After four days back in Blighty it was time to return to Graubünden for the second part of this winter’s Rhätischebahn extravaganza. This time I flew with Swiss as strike action seemed a real possibility on BA. Getting up and travelling to Heathrow in time for an 06:00 departure was a bit of a bind but the actual journey was really smooth and hassle free. It’s amazing how well things work when there are very few passengers around. We pushed back a few minutes early and landed a whole 20 minutes before the booked arrival time. Everything went smoothly at Zürich as well and 30 minutes after landing I was on an S-bahn train heading for Zürich HB (450059 on train 18231), a good connection into IR1765 to Chur with 11136 on the front.

After four days in dreary grey Britain, it was good to get back to Switzerland where, predictably, the weather was dreary and grey. I was in Chur well before 11:00 and checked into the Hotel Post in the city centre. There was then the small matter of where to go for the rest of the day. Some blue sky had been seen around Landquart earlier, so I headed in that direction on RE3826 headed by 11157. No chance of the sun there, so RE1237 with 621 took me on to Klosters Dorf where there was a little weak sun. On towards Davos behind 605 on 827, passing 606 on 826 at Cavadürli. The light wasn't much better at Wolfgang either.

By now I'd given up trying to think of other places I might get to in time for the light and decided to go for a trundle over to Filisur, up to Samedan, down the Engadin and back to Chur via the Vereina Tunnel. The first part of the journey was behind 617 on 1829. The plan had changed before we got to Filisur. Wiesen viaduct was in sun, so I baled out there to get 617 returning to Davos with 1832, followed by 630 out and back with 1833 and 1836 an hour later. Fortunately the sun then started to go behind the hills so I didn't have to agonise over whether to photograph the next train (1837) with 649. Instead I travelled on it to Filisur and swapped to equally unphotogenic 644 on RE1152 back to Chur.

Being a Monday, there were a couple of extra Ge4/4i workings around Chur; 602 worked 1250 to Ilanz as usual and was all set for the first of two trips to Arosa with 1469 when I saw it in the evening.

All the expected freights ran with 707 on 5336 (11:23 Zernez - Landquart) and 5151 (14:10 Landquart - Pontresina), 705 on 5155 (15:41 Landquart - Pontresina) and 610 on 5257.

Chur - St. Moritz

• 641 duty 104 (1133, 1157)
• 642 duty 105 (1149)
• 644 duty 103 (1152)
• 652 duty 102 (1153)

Landquart - Davos - Filisur

• 617 duty 42 (1037, 1829, 1832)
• 630 duty 41 (1032, 1833, 1836)
• 648 duty 43 (1040)
• 651 duty 44 (1033, 1828)
• 649 duty 45 (1036, 1837)

Disentis - Scuol-Tarasp

• 615 duty 301 (1248)
• 621 duty 305 (1237)
• 627 duty 312 (1232)
• 631 duty 302 (1261)
• 632 duty 302 (1236)

Chur - Arosa

• 625 duty 61 (1461)
• 602 duty 65 (1250)

Klosters - Davos

• 606 duty 49 (826)
• 605 duty 50 (827)

Freights

• 610 duty 403 (5257)
• 705 duty 201 (5155)
• 707 duty 203 (5336, 5151)