Day 17 Friday - Exploring the narrow gauge around Solothurn

An ICN train entering Yverdon les Bains

Today was a travel day. The hotel at Montreux was very good, especially the breakfasts for which there was a huge selection of fruits, grains, cooked items etc. The chef was very inventive at times although his recipes for bread and butter puddings contained the previous days croissants and pain au chocolates were a little bit different from my mothers recipe.

We took an early morning train from Montreux to Lausanne and changed for a train to Yverdon les Bains. We left our bags at the hotel and then went on to look at narrow gauge in the Solothurn - Oensingen area. 

We took a direct train from Yverdon through Neuchatel to Solothurn. There we transferred to the narrow gauge Aare Seeland train to Oensingen. This runs through the center of Solothurn, crossing the Aar river, then joins the highway and runs alongside to Niederbipp and on Oensingen. We went through pleasant farming country and train speeds were pretty high. 

A train for Oensingen entering the station area down the main street at Solothurn

At Oensingen we transferred to the standard gauge which is run by the Oensingen Balsthal Bahn to Balsthal. This was a standard SBB train set either leased to the company or sold to them and not yet painted in their own livery. 

Train from Oensingen in SBB colours at Balsthal

We had time to explore the end of the line at Balsthal. There was a side road switcher and ancient steam locomotive and one of the SOB 456 locomotives. 

A Ee 3/3 siderod switcher - Balsthal

This mysterious 4/4 which we saw  near Sissach with no number or markings - Balsthal

0-6-0T OeBB No. 2 built in 1899 at Balsthal

Widmer Rail Services Ae 1042 007 imported from Austria - Balsthal

456 locomotive advertising Vogele Shoes. At Balsthal

It looks as if the operation of Balsthal is acquiring equipment and then reselling it on. 

We went back to Solothurn and took the narrow gauge to Langenthal. Again through pleasant country and with high speeds up to 80 km an hour. There is a small gauge transfer operation in Langenthal. 

Langenthal

There is a short branch to St. Urban which is pretty much a suburb in pleasant country.

We took the train back to Solothurn from Langenthal but got out at Niederbipp to take a look at the dual gauge track. The train actually runs from Langenthal to Niederbipp then out to Oensingen and back to Niederbipp before going on to Sololthurn. So we got on the same train and eventually returned to Solothurn.

Dual gauge trackwork at Niederbipp

Rail Care Vectron on a freight train at Solothurn

In the evening we decided to make a quick trip from Yverdon to Ste. Croix and back. The weather was cloudy and there was some rain which produced a wonderful rainbow. The best part of the trip is the climb up the side of the cliff from Six Fontaines. There were exceptional views over the lowland, across the lake and the mountains in the distance. A surprise at Ste. Croix was the construction of a second platform at the terminus as well as an equipment storage and repair facility. There has been talk of increasing the service to four trains an hour from two and this may have been done to allow this to happen.

Second platform at Ste. Croix

New equipment facility at Ste. Croix

Ste. Croix.


Comments

  1. mark waltonSeptember 10, 2022 at 7:44 AM

    "We took an early morning train from Montreal to Lausanne"?? A Montreal in Switzerland?

    ReplyDelete

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