maybe, despite the extra 20 ordered the impact will be less than we thought - did anyone else pick up on the "new standard platform length" for the Landquart to Klosters section in one of the youtube video's - it's sized for 4 sets - 16 car trains!

Think I've posted a link to this really useful site with booked passenger train formation info before - but the Allegra variant of this particular working makes my head hurt : https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php?zeme=RhB&cislo=1036&nazev=&rok=2020

Well, it would show off a Milka cow quite nicely anyhow. Update on RhB passenger ops: Normal timetables running on all lines bar the panoramic trains. Davos-Filisur "Heritage" turns are running. Sat/Sun Rhine Gorge trains are running. Weds/Thurs 15/16 Jul to 12/13 Aug the historic Bernina cars are running a service running between Pontresina and Alp Grum GEX: Only 902/903 are running currently (Zermatt-St Moritz) 904/905 (Same end points) restart 18th July according to the GEX site (but weirdly not the RhB one!) The Zermatt-Chur and St Moritz-Brig and return runs look unlikely (to me) to restart this year. BEX: Only 950/951 (Chur-Tirano) operating at present, with extra stops at Filisur, Pontresina and Campocologno to keep service there From July 30th 973/974/975/976 (the St Moritz-Tirano pairs) recommence running from Thursdays to Sundays only The Landquart-Davos-Tirano pair again look unlikely to restart this year.

Pure guesswork on the gondola loads, but the construction materiel that you sometimes nowadays see on flats (eg prefab concrete parts) - and non-bulk stuff with no need of weather protection (oil/chemical drums?) Strikes me the sides are deliberately very high also, and I wonder if that's to allow them to be used for cattle transport if needed?

Just for a more precise answer to support MOB FAN's post: From the Swiss embassy page: https://www.eda.admin.ch/london (I highlighted England - as this may be different for Wales/Scotland/NI...) And the Swiss end: Worth also noting that face masks are now mandatory on public transport in Switzerland - I think that also is the case for the other countries you'd travel through if going overland...

I have a non refundable deposit on accom for a week in Davos in Aug which was supposed to be the family holiday - I'm considering going on my own as a railfan trip due to the circumstances tho, It's in the back of my mind it'll start to be a very different railway after this year...

Looks like they were lucky, the damage to the low floor car is pretty catastrophic.

Option taken up for 20 additional Capricorn units, making it 56 sets in total: https://railcolornews.com/2020/06/12/ch-option-confirmed-twenty-more-capricorns-for-rhatische-bahn/