Colin Churcher 2020

A train approaching Murren station Murren is a small village where cars are not allowed. It is served by a short narrow gauge railway which is unique in that it is not connected to the rest of the Swiss railway system. To get to Murren one must take the train to Lauterbrunnen and then a cable car to get to Grutschalp for the train to Winteregg and Murren.  Unfortunately the area around Interlaken is overrun by tourists which makes moving around difficult and occasionally unpleasant. We were aware of this problem but decided to try and get to Murren anyway. The journey is even more odious at the moment because a heavy rainstorm a couple of weeks ago destroyed part of the track between Meiringen and Interlaken which means that everyone now has to travel via Bern to Interlaken as opposed the the more scenic route through Lucern. Our train from Zurich to Bern was very very full. There were not many seats left in first class so I would think there was standing in economy. The journey of...

  The Huntwangen Guard Cat It is unusual to see a single car stood on the stop blocks at Zurich. I wonder how it got there and what would happen to it. Hotrak has a solution - it is known as the hand of God. We took a train out to Bulach to see the Re 620 heavy freight locomotives. There were five of them plus two Bombardier locomotives but maybe because it was a Monday morning there was not much action. Waiting for work at Bulach.      Several locomotives still had their blazons, some in poor condition We moved on to Huntwangen where the aggregate originates and found there was nothing happening there either. We decided to get some photos of trains on the bridge over the Rhein river here. There is a very pleasant pathway down but we encountered the resident guard cat (see above) that we have met before. It seems we are allowed there as long as we stay on the path. A train on the Huntwangen bridge Moving on to Schaffhausen there was an opportunity to admire the medie...

The highlight of the day was to see this steam locomotive operating between Triengen and Sursee. We started quite early and took a train to Aarau where we transferred to the narrow gauge line to Schoftland. Tram for Schoftland at Aarau We had some time to spare at Schoftland and wandered around this quiet town on a Sunday morning. We caught the Postbus to Triengen where the steam train was waiting. Buying our tickets proved very interesting. The volunteer lady ticket seller turned out to be an SBB driver who drove trains through the Gotthard tunnel, including the high speed Girounos. We had a great discussion and enjoyed the trip to Sursee immensely. This is an SBB non-electrified branch line used for the steam trains one Sunday in the month. At Sursee they use the main station. This is one of two locomotives that were converted to run off electricity during the coal shortage in the second world war.  Running round its train at Sursee. From Sursee we took a train to Bern and had a ...

  A Wohlen bound tram crossing the Reuss river at Bremgarten We started our journey at the Zurich Hauptbahnhof. One item that always astounds me is the great length of most of the passenger trains. The Girounos running to Italy are eleven coaches and almost always run in pairs - 22 cars. The Twindexxs are only eight cars long but again normally run in pairs  - and these are double deckers. We took a train to Dietikon and boarded the tram for the delightful ride to Bremgarten. It starts out running through the city streets but quickly runs into the farming area. There are some fearsome curves and steep[ grades.  Tram at Dietikon Dietikon is quite a centre in its own right. Just outside the SBB station there are six ranks for buses. The trams run right alongside the bus station The Swiss allow something that is strictly banned in Ottawa. They allow passengers to sit inside the bus waiting for departure. This way they can be out of the weather in a heated or cooled bus. Otta...