Switzerland : August 2016

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A final visit to the Gotthard, one of Europe's great mountain main lines, in August 2016 before traffic is syphoned off into the new base tunnel. The report covers passenger and freight services, the latter operated by SBB and several foreign or independent operators. Naturally in Switzerland, electric traction prevailed but diesels were not entirely absent.

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Switzerland : Jul 2013

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This report covers a six day trip to the Berner Oberland in central Switzerland in July 2013 and details visits to a number of mountain railways, including the Wengernalpbahn, the Jungfraubahn and the Schynige Platte Bahn. The Zentralbahn's 70 year old class 110s are covered, as they work out their last miles before withdrawal, and the BLS's iconic Re4/4 "Brownies" also feature.

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Switzerland : May 2013

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A brief visit to Switzerland in early May 2013. The aim was to get some shots of loco hauled trains between St. Gallen and Chur before new EMUs take over in June and to see the recently resurrected Ae6/6s on stone trains around Bülach.

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Switzerland : Aug/Sep/Oct 2012

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Despite numerous trips to the Rhätischebahn over the last few years, I hadn’t really done much photography in the rest of Switzerland. With the veteran class Ae6/6s in serious decline it was time to address the photographic deficit. This report covers two trips in late summer and early autumn 2012. The main objectives were the Gotthard and Ae6/6s, but I also wanted a good selection of shots of Swiss main-line operations generally.

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Switzerland : March 2012

A trip to the RhB for the last week of the Winter Timetable with its additional trains for skiers, snowboarders and sledgers. The continued use of a handful of the venerable Ge4/4is provided the incentive for this visit and, fortunately, the last three locos were more active than expected, covering a wide variety of workings and routes. Other classes weren't ignored but the Ge4/4is took priority.

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Switzerland : February 2011

The RhB’s oldest locos, the Ge4/4is dating from 1947, are due to lose all their booked work in early March 2011 and are expected to be withdrawn in May. This report covers a trip to Graubünden in late February 2011 to photograph them hard at work in the glorious alpine scenery only a couple of weeks before they were due to finish.

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Switzerland : August 2010

A short trip to the Rhätischebahn in late summer to fill in some gaps in my photographic coverage of the line. The trip was made more interesting by an unexpected line closure and the resulting freight diversions. There was still plenty of work for the veteran class Ge4/4i electrics despite the arrival of more new units.

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Switzerland : June 2010

After ten years a return to the Gotthard Pass was long overdue. The Gotthard is one of Europe’s busiest freight routes, carrying heavy traffic between Germany and Italy through the heart of the Swiss Alps. While in Switzerland, I also followed a tip off that there were some worthwhile photo positions around Frick on the Basel - Zürich line and had a look at the MGB’s metre gauge line around Andermatt and the Oberalp Pass.

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Switzerland : January 2010

This report covers two trips to the Rhätischebahn in January 2010. The first of a large fleet of new EMUs has just entered traffic and the next couple of years will see big changes to the current fleet of locos and motor-coaches. This was probably the last chance to photograph a full winter service with the 60 year old class Ge4/4i locos playing a full part. The weather had other ideas though.

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Switzerland : October 2009

An autumn trip to the Rhätischebahn, in south-eastern Switzerland. The trip turned out a little differently to what was expected due to bad weather. Despite the problems, there was still plenty to photograph in the beautiful Graubünden landscape, including the Berninabahn in its last autumn before the arrival of new EMUs and the veteran class Ge4/4i electrics, some of which are over 60 years old.

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Switzerland : January 2009

This was my third trip to the Rhätischebahn, Switzerland's most extensive metre gauge railway. The RhB operates a fleet of around 50 locomotives on passenger and freight trains in an area noted for its magnificent Alpine scenery and is a photographer's delight.

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Switzerland : December 2007

Winter in the Swiss Alps attracts skiers and snowboarders in huge numbers but what would it be like for a railway photographer? In spite of doubts about the weather, I decided to visit the Rhätischebahn in south-eastern Switzerland from 19 to 23 December to find out. Once again, the RhB exceeded all my expectations.

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Switzerland : October 2007

The Rhätischebahn operates an extensive meter gauge electified network in the canton of Graubunden in south-eastern Switzerland. Its lines link the regional capital Chur with the alpine resorts of Klosters, Davos and St Moritz, passing through some of the finest alpine scenery en-route. This was my first visit to this splendid railway.

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Switzerland : May 2007

The Lötschberg main line is a busy freight and passenger route across the Swiss Alps. As well as being a major trunk route, it’s a scenic delight and a real engineering marvel. Seven years had passed since my last visit and the imminent opening of the 35.6 km Base Tunnel provided the impetus for a return in May 2007 while the original route was still busy. The Base Tunnel will bypass the most scenic section of the old line and is expected to take increasing volumes of freight traffic after its official opening on 16 June 2007.

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