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eastwestdivide

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  1. eastwestdivide
    After passing through four countries in one day yesterday, it's the same number again today. Friedrichshafen to Lindau in a 2-car DB diesel unit. A few things of interest there, including the 'Alex' private operator of Lindau-Munich trains using newer locos and older refurbished compartment coaches, in a natty turquoisey-blue colour:

     
    the Zurich-Munich train which comes in via Austria using a Swiss electric, and leaves (Lindau is a terminus) behind two German diesels:


     
    and a half-timbered signalbox in the under-used yards at Lindau, Lrm apparently standing for Lindau Reutin Mitte:

     
    Away from Lindau in another ÖBB S-Bahn to Feldkirch, from where I walked to the Liechtenstein border:

     
    Not a very inspiring start, a Swiss customs post on the Austria-Liechtenstein border, but onwards and following a map, it was up into some low hills on a nature trail through the woods. Here I discovered that you can make a million matches from a tree, but destroy a million trees with a match:

     
    Getting really hot, glad I'd brought two water bottles, but the only place open in Nendeln was a Spar shop, thankfully with Mövenpick ice cream. Onwards and upwards through the trees took me up to a little village, Planken, on a plateau heading into the mountains, with some excellent views over the endless steppes of Liechtenstein, and Swiss mountains (Appenzell area) beyond:

     
    By sheer good fortune, a Railjet appeared after only 10 minutes (Zurich-Innsbruck and beyond I think, they're only every couple of hours). Wow, a train in Leichtenstein!

     
    and crossed a return service in Nendeln station. Wow, two trains in Liechtenstein!

     
    A longer shalllower descent took me to the outskirts of Vaduz and towards the Rhine. Two hours after the previous shots, I was on a level with the next Railjet:

     
    On reaching the Rhine, it was farewell to Liechtenstein, after only 5 hours, having walked the width of the country:

     
    An extremely quiet country once away from the main road that takes traffic between Austria and Switzerland, and even the few locals I saw didn't seem very talkative. A brief 'hoi' counted for an in-depth conversation. Bit like Yorkshire really in that respect.
    Across the Rhine lay Buchs, where this steam loco was plinthed:

     
    Then a repeat of yesterday's route back to Friedrichshafen, with the added bonus of an ice cream break at Lindau caused by the cancellation of a DB service to Friedrichshafen. The only real problem of the whole week's travel. The next one was absolutely heaving with day-trippers who had had a sunny day on the shores of Lake Constance, evidenced by the pink and red arms and legs.
     
    That's about it now for this blog. An uneventful journey back through Germany the following day, via Ulm, Stuttgart, the high speed line to Cologne, back over the border at Venlo (where there was a Swiss BLS Cargo loco), and the Harwich ferry. Until next time...
  2. eastwestdivide
    As you might have guessed, my next target was the RhB. This entry covers the Italian side of the border in Tirano, over a couple of days. One was slightly cloudy, the other somewhat better.
     
    There's a fair bit of timber traffic on the RhB, with some of the wagons seen here in the station yard, and in the background, a green-grey Trenord train in the next-door station:

     
    Goods shunting is handled by one of these nifty orange things:

     
    The line out of Tirano famously runs through the street and across a roundabout in the square in front of the Basilica di Madonna, as here, with a St Moritz-Tirano train. Like many Bernina line services, it's carrying tail traffic, this time some more logs:

     
    Since most of the services are formed of either the new Allegra EMUs or the older EMU cars with coaches or wagons trailing, Tirano station also has an electric shunter to detach the trailing vehicles:

     
    There's a useful hillside path opposite the Basilica, the start of a long-distance path, the Via Albula Bernina. It zigzags through terraced growing areas to Santa Perpetua, and although it was a bit dull that day, it gives a panoramic view of the town and its stations, RhB to the left of the Trenord one...

     
    ...and a nice view of departures, here one of the Bernina Express trains:

     
    It also offers a "double-take" opportunity:


     
    And when you've had enough climbing, there are plenty of pavement cafes, benches and other vantage points just to watch the trains go by. So that's what I did:

    Being Italy, the cars just follow the train through without waiting for the flashing red lights and bells to stop.
    More RhB eccentricities to follow... arrivederci.
  3. eastwestdivide
    Well it's that time of the year again, and this year sees a train journey into Europe, using a 5-days-in-10 InterRail pass, crossing a lot of borders on slow trains and on foot, and including a walk from east to west through an entire country.
    Every journey has to start somewhere, and mine started at Rotherham, where this hove into view:

     
    before I took a Northern pacer to Doncaster, East Coast to Peterborough, and Anglia through to Harwich for a meal in Harwich town, before boarding the overnight ferry to Hook of Holland (single occupancy of a double cabin:

    Nice and comfy, not bad value, only downside being the call to breakfast consisting of the opening bars of "Don't Worry Be Happy" at instant full volume, regardless of whether you have booked breakfast or not. There's nothing like a gentle wake-up call, and that was indeed nothing like a gentle wake-up call.
    Anyway, the ship's doors were opened on the dot of 0745, and by dint of using the stairs not the lift, I managed to march down the gangplank, first through customs and onto the platform by 0752 for the 0756 to Rotterdam, consisting of one of the older-looking Dutch Sprinter units:

     
    A quick change at Rotterdam into a pair of these ugly beasts:

    the Koploper, which were in fact pretty fast and comfortable inside. I thought the train was making good progress until somewhere south of Dordrecht, an Amsterdam-Paris Thalys overtook at what seemed like double my train's speed.
    Change at Venlo, where some US tourists were having credit card trouble paying for coffee - no chip+pin, so they ended up paying cash. Biggish station with freight yards, and one of these local units, the articulated Stadler GTW:

    The red bit with William Tell on the side is effectively a very short diesel power car, and the rest of the unit is without underfloor engines.
    However, my train was one of these:

    a pretty comfy local Eurobahn Stadler FLIRT over the border as far as Düsseldorf. From there, it was an IC along the scenic route - following the Rhine through Cologne, Koblenz, Boppard, Mainz, Mannheim and off at Heidelberg, for a change to the one IC per day that goes into the Black Forest. It was running a bit late due to a police incident as far as I could tell, but while waiting there was this, one of the few remaining DB 103, on Austrian coaches, apparently a regular turn according to Wikipedia, the IC 118 Innsbruck-Münster:

     
    And then on my late-running IC into the Black Forest, on which I was interviewed for a DB traffic survey, and finally to my bed for a couple of nights in Hornberg. That's the long and boring bit out of the way. More to come shortly.
  4. eastwestdivide
    A nice day for a walk, so I picked up the Panoramaweg (no translation needed) around Hornberg, a town chosen for (1) being in the Black Forest, (2) having a station and (3) having a viaduct.
    After briefly unzipping the lower legs of my convertible walking trousers, the sun decided to come and go for the rest of the day, but still, there were some good views to be had.
     
    Looking across to the castle, we have the typical regular services of an electric with 3-4 double-deck coaches working push-pull:


    And closer in, showing the square and church:

     
    Further on round, I was instructed to "drink beer and help a farmer":

    which seemed only reasonable, no need to upset the locals.
    After lunch, it was back up the other side of the valley, with views of the one IC service a day each way, here formed with the driving trailer just behind the loco:

    and a regular service when the light had changed:

     
    I did glimpse a freight of possibly coal hoppers through the trees, so it wasn't all passenger services, but unfortunately no photo. One other rail-related photo for today - apparently just in use as a base to stack cut timber:

     
    After that, it was food all the way - on and around the panorama path to the cuckoo clock shop for a slice of cake in the Edelweiss cafe (yes, corny as anything, and of course I had Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, or, for the Hairy Bikers who can't pronounce it, Black Forest Gateau), then back to base for dinner. It was the asparagus season, so again, you'd be rude not to try and fit in with the local customs.
    Tomorrow, more border crossings, in a vaguely southeasterly direction. Any guesses? Answers to follow some time soon.
    After all that beer, schlaf gut!
  5. eastwestdivide
    Last day, it's a bit cloudy, and I've presents to buy... so up to Andermatt for souvenir shopping, one hop on the train to Hospental, and a gentle wander back along the valley. The tourist horse-drawn post coach was in town, complete with a man in a van for the luggage, who also had a shovel for cleaning up afterwards:


     
    Every hour at Andermatt, it looks totally chaotic, as coaches are removed from the Brig-Göschenen train, only a portion going forward, while in the station at the same time is the Disentis/Andermatt service plus the one coming up the hill from Göschenen and one going to Brig (I think that's right - I never did get it all straight in my head!)
    This photo is taken from the Brig-bound train, which is trapped in platform 4 until some of the others have gone and the spare coaches are shunted out of the way for a returning service:

     
    Everything sorts itself out eventually, and I hopped off at Hospental, where I lay in wait for the Glacier Express, or rather Expresses, as in summer, there are four in each direction, at roughly half hour intervals, four trains eastbound and then four west:


     
    View back from the tower in the previous picture to the right of the church, towards Andermatt:

     
    You can also see right across to the curves up the hill to the other side of Andermatt. Glacier Express in the centre of the picture:

     
    Local train at Hospental, in the typical Andermatt-Brig formation with the loco in the centre:

     
    Two Glacier Expresses for the price of one: as the first heads west in the valley, the next is making its way down the hill into Andermatt:

     
    Local train by the river

     
    And back to Andermatt station, where a stabled loco and track machine will soon be passed by a train from Disentis coming down the hill. I did see one of the older locos (HGe 4/4I I think) with a kind of veranda at the front, running light engine, but I wasn't quick enough with my camera to record it.

     
    The technology that makes the hills possible:

     
    And finally back to Göschenen, as the clouds close in:

     
    All that's left is a "routine" journey tomorrow to Basel, changing for the somewhat claustrophobic double-deck Lyria TGV to Paris, then Eurostar to Ashford and a quick change (6 mins from Eurostar to Javelin, including buying a ticket from the machine!) to get back to my bed for the night in Kent.
    For the record, when I left my hotel, the clouds were down and the mountains had disappeared for once - my umbrella was needed after all, for the 2 minute stumble down to the station:

     
    That's all folks. If you've sat through my holiday snaps to the end, thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed being there and then writing about it.
  6. eastwestdivide
    Grüezi wohl mitanand.
    A day of two halves today. Early rain put me off a possible walk up from the Italian side of the Gotthard pass, but the rain left off by about 10, so it's on with the rucksack and away up the side valley from Göschenen. After rain is apparently a good time to see the local salamanders, just sitting on the path, not bothered about running away:

     
    Then through some woods, out into alpine meadows and ever upwards (patience, there's some transport interest coming later):



     
    At one point a herd of goats, which had ignored me as I walked past them, started to follow, all in single file, and at a respectful distance, along the path up the face of the hydro-electric scheme dam at Göscheneralpsee (1792m, 5879ft):

     
    Evidently Swiss goats are better behaved than Lake District sheep, as they didn't follow me to the top, or pester me for my lunch at this pleasant spot. The horizontal line is the maximum water level, above which the rocks are more weathered or covered with vegetation. It was probably at its lowest level then in late spring/early summer, as all the available water for filling it is frozen through the winter, and it's only the melt that begins to fill it. The nearby Sustenpass had only just opened after the winter snows that week I was there in early June.

     
    It's a dead-end valley, with very little habitation, but every two hours, there's a post bus from Göschenen station. In case you don't know, Swiss post buses have a distinctive three-tone horn, the C sharp, E and A of the title, which I'm told no other vehicles are allowed to use. Five Francs or so to the driver, literally just as the rain started, and we're off on a superb ride. If the driver of the coach in the Italian Job had been a Swiss post bus driver, they wouldn't have had a cliffhanger ending:

     
     
    So much for the buses, now back to the trains. A gentle amble down from Göschenen station along part of the walking trail towards Wassen, but only as far as the first avalanche shelter. A fair variety of freights, including many with the Re6/6 + 4/4 combination, also the Flash Fire loco mentioned in yesterday's part 5.
     
    Gotthard stopping train, showing the panorama car, also the older coaches at the front (furthest from the camera) for reserved groups:

     
    Typical freight formation:

     
    ICN, showing the tilt in action:

     
    Three shots of the same freight, double-headed and banked. How many horsepower? Wikipedia gives 10,700 for the 6/6 and 6,300 for each of the 4/4s, so that's 23,300 hp for the train. It's about the same gradient as the Lickey Incline, 1 in 37 or 2.7%, and for a much greater distance:



     
    Flash Fire - this page tells me it's named after a famous diamond, and is hired by Railpool to RailCare, an affiliate of the Swiss Coop.

     
    Milan train passing a Kabelbude, or "cable booth" as the info board translated it - a secure, weatherproof junction box for signalling cables:

     
    Yet more containers, Re6/6 leading this time:

     
    The only tricky thing about photographing there is the steep valley sides causing shadows and strong contrast with the high ground in sun. You can't really complain about steep valley sides in the mountains though - it would be like saying the sea's too wet for swimming.
     
    Only one full day left - where has the week gone?
  7. eastwestdivide
    There's a leaflet in Göschenen station showing the Gotthard rail path, which runs down the valley, close to the track at some points, past the three levels of track at Wassen, and onwards. There's also a detour to an Aussichstspunkt (viewpoint) marked. Looks like a plan for the day. Load up the rucksack, and we're off for a day's linesiding. Apologies in advance to the Swiss train experts, but I'm no expert on identification, so some of the descriptions may be a bit vague.
     
    First, in a little garage in Göschenen, not attached to any line, was the snow clearance thingy from the Furka steam railway (based in Realp), presumably there for summer maintenance/overhaul (the sign says Revisionswerkstatt - overhaul workshop).


     
    Next, some trains around Göschenen, including a DB/BLS double-header: the DB loco came off here, and headed off back downhill, as a single loco is enough for the onward journey. Also an Italian job, on a Milan/Zurich journey, high above the motorway, which thankfully enters the road tunnel before the village:



     
    The levelling out of the gradient into Göschenen station is very noticeable. The avalanche shelter half way up the picture is the MGB line to Andermatt again:

     
    From here the path goes down alongside the line and then steeply downwards away from the line, until you get a panorama of Wassen village, with the famous church on the left, the motorway and below, the lowest of the three levels of railway which curve up passing the village three times:

     
    At this point, the detour to the viewpoint kicks off uphill, very steeply, seriously, ridiculously steep - take walking poles if you can - severely testing my water rations, until you make it to a little railway workers' hut (Wärterhaus Eggwald), with a nice bit of shade. This is on the top level of the three, at the Göschenen end of Wassen:

     
    and a good sturdy fence for fixing the compact camera + mini-tripod, for a video moment:
     

     
    Back down through the woods:

     
    To Wassen station (no train services stop here as far as I can tell), on the second of the three levels. ICN tilting train (IC Neigezug) and another BLS freight. Both trains here are pointing northwards, but travelling to the south, as this is the middle level, where the line has already turned 180 degrees in order to gain height. It does this at both ends of the village to end up pointing the same way but many metres higher. The lowest level is visible on the left in the first picture. You could spend ages there even without a camera, just watching the same train appear and disappear. Even the motorway wasn't that intrusive I thought:


     
    From the station, it's a short walk into the village, for refreshments, and a little climb to the churchyard, where spiritual refreshment wasn't my purpose. Useful bit of shade again, as the temperature was still climbing.
    ICN on the second level Meienreuss viaduct, plus, out of its area, a "Tilo" (Ticino-Lombardia) EMU from the Swiss/Italian border region, presumably empty for maintenance somewhere(?). The Tilo unit is on the third level, with the second level visible below it.


     
    From the same spot, a short freight, single Re6/6 including postal wagons, and then a GSM radio measurement coach (Funkmesswagen Telecom SBB), loco at the back and driving trailer at the front


     
    And a few videos, of which one here:

     
    From the church, it was down to the village again, and up part of the Sustenpass road, to a viewpoint near the top level Meienreuss viaduct. A little obstructed by trees, but a few nice angles. ICN and church / Gotthard stopping train / another freight, double-headed Crossrail:

     
    Back to the village, and drop exhausted onto the bus back to Göschenen, passing a sign on a garage that said 33 degrees.
    The freights just kept rolling, with this once I got back to Göschenen:

     
    A great day, and that was only a small selection. There were freight trains both ways at least one per hour, plus one ICN, one regional stopping train (loco-hauled), and two-hourly Milan trains. Catch them while you can though, as the base tunnel will be opening in the next few years, drastically reducing traffic over this section.
     
    To finish, a bit of bilingual poetry at the linguistic barrier between the German and Italian speaking parts of Switzerland:

     
    Does the mountain whisper?
    Does it sleep?
    Does the mountain hear?
    Does it weep?
    Does the mountain sing?
    Does it dream?
     
    Perhaps we should start a campaign for an artwork at Shap summit:
    This is the night train, crossing the border
    Bringing the cheque and the postal order
    ...
  8. eastwestdivide
    Enough with all these trains: time for a bit of history and a change of language. South through the Gotthard Tunnel to Bellinzona in Ticino, the main Italian-speaking area of Switzerland, where the three castles guarding the valley are a World Heritage Site. By happy coincidence, you can see the railway from them too.
    The obvious entrance when walking from the station, appears less and less inviting the closer you get to it. An odd concrete slit in the corner of a modern piazza, with a sign moulded into the concrete "Premio Beton 89" (Concrete Prize 89), followed by a dingy passageway to a couple of lifts. No notices or signs, so I pressed the button and waited. Gave up and started walking away, when there was a ping and the doors opened. Again, no signs in the lifts, just two buttons, so I pressed the upper one, and away went the lift to an outer courtyard in the castle. Odd.


     
    Here are the middle (left) and highest (top centre) castles taken from the lowest one in the city centre:

     
    View north to the Alps from the city, showing the start of the two mountain passes which the castles were intended to guard. On the left is the route to the Gotthard, and on the right towards the San Bernadino and Chur. At one point there was a defensive wall right across the valley, but it was swept away in floods.

     
    From the same viewpoint, a glimpse of some railway yards:

     
    Walking round through the city centre, you can get to a nice bridge to the south, with a view up to the middle castle. Centre-cab diesel shunting/trip (?) loco, and a triple-headed freight, possibly construction traffic from the Gotthard base tunnel. Slight case of shutter lag with the front loco just behind the gantry.


     
    Onwards and upwards to the battlements, you get the reverse view, plus a distant view of Lago Maggiore:


     
    ...and another freight train, loco possibly Railpool Railcare 186.104 "Flash Fire" (looks like one I saw elsewhere this week, also at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gian2812-ferrovieinrete/8439885037/), with a centre-cab diesel at the back of the train:

     
    And on the way up the the top castle, basking in the afternoon heat, was this fine specimen:

     
    Back at the station, I somehow resisted the temptation to take a photo of a bus belonging to Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi, obviously with the initials painted on close to the exhaust pipe. Many of the S-Bahn/local trains were the white Tilo EMUs, but some were this type of push-pull:

     
    Back to the hotel, and sitting outside waiting for my soup to arrive, with a nice Klosterbräu beer...

     
    ...I glimpsed the white roofs of some coaches pulling into Göschenen station. Peering over, it looked like the Orient Express, so I grabbed my phone, and hopped down for some pics. One of the locos appears to be in an older livery, white/cream as well as red. It had pulled in to be overtaken by an ICN. Looking it up afterwards, it's only on a very few occasions during the year that it's routed this way, so luck was on my side. Gave a friendly wave to the champagne-sipping diners: I wondered if that was "the done thing", for a peasant to wave at the nobility, but to be fair, a lot waved back.



     
    So, a cultural day with a few trains thrown in for good luck, not to mention the ice creams. I have to say the the Swiss version of Italian is a lot easier to understand than the Swiss version of German.
    Schlof guat und morn a guata Start!
  9. eastwestdivide
    So, first day proper, the sun's shining, and the forecast is warm to hot. After muesli, tea, bread and an attempted conversation with an enormous Austrian, whose German was nearly unintelligible to me, it was time to gather up the necessary equipment - general map, cameras, three water bottles, hat, sturdy shoes and waterproof+umbrella (unused):

     
    Göschenen sits at almost the same altitude (1111m, 3645ft asl) as the summit of Snowdon (1085m, 3560ft), and today's "stroll" just goes up and up, then up some more. From above the station, a Gotthard route stopping train and the MGB train up the Schöllenenschlucht (Schöllenen gorge) to Andermatt, whose route I followed for the first part of the day. On the right, you can see the former car shuttle loading platform used before the Gotthard road tunnel opened.


     
    A little further up, you can see another MGB train in the gorge, as well as the Häderlisbrücke of 1649, rebuilt 1991 after a storm. This is part of the old Gotthard pass route, now bypassed by the road and rail tunnels.

    Turning round, the view up the gorge is daunting, with avalanche shelters for road and rail:

     
    A slow plod upwards in the heat eventually brings you to the Teufelsbrücke (Devil's Bridge). How many difficult bridges around the world have a myth about a pact with the devil? The new bridge is the high one in the first photo, while the old is seen in the second photo (taken from the train on the way down). The MGB line goes straight into a tunnel in the rockface:



     
    Also an MGB train creeping down the gradient:

     
    Onwards over the avalanche shelter and into Andermatt (1444m, 4738ft asl) for a well-earned elevenses (or zweites Frühstück - second breakfast - as it's known in these parts). The view up the hill to Nätschen, with another MGB train perched on a ledge:

     
    Then it's refill the bottles, and onwards and upwards. Here, some views from the edge of town, one along the valley towards Hospental and Realp, with a Glacier Express, and another up towards Nätschen:


     
    More climbing gives some spectacular views, as well as a Swiss Tourist Board cow, specially scrubbed for visitors to photograph:




    Then above Nätschen (pause for ice cream), it's less steep up towards Oberalppass. However, there are still substantial chunks of snow on the ground above about 1900m, especially in the gullies on the north-facing slopes. Had to detour round some, as I didn't fancy falling through into the icy stream you could hear below the snow:


    Once at the Oberalpsee, it's flatter, although the snow mixed with mud that's come off the avalanche shelter made for hard going. The lake was still about 50% ice, this in early June with 25+ degrees C, sun cream and hat required:

     
    And finally a stop at the pass (2044m, 6706ft), with Apfelstrudel and ice cream in the restaurant, surrounded by Sunday motorcyclists enjoying the road. The ever-reliable MGB (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, not the British sports car) provided the return transport:

     
    ...with a bonus grandstand view of Andermatt station on the way back down:

     
    Phew. Not very far if you look at the map (about 10 miles according to Google), but a good old climb that took all day with plenty of photo stops. The way the road and railway intertwine as they curve to and fro up from Andermatt is something to behold: I could watch it all day. In fact I did watch it for the 3 hours or so that it took me to climb from Andermatt to Nätschen.
    Thank goodness the hotel was serving substantial evening meals and a nice dark beer, as the backup plan, the Co-op, was closed by now on Sundays.
  10. eastwestdivide
    After a strenuous day yesterday, something a bit more touristy. On board the stopping train down the valley, here coming out of the Gotthard tunnel at Göschenen. A lot of these trains carried extra, older-type coaches (like the first one here), which were mostly reserved for group travel, such as school parties. They also carry a first-class observation car with the high windows, as well as the super-comfortable standard SBB air-con opens. That's the MGB line to Andermatt top right.

     
    Change at Arth-Goldau (510m - 1670ft) for the Arth-Rigi line, which normally departs from a kind of bridge, the Hochperron (high platform), visible here above the Crossrail freight.

     
    The bridge station was closed for rebuilding, so a short walk through the streets was needed. The Föhn wind (a hot southerly) had really got going, so it was absolutely boiling down in the valley there. The detour did give a view of the Rigi-Bahn works installing a new traverser and removing the old one, plus a view back to the closed high level station.


     
    Took the train as far as Rigi-Staffel, which is where the line meets the other Rigi rack line, from Vitznau on Lake Lucerne. For tourists who don't speak German, the trains are helpfully colour-coded, blue for Arth, red for Vitznau. Here's a view down from Staffel, a view of the difference in levels as the tracks diverge, and one the the red trains with Lake Lucerne in the background:



     
    Had a wander round and down towards the spa (Kaltbad), and was surprised at the number of houses or holiday chalets on the mountain. The Vitznau trains often had these open-sided coaches at the uphill end, with a member of staff standing on a little verandah:

     
    Refreshments very welcome at this point, but while having the Swiss equivalent of Welsh rarebit, I missed the chance to photograph a train pushing a wagon up to collect waste from the restaurants and cafes.
    Returned to Staffel via a very steep path marked out with the Stations of the Cross (not many pilgrims that I could see). Before Staffel, there was a good panorama of the summit, here showing the hourly procession down from the summit (1797m - 5896ft), where the red and blue trains leave almost simultaneously.
     



     
    And then onwards and upwards to the summit. Here's a bunch of "aerial" shots. First is Lucerne in the distance (about 10km as the Alpine Chough flies), second a station between Arth and Küssnacht, probably Immensee, third a Gotthard regional train heading away from Arth towards Zug, and fourth Arth-Goldau station, with the Rigi platform visible beside the light blue train.




     
    Unbelievably hot, even at the summit, but thankfully plenty of opportunities for refreshment. Weather forecast the same again for tomorrow. Best top up the sun cream.
  11. eastwestdivide
    Since there are a few Swiss fans on here, I thought I might put up a travelogue, travelblog, or perhaps trog, of a week's holiday in June 2013. Rather than spend all the time travelling, I decided to stick mostly to one area, around the Gotthard pass, and based myself in Göschenen.
     
     
    Every journey begins somewhere, and mine began with a small hop from S Yorkshire:

     
    ...followed by a bigger hop up to London. Taking a photo at Kings Cross, the guard, who I'd spoken with earlier, trying to help give someone directions to a London theatre, kindly pointed out what happens when you paint the F of Flying Scotsman on a sliding door:

     
    Onwards to visit family in Kent, and then the following day, on the Eurostar from Ebbsfleet-Brussels. Still no sign of the "big horse" artwork intended to rival the Angel of the North (Carthorse of the South?):

     
    and a leisurely lunch in Brussels for the ICE to Köln:

     
    Waiting for the IC up the Rhine, about 5pm on a Friday, what should appear on my platform, exactly when my train was due, but this steamer:

    towing this older diesel:

     
    What were they thinking? Things were already running late, in the aftermath of floods in parts of Germany, and my IC south (loco 101 101) gradually got later and later, with the passenger opposite me making increasingly frustrated calls to her other half about missed connections. Still, not too crowded for a Friday night, and great views of the Rhine, as well as its confluence with the Mosel at Koblenz:

     
    Overnight was the Ibis hotel in Heidelberg, right in the station complex, with a handy restaurant/bar just next door. I had scoped out possible restaurants for a visit to the city centre, but it was getting on in the evening, it was still pretty warm, and I was hungry.
     
    Bright and early next day, departure from under the curved concrete of Heidelberg was on an S-Bahn, well-filled with cyclists:

     
    ...as far as Bruchsal, where this massive train of military vehicles was waiting:

     
    ...to catch the next IC, again 101-hauled, as far as Ulm. The front coach was compartment stock, in a nice pastel 80s style (that's all my luggage on the rack):

     
    Comfortable enough and 200km/h along the Neubaustrecke as far as Stuttgart. Reversal there (it's a driving trailer at the other end) for the scenic hilly stretch through Göppingen, and then change to a diesel unit from Ulm to Friedrichshafen Stadt:

     
    Here you change for the 1 min journey to Friedrichshafen Hafen, so good they named it twice (but abbreviated it on the destination blind):

     
    Next up, walk round to buy a ticket and board the ferry across the Bodensee (Lake Constance), which had some fancy old Alfa Romeos coming off it:


     
    Second Currywurst of the holiday on board the ferry, and into Switzerland at Romanshorn. Stroll round to board the Voralpen Express via St Gallen and Pfäffikon:


     
    Quite a scenic route, with a lot of climbing over ridges and views down to Lake Zurich. One more change at Arth-Goldau, into the Gotthard stopping train:

     
    ...via the work site for the north entrance to the Gotthard Base Tunnel:

     
    ...and the Wassen spirals:

     
    to Göschenen, where the Hotel Krone was a stone's throw from the station (just beyond the two lampposts):

     
    Just time to check in and wander back down for a crocodile, hauling a special in connection with the Gotthard Bahnwanderweg (rail walking trail) walking festival. The track visible high above the loco is the MGB rack line to Andermatt, more of which later.


     
    So, a relaxed journey, no problems, and I've carried my fleece all the way without wearing it once.
     
    More to follow soon-ish, including the Wassen spirals, a post bus ride, Bellinzona, and some gentle (not) lineside walks.
  12. eastwestdivide
    Up early for breakfast at Hornberg station and on the 0731 double decker (upstairs of course). Very twisty and heavily-engineered section of line towards the summit at Triberg, rest of the line less so. Changed at Singen from this:

    to this (on the right, a 2-car diesel):

    for the hop across the border to Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Here, a quick change to a loco-hauled IR (InterRegio) train to Zurich, with comfy SBB coaches, possibly my most luxurious border crossing of the week, unless you count the ferry cabin:

    and a view of the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen (failed attempt to photograph them). I think the train recrosses briefly into Germany, and crosses the Rhine back into Switzerland near Eglisau. Could be wrong, my map wasn't all that clear.
     
    Changed again in Zurich to another IR:

    to Arth-Goldau for another quick change to the waiting ICN to Lugano via the Gotthard route. Spectacular, but that was last year's story. Not that much freight running that I saw, possibly because there were engineering works in one or two places on the northbound line, seemingly with reversible working past on the southbound. Used the Bordrestaurant while in the Gotthard tunnel for a fairly expensive cup of tea, CHF4.10 (£2.69 at today's exchange rate, for hot water, a paper cup and some dried leaves in a bag), and then out into Italian-speaking Switzerland, or Ticino.
     
    The ICN terminated at Lugano:

    where it was noticeably warmer. Stand-up snack bar lunch of pizza with artichokes, and time for a couple of pictures. Lugano station is high above the lake, so there's a funicular that goes directly from the station, looking like it just burst out of the ground and collided with the main line station at a crazy angle:

    There's also a happy-looking little local train in a separate station across the road:

     
    Then it's on to the Tilo (Ticino-Lombardy) local service across the lake causeway and on to Chiasso, the Italian border station, where you walk through an unmanned customs point to catch the Trenord local service for Milan:

    Trenord is a joint venture of Ferrovie Nord Milano and Italian state railways. Most of their Milan trains seemed to be operated by single-ended electric locos (E464) on fairly long push-pull sets. Note the departure screen on the right, showing a 15 min delay to the EC Zurich-Milan train. These seem to have quite a reputation for bad timekeeping, and in fact my earlier train south from Zurich was slightly delayed by being held in a loop for a late-running northbound one. Connections still held at Arth-Goldau though.
     
    I hopped along to Como on the next Trenord service for an hour's ice cream break, as my following connection only runs every 2 hours, and Como looked like a better place to wait than Monza.
    They've got a vandalism problem round there - many of the trains had graffiti half way up the windows:

    and that's not the only problem - square wheels and "theoretical" air conditioning were the case on the two that I caught to and from Como.
    While waiting at Como, there was a single diesel unit in a bay platform, parked alongside some more creative graffiti on a "trolley thing":

    and two more of the same type of diesel unit sandwiching a trailer vehicle, seen here on the left with my train to Monza on the right:

     
    Monza was very busy, nearly all Trenord trains, but also one of these Tilo units (Stadler FLIRT again) on a service into Switzerland:

    After which I caught the 1632 to Tirano, a 2h20 journey. At least the windows opened on this one. Quite fast and a bit wobbly north of Monza, a well-filled long train with yet another of those single-end locos at the front. From Lecco to Colico, the line dives in and out of tunnels right beside the lake, a bit like a single-track Dawlish but without the storms.
    Arrival in Tirano was almost on time just before 7. Found my B&B for the next three nights easily enough, polished up my rusty Italian with the owner, and nipped out for proper pizza and beer. Pleasant evening, and slightly odd to see very Italian-looking churches against high snow-topped mountains in the distance.
    You may be able to guess which line is coming next, but that's for another day. Buona notte a tutti.
  13. eastwestdivide
    Within easy reach of Tirano, up the Val Poschiavo valley, is Brusio, just over the border in Switzerland, so that was my other target, walking across the invisible border on the Via Albula Bernina path from my base in Tirano.
     
    I was quite taken by the idea of "mortal fulguration" from touching the overhead wires:

     
    A little way up the valley lies Campocologno, a crossing point on the single line, here with two St Moritz/TIrano trains each consisting of Allegra EMUs towing additional coaches:

     
    Campocologno also has a goods yard, filled mostly with tankers when I was there, and plenty of logs stacked up. A larger diesel shunter too:

     
    Of course the point of the walk was the circular, or strictly speaking helical, viaduct at Brusio, here with a Bernina Express squealing its way downhill:

     
    Built to flatten out the gradient in the steep valley, apparently a spiral tunnel was out of the question because of the brittle rock. Here's a panned shot with me standing in the middle and shuffling round in a circle. More log wagons on the back of this one:

     
    And here's a Bernina Express coming downhill, with obligatory Swiss Tourist Board cow:

     
    When I left for the north, I filmed it from the wide-opening windows of the train:

     
    Just above the viaduct are some stone igloos called crot or scele, used to keep foodstuffs cool in summer by running water underneath. One of the entrances was open and I got a distinct rush of cold air from it, so these are still functional.

     
    Higher still is Brusio station itself:

     
    after which the line spirals away up the hillside. Here, you can just about make out the viaduct fractionally to the left of the front of this train:

     
    I'd not seen that many photos of the viaduct that put it in its setting, and seeing it for real brings home just how much climbing the train has to do here.
    It also seems to be a lingustically ambivalent area - the station names look Italian, but I saw a German sign by some beehives saying beware of the bees. Further north, the Germanic-looking Alp Grüm station cafe was owned by Italian speakers who of course also knew German.
    So after a bit of a trek, I caught the train (request stop - press the button) back to the historic centre of Tirano for more food: ravioli with pear, parma ham and parmesan plus Bavarian beer. Seemed appropriate. I did catch some Italian TV in the B&B - almost as bad as Chanel 9 on the Fast Show.
  14. eastwestdivide
    So it's farewell to Italy, on a bright sunny morning, and all aboard the northbound train, this time not an Allegra, but two of the older units pulling three coaches, with the nice deep opening windows. It seemed like I spent more time on my feet than sitting:

     
    Some more street running, attracting stares from the roadside:

     
    to Le Prese, skirting the edge of Lake Poschiavo

     
    Still more street running, where you look out of the back of the train to find you're being tailed by some cars:

     
    To Poschiavo, where a little ballast wagon was shunted onto the rear of the train. Also in the depot there, one of two electro-diesels:

     
    From Poschiavo, it's uphill and into the mountains, twisting and turning all the way:


     
    to Alp Grüm:
    where the ballast wagon mentioned earlier is seen heading off north:

     
    Alp Grüm, with no road access, a station with a cafe, and a fantastic view back down the valley to Lake Poschiavo, passed earlier. I'll let the pictures and video do the talking:




     
    After a brief coffee and nut tart, I continued north, past the mostly-frozen lake:

     
    to the summit at Bernina Hospice/Ospizio Bernina, where there was track maintenance going on at 2253 m (7392 ft) above sea level. This might be the ballast wagon from earlier:

     
    Then all change at Pontresina, where there were yet more logs, and an unexpected bonus of a crocodile with Pullman coaches:


     
    On a Scuol-Tarasp train, loco + coaches + driving trailer:

     
    to Samedan, where there was some complicated shunting going on:

     
    Then picking up the Chur train as far as Filisur, here shown with the train in the opposite direction carrying a Gourmino restaurant car plus Co-Op supermarket food containers:

     
    Stopped for a snack in the station buffet, hoping for something interesting, and the second bonus of the day snuck in from the Davos direction:

    apparently being taken to St Moritz/Samedan/Scuol for a steam special the following day.
     
    From Filisur, it was downhill all the way, my train carrying post containers on the back, across the Landwasser Viaduct:

     
    To Chur, onwards on a double-deck SBB EMU down the Rhine valley via Buchs to St Margarethen, to pick up the ÖBB service to Bregenz, crossing briefly into Austria, change for another ÖBB service (Vorarlberg S-Bahn) across the border to Lindau, Germany, and change again into a diesel loco push-pull double decker to Friedrichshafen, and my hotel for a couple of nights:

     
    Weather warming up nicely - there had been people swimming in the lake in Bregenz - so dinner was outside in a beer garden with waiters wearing genuine Lederhosen, and a view of distant Swiss mountains across the lake. And relax:

     
    Italy - Switzerland - Austria - Germany. Four countries in one day: whatever next?
  15. eastwestdivide
    There's a footbridge that I sometimes use for train photos in Rotherham, just at the end of a cul-de-sac called Primrose Hill. The name's probably the prettiest part of the picture, being located between the glass works, the fluorine-based chemical works and the recycling yard.

     
    On the plus side, it's got a wide view of the railway, with a curve and a handy signal (for the junction at Masborough) at one end:

     
    ...and visibility for a couple of miles towards Aldwarke (on a good day):

     
    Standing there waiting for various unusual trains, I sometimes get a bit bored, which can be a good trigger for creativity. So I thought I'd present 57 photos showing a variety of shots to be had from "just" a simple footbridge over a two-track line.




     
    For the rare stuff, probably best not to get too experimental:


     
    More to come...
  17. eastwestdivide
    If the light goes, some workings might still be worth pushing things to the maximum sensitivity and lowest shutter speed you can get away with, then adjusting in software once you get back home:

     
    If the weather turns foul, there's no need to go home - we like an "atmospheric" shot:

     
    Here, it was atmosphericking it down so hard the rain was bouncing off the containers:

     
    Sometimes a bit of pollution works in your favour, sometimes not:


     
    But in the snow, make the most of whatever trains you do see, even the "everyday" ones:



  18. eastwestdivide
    Don't pass up the opportunity for some human interest. Here the driver climbs out to phone, just as the signal changes:

     
    Some teasels and a road sign gave an opportunity for a through the fence shot:

    Two trains passing means you can pick the right or wrong moment:




     
    While big windscreens and a high viewpoint give you the chance to show there's a driver on board:

     
    Delays too can provide an interesting shot with a long lens, as the trains queue from signal to signal:


  19. eastwestdivide
    Who needs sharp photos anyway? Let's try deliberate blurring of the train, or panning to blur the background. Tricky to get right, and I'm glad digital gives you the chance to try things out and throw out those that completely fail:






     
    Or try a crazy angle combined with a low shutter speed:


  20. eastwestdivide
    Going-away shots offer plenty of alternative views:






     
    Especially useful are empty container flats or similar low wagons, where you can see the loco a bit better:



     
    And I liked the light in this one:

    Well, that's about it. If you've been counting, it's 56 photos so far.
    As the last tail lamp fades into the distance, I hope it's been an interesting "tour" of this one bridge. Maybe I need to find somewhere else now.

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