20 June 2010
20 June 2010
31/07/12 17:57
Guess what? It was raining again. I parked up at the usual spot north of Gurtnellen and was surprised to see quite a few freights running as it was a Sunday. None of them were hauled by SBB engines though. DB were well represented with three trains, one of them a 185 double heading with a BLS 486 and the others solid 185 doubles. Two of the trains had 185 bankers. There was also one train with a pair of Crossrail 186s and another with an MRCE pair, a 182 piloting a 189. Apart from the usual motive power on passenger trains, all that SBB could rustle up in the surprise stakes was a Class Ce6/8ii Crocodile, No. 14253 heading south light engine. As surprises go it wasn't bad.
After a few hours it started to look brighter to the north and I set off to check out a few locations around Immensee and Rotkreuz on the way back to Zürich Airport. Needless to say, the brightness didn’t last too long so I settled down to see what was running around Rotkreuz. Traffic on the line north of Immensee appeared to be exactly the same as on the Gotthard, minus the Zürich passengers. SBB made up for the total lack of freights in the morning by running three within nine minutes, two of them passing right in front of me. The lead loco on the third freight was also a surprise, being 11601, one of the prototype Re6/6s with an articulated body (in the vertical plane) as on the RhB Ge6/6iis.
The other line at the east end of Rotkreuz, towards Zug and Zürich, appeared to be far busier than the one I was on. Despite being single track there was a steady stream of 460 worked double-deck push-pull sets and Flirts all the time I was there. Unfortunately it was just too far away to get the numbers without getting wet.
It’s not often that I’m glad to be going home from a trip but this was one of the most frustrating I’ve been on for years. Lots of trains, superb scenery but, for the second trip in a row, no sun worth speaking of. It was also my fourth trip in a row to Switzerland that’s suffered from awful weather. Oh well, fifth time lucky, or will it be thirty fourth time, or eighty ninth? Will the sun ever shine on a train in my presence again, who knows?
N of Gurtnellen
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11139 | IR2163 | 07:03 Basel SBB - Locarno | 09:32 |
| 470.057 (FS) 470.003 (FS) |
EC12 | 07:10 Milano Cen. - Zürich HB | 09:41 |
| 500.020 | IR2263 | 08:31 Zürich HB - Chiasso | 09:43 |
| 186.906 (Crossrail) 186.903 (Crossrail) |
NB Intermodal | 10:02 | |
| 500.022 | ICN10015 | 09:01 Zürich HB - Lugano | 10:17 |
| 470.009 (FS) 470.059 (FS) |
EC15 | 09:09 Zürich HB - Milano Cen. | 10:21 |
| 11193 | IR2276 | 08:45 Locarno - Zürich HB | 10:24 |
| 185.106 (DB) 486.503 (BLS) banked by 185.105 (DB) |
SB Intermodal | 10:30 | |
| 460.115 | IR2165 | 08:03 Basel SBB - Locarno | 10:34 |
| 500.000 | ICN662 | 09:12 Lugano - Basel SBB | 10:39 |
| 185.132 (DB) 185.121 (DB) banked by 185.139 (DB) |
SB Intermodal | 10:56 | |
| 182.597 (MRCE) 189.986 (MRCE) |
NB Intermodal | 11:10 | |
| 185.105 (DB) | NB Light Engine | 11:12 | |
| 500.026 | ICN671 | 09:03 Basel SBB - Lugano | 11:16 |
| 11209 | IR2174 | 09:45 Locarno - Basel SBB | 11:26 |
| 460.095 | IR2267 | 10:09 Zürich HB - Locarno | 11:32 |
| 470.058 (FS) 470.008 (FS) |
EC14 | 09:10 Milano Cen. - Zürich HB | 11:43 |
| 14253 | SB Light Engine | 11:52 (Class Ce6/8ii "Crocodile") |
|
| 470.003 (FS) 470.057 (FS) |
EC17 | 11:09 Zürich HB - Milano Cen. | 12:18 |
| 460.055 | IR2280 | 10:45 Locarno - Zürich HB | 12:24 |
| 460.090 | IR2169 | 10:03 Basel SBB - Locarno | 12:31 |
| 185.098 (DB) 185.123 (DB) |
NB Freight | 12:32 | |
| 500.010 | ICN666 | 11:12 Lugano - Basel SBB | 12:39 |
After a few hours it started to look brighter to the north and I set off to check out a few locations around Immensee and Rotkreuz on the way back to Zürich Airport. Needless to say, the brightness didn’t last too long so I settled down to see what was running around Rotkreuz. Traffic on the line north of Immensee appeared to be exactly the same as on the Gotthard, minus the Zürich passengers. SBB made up for the total lack of freights in the morning by running three within nine minutes, two of them passing right in front of me. The lead loco on the third freight was also a surprise, being 11601, one of the prototype Re6/6s with an articulated body (in the vertical plane) as on the RhB Ge6/6iis.
The other line at the east end of Rotkreuz, towards Zug and Zürich, appeared to be far busier than the one I was on. Despite being single track there was a steady stream of 460 worked double-deck push-pull sets and Flirts all the time I was there. Unfortunately it was just too far away to get the numbers without getting wet.
Buonas, E of Rotkreuz
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11219 | IR2178 | 11:45 Locarno - Basel SBB | 14:25 |
| 500.030 500.000 |
ICN679 | 13:03 Basel SBB - Lugano | 14:31 |
| 500.026 | ICN670 | 13:12 Lugano - Basel SBB | 15:26 |
| 11219 | IR2177 | 14:03 Basel SBB - Locarno | 15:30 |
| 482.008 | NB Intermodal | 15:47 | |
| Re4/4 Re6/6 |
SB Intermodal | 15:47 | |
| 11601 11251 11637 |
SB Intermodal | 15:56 | |
| 460.115 | IR2182 | 13:45 Locarno - Basel SBB | 16:28 |
| 500.007 500.010 |
ICN683 | 15:03 Basel SBB - Lugano | 16:32 |
It’s not often that I’m glad to be going home from a trip but this was one of the most frustrating I’ve been on for years. Lots of trains, superb scenery but, for the second trip in a row, no sun worth speaking of. It was also my fourth trip in a row to Switzerland that’s suffered from awful weather. Oh well, fifth time lucky, or will it be thirty fourth time, or eighty ninth? Will the sun ever shine on a train in my presence again, who knows?
