Virtual Railfan Tour of Switzerland - Saturday - Yverdon to Ste. Croix Railway

The Yverdon - Ste. Croix Railway signature locomotive is this center car "crocodile". Not technically a crocodile, it was built in 1950. It usually hangs around the Yverdon station.

The Yverdon-Ste. Croix railway is a narrow gauge line that runs from the main SBB line at Yverdon into the Jura mountains at Ste. Croix near the French border. The line makes a connection with the SBB at Yverdon and serves Vuitboeuf, Baulmes and Ste. Croix.

Until recently the line carried heavy sugar beet traffic on standard gauge cars during the short season.  This traffic is now diverted to road because the line has received new passenger trains and increased their frequency.  Loads of lumber were also carried but these may have been discontinued.  The platform at Yverdon-les-Bains was a good location to see the transfer between gauges. The only problem was that whereas the SBB passenger trains stopped in the platform, the SBB freight trains ran through at track speed and could catch you unawares.

This SBB postal train was running around the adjacent passenger train at track speed.

This is a narrow gauge skate which holds one standard gauge wheel set. The standard gauge cars are pushed by an SBB switcher over the narrow gauge skates and are lowered onto the skates progressively. 

A skate is carrying one wheel set

Once the transfer has been completed, here there are empty sugar beet cars, the air brake hoses must be connected manually to each skate

A train is almost ready to depart

A former passenger car, now used as a locomotive, is moving a cut of skates using a bar coupling on to the first skate.

Lumber is a formidable load to be carrying on narrow gauge skates

With the line primarily a passenger operation now there is still plenty to see

This is passenger car #1, built in 1981, now used solely as a locomotive.  A similar car, #2, was involved in a runaway down the hill from Ste. Croix and has subsequently been scrapped

#5 was built in 1945 and was laterly used as a colorful trailer

#5

One of the new trains which has now taken over all passenger services.

We will now take a run up the line.

This is the new station at Vuitboeuf, built with a passing siding to accommodate the new higher frequency service.  Vuitboeuf itself is situated some way away from the station and is hidden in a narrow valley

Baulmes was visited last year by the Portuguese Mallet which ran a trip up to Ste. Croix to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the railway

Baulmes is an interesting village well worth a visit

It is a farming community

One time we were looking for lunch and wandered into a local inn. They agreed to provide us lunch as there was a party of some 20 seniors expected.  There was only one choice but is was colorful and very good indeed

With a bottle of local wine it was a very good meal

The Jura villages seem to have a lot of water troughs - this one is built on a slope

From Baulmes (altitude 641 meters) the line climbs right up the scarp of the mountain to get to Ste. Croix.(1,086 meters altitude)

Ste. Croix is the end of the line.

It has its share of water troughs

Here standard gauge flatcars are loaded with containers of domestic garbage 

During the 125th anniversary celebrations a train simulator was set up for the kids.

Of course the buses and trains terminate together and the timetable is coordinated

This video covers the first part of the line from Yverdon-les-Bains to Baulmes

Second part, Naulmes to Trois Villages, including the climb.

Third part, Trois Villages to Ste. Croix including the last part of the climb.