Virtual Railfan Tour of Switzerland - Friday - Yverdon-les-Bains

Castle in the centre of Yverdon-les-Bains

Paul has prepared this in depth look at Yverdon-les-Bains

Yverdon-les-Bains is located in French Switzerland and has been there since the Romans used it as a spa town; it also has a castle with a moat as well as a medieval town centre.

It is also a good place to see trains. Yverdon is at the end of Lac Neuchatel on the main line between Geneva and Zurich and is also at a junction with a branch to Fribourg. Passenger trains are frequent with lots of Intercity ICN tilting trains as well as FLIRTs and Dominos providing commuter services. The narrow gauge Travys runs frequent services from Yverdon into the Jura countryside at Ste- Croix.

SBB freight trains are plentiful connecting western Switzerland with the major centres in Zurich, and Basel. Traffic is also generated by nearby Nestle and Nespresso plants, postal sorting centres, and the refinery at Cornaux.  There is a small yard where loading of local Jura sugar beet and other freight occurs and there are often Re 4/4 locomotive stabled on an engine track waiting for work. Finally, the SBB built a large locomotive works opposite the station where Re 460s, Re 4/4s, and ICNs are serviced. This generates much traffic for factory supplies as well as units to be serviced.

Fountains at the SBB station entrance

Track work south of Yverdon. The two tracks to the right are the double main line to Lausanne and Geneva while the the second from the left is the line to Fribourg. The left most track with the end stop is the pull back to the Yverdon yard and works.

SBB Passenger  trains

ICN from eastern Switzerland arriving in Yverdon

Class 560 Domino runs the local passenger S30 service from Fribourg while an ICN tilting train departs for Geneva or Lausanne

Track crew move in once a FLIRT on the S1 RER service to Lausanne is clear.

Narrow gauge Travys

Load of logs on skates awaiting interchange with the SBB.Travys freight is now quite rare since Travys doubled frequency of its passenger services

Travys have a Ge 4/4 narrow gauge switcher to work in Yverdon. Without siderods it isn't technically a Krocodile locomotive but the paint shop thought otherwise. With the end of freight it now lives further up the line on work trains.

Mallet Steam locomotive at Yverdon on the 125th anniversary of the YStC. Modern Stadler EMUs are also visible.

Mainline Freight

Re 6/6 passing through Yverdon with tank cars for the Cornaux refinery.

Re 6/6 running light though Yverdon

Re 6/6 with ballast cars

Video of a fast moving Re 6/6 on a mixed freight

A freight for Fribourg waits for clearance. Green Re 4/4 are now very rare.

A green Re 4/4 leaves the yard and is passed by an ICN. Re 4/4 electrics are quite quiet and most of the noise is from work in the background.

Yverdon engine track

Re 4/4s waiting for work

A dirty Ae 6/6 in 2012 in its original green livery from the 1960s. This would have been one of the last Ae 6/6 on the SBB. They were supplemented first by the Re 6/6 in the 1970s on freight operations and then by Re 460s on passenger duties.

Switching the Yverdon Yard

Ee 923 switches wagons that have just been dropped of

There is no switcher permanently assigned to Yverdon yard duty. Freights pull in off the main, cut the cars, then quickly depart the moment they are clear. The arriving freights are typically followed within a few minutes by a small SBB Cargo switcher running light from the south to do the switching. The Ee 923 are useful since they have last mile diesel engines and can work the tracks in the yard and locomotive works that aren't electrified.

Ee 923 switching running light from the south shows up to switch a newly arrived freight

The Yverdon Works

An Re 4/4 in the old Trans Europ Express livery complete with a diamond pantograph

Cabs for an Re 460 stored on a flat car at Yverdon Les Bains

There is much shunting to occur within the locomotive works. This is handled by an old Ee 3/3 siderod switcher. These used to be common throughout Switzerland but this is probably the only one left in operation

SBB video showing the midlife modernization of Re460s. It begins with the well known SBB jingle

Finally, unrelated to Yverdon, is an SBB produced film short about an SBB yard switcher that wants to roam free on the main but comes back when it misses its driver.