Vintage scenes from Switzerland

[LouJ]

Today everything is sleek and modern, yet no so long ago there were plenty of railways operating vintage stock in everyday service. I have been digitising my large slide collection and thought these images from the recent past might put today's railways in perspective. The railway featured, O-C Orbe Chavornay, is very short in length and was the first electrified railway in Switzerland at 750dc overhead. On the day of my visit in 1983 the service trains were in the hands of an immaculately kept 1920 built motor-coach with a 1902 0-4-0 electric loco shunting wagons at the terminus! The atmosphere was like walking into a working museum as everything about the railway was kept in pristine condition. Today the line is still operating but using a modern 4 wheel electric railcar.

http://www.world-railways.co.uk/gallery/gallery.php?id=159

 

[Gordon]

Today everything is sleek and modern...O-C Orbe Chavornay, is very short in length and was the first electrified railway in Switzerland at 750dc overhead...Today the line is still operating but using a modern 4 wheel electric railcar.

A couple of points.

Even with the recent influx of new generation stuff, there are still pockets of old equipment. I visited the TPF in the Bulle area in May and there are still active traction units dating from before 1920.

http://gwizz.zenfolio.com/f773274219


Another pocket of resistance is the Le Locle - Les Brenets line with 1950s Italian built unit in daily service.

The OCs status as a railway electrified at 750v dc (and is still almost unique in that respect) has seen it used as a test bed for unusual vehicle/system combinations, for example it was used to test street trams destined for Toronto

In point of fact the OC now seem to prefer not to use their most modern (2-axle) unit, but a train set obtained second hand from the SZU (Zuerich – Uetliberg). I don't know the exact reason for this. Capacity and/or power to weight ratio has been mentioned (the unit can run with its matching driving trailer) but I also wonder if the two axle vehicle is suited to the sinuous track/gradient




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