The CFF/FFS 460 012-8 seen at Zürich Hauptbahnhof Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 08:21:30 Tags: Zürich Hauptbahnhof 237 241 239 244 Re460 Svájc

Our long awaited, all-rail excursion to the mountains of Switzerland started off with arriving in Zürich with the Wiener Walzer. Instead of the typical InterRail we used the Swiss Travel Pass that was more flexible and cheaper. It offers discounts on some mountain railways that are not even included in the InterRail service area which was quite handy considering our travel plans. During our previous trips by train we visited the RhB network and in that case we got off at Sargans at around six o'clock, which was a lot more comfortable for me as an early bird and allowed for getting to our photo location quicker - as the night train arrived quite late in Zürich we planned a long travel on the railways we have previously photographed using a car for the first day.

The SBB/CFF/FFS Re 430 369-9 seen at Luzern Hauptbahnhof hauling a freight train Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 09:25:48 Tags: Luzern 243 248 Re420 csarnok Svájc tehervonat villanymozdony

As we climbed from Zürich to Zug along the Zürichsee, we have parted frim the usual main line. Some long tunnels have broken our way but eventually, after following the path of our IC through Zug and Rotkreuz, we have arrived in Luzern. From there, we followed the path of the Zentralbahn to Interlaken.

The SBB Cargo Eem 923 027-7 bimodal (electro-diesel) shunter locomotive seen at Spiez station with a local freight train Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 12:49:23 Tags: Spiez 245 247 Ee922

Spiez is located on the Bern to Brig main line of the BLS - we arrived from the branch to Interlaken which has region Lötschberger trains and long-distance trains from Zürich or Frankfurt (ICE), sometimes even from Paris (TGV) and continued on the other branch to Zweisimmen, departure point of the MOB, through the Simmental. To keep up with the elevation, sometimes the track has to cross side valleys on viaducts which renders the local railway a very different character than the Interlaken branch situated between the Thunersee and the almost vertical rock wall that serves as its bank.

The MOB Be 4/4 1002 seen at Zweisimmen shunting with gravel cars Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 14:05:04 Tags: Zweisimmen 240 247 MOB Be 4/4 MOB homlokátjáró

We have arrived in Zweisimmen, where the standard-gauge railway ends and you can transfer to the MOB trains to Lenk and Montreux. The Montreux line is longer and steeper, that is the path of the Golden Pass route as well. The device in construction in the foreground is the dynamic gauge changer, using which the panoramic cars of the MOB can change from metre-gauge to standard-gauge. On standard, the coaches are going to be hauled by BLS locomotives this way providing a shared platform transfer to the partly rack-and-pinion RegionalExpress trains to Luzern on the Zentralbahn. The rack wheeled, gauge changing bogies are yet to be developed.

The MOB Bhe 2/4 204 and the Bhe 4/8 304 seen at Montreux Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 16:15:13 Tags: Montreux 244 246 240 Montreux - Glion - Rocher-de-Naye Bhe 2/4 204 Bhe 4/8 304 MGR állomás perontetö

We have successfully covered all the way to Montreux on the MOB, on the line we have previously taken some very nice photographs:

The rack railway to Rocher-de-Naye has only been caught here in Montreux though. The connection here is still an improvement as originally the line ended at Territet where a lift had been provided for connection to the main line.

The SBB-CFF-FFS Re 4/4 11308 seen at Montreux Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 16:33:23 Tags: Montreux 244 246 240 Re420 Svájc villanymozdony

Montreux, on the Lausanne - Brig - Domodossola main line is just a depot, not a station.

An InterCity at Montreux Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 16:34:37 Tags: Montreux 244 246 240 Passenger cars nemmozdony

Montreux, on the Lausanne - Brig - Domodossola main line is just a depot, not a station.

The TMR RA06 NPZ seen at Martigny Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 19:42:01 Tags: Martigny 246 284 Passenger cars nemmozdony vezérlökocsi perontetö felhos

It is well visible that the fourth car is also a cab car - that is where the normal consist begins, the first three cars (including this driving trailer) is the supplement for the heavy evening traffic.

An unidentified MGB ABDeh 4/10 seen at Visp Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:26 20:52:41 Tags: Visp 232 246 MGB Svájc naplemente napnyugta becsillanás éjszakai felvételi épület motorvonat GTW

After our short visit to the route of the Mont Blanc-Express we started towards our accomodation near Zermatt. Our plan for the next day was some hiking on the Gornergrat so we went along the Simplonbahn to Visp and took a Matterhorn-Gotthardbahn panoramic multiple unit to the valley of the Mattervispa.

Zermatt station Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 07:15:28 Tags: Zermatt 232 268 Svájc nemmozdony tehervonat MGB

As Zermatt is a car-free town, the goods and produce for the local supermarkets arrive with an early morning freight train from Zermatt and are loaded into small, electric lorrys to move it to the markets. There are of course electric taxis available for the elegant visitors and most good hotels offer a service for collecting the luggage of travellers from Zermatt station.

The MGB-GGB connection track Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 07:16:07 Tags: Zermatt 232 268 Svájc nemmozdony

The Gornergratbahn and the Brig-Visp-Zermattbahn had been incompatible for many reasons, but in some tim it was solved that cars' contents were not necessary to be loaded into GGB freight cars, instead building material o RhB ACPX Pullman-cars could be just shunted over to the GGB track in Zermatt and pushed uphill by a suitable GGB locomotive.

The Gornergratbahn Bhe 2/4 3021 seen pushing a freight train uphill between Zermatt and Findelbach on the bridge over the Mattervispa Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 08:01:22 Tags: Mattervispa Getwingbrücke Findelbach Zermatt 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút vegyesvonat

Most Swiss narrow-gauge railways, even when they contain rack sections like the previously seen Mont Blanc-Express, the Zentralbahn , or the Matterhorn-Gotthardbahn , will be an InterCity service taking you from one town to another. The Gornergrat Bahn, on the other hand, is a typical tourist railway taking you from the town of Zermatt (itself being on MGB) to the Gornergrat, the highest-lying, open-air railway station in Europe, next to the sea of ice and with the purest views on the world-famous Matterhorn. It departs from Zermatt, you climb to the top, and from there you either take a train back, or walk part of the railway. In the winter, obviously, you can ski down the slopes. The railway even has a ski resort style ticketing and entry control system.

What is also interesting is that we have taken this photo from the stairs leading to the Gornerhaus, a typical Swiss apartment complex with a twist, a 200 metres long tunnel in the basement, that houses two tracks and serves as an auxiliary storage for the vehicles of the railway besides the depot at Zermatt station. There is going to be a view of the location at the end of the gallery.

The Gornergratbahn Bhe 4/8 3051 seen at Findelbach Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 08:30:44 Tags: Findelbach 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút

On the left-hand side you can see the short branch line to Findelbach Freight terminal (Findelbach Ladegleis), which is electrified just until the loading area to allow vertical loading. Rack rail is also necessary as the GGB vehicles have no adhesion propulsion.

An unidentified Gornergratbahn Bhe 4/6 seen between Zermatt and Findelbach, with the peak of the Matterhorn in the background Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 08:52:55 Tags: Findelbach-Viadukt Findelbach Zermatt 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút

The Findelbachbrücke, a cantilever viaduct next to Zermatt on the Gornergratbahn is the greatest construction on the line and provides breathtaking views in both directions for the rail passengers. The concession for the railway was awarded in 1892, and the buidling took place between 1896-1898, altogether taking 26 months. The three-phase AC rack railway reaches the highest open air station in Europe and is a top destination for tourists visiting the Alps.

The Gornergratbahn Bhe 4/4 3062 seen between Zermatt and Findelbach Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 08:54:45 Tags: Findelbach-Viadukt Findelbach Zermatt 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút vegyesvonat

Originally Rowan-type trains (locomotive with a half-on leaning trailer) were travelling the line with a catenary of 550 V / 40 Hz and no winter traffic. For the first time the galleries were extended and snow was cleared in 1928 to provide an all-year-long traffic on the line. It was favourably accepted and additional snow control was needed later on.

The Gornergratbahn Bhe 4/6 3083 seen between Zermatt and Findelbach Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 09:17:02 Tags: Findelbach-Viadukt Findelbach Zermatt 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút

For accessibility reasons the older Bhe 4/8 units were equipped to be able to work together with the newer, Stadler Bhe 4/6s.

The Gornergratbahn Bhe 4/8 3042 seen between Rotenboden and Gornergrat Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 11:10:11 Tags: Gornergrat Rotenboden 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút

After leaving Findelbach, we continue our descent towards Gornergrat in the dense pine forest. At Riffelalp, the Riffelalp Tramway, the highest lying tram of Europe connects with its 800 mm gauge battery-powered trains. The tram takes the guests to the Riffelalp Resort hotel. After leaving Riffelalp the pine trees disappear and we continue on a double-track section towards Riffelboden with a continuous view on the Matterhorn. Riffelboden is a loading area with no passenger traffic and there the double track part also ends. The line continues in wooden avalanche galleries until Rotenboden, where grass fully disappears and a double-track section closes the descent to the Gornergrat with the tracks running among rocky areas, crystal-clear high-mountain lakes and high above any surrounding summit of the Swiss Alps.

The Gornergratbahn (GGB) Bhe 4/8 3044 & 3042 seen at Riffelberg Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 12:09:52 Tags: Riffelberg 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút

Dinosaurs when they meet...

The Gornergratbahn (GGB) Bhe 4/8 3044 seen at Riffelberg Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 12:13:11 Tags: Riffelberg 268 GGB Gornergratbahn Svájc kisvasút fogaskerekü vasút

Above the old train waiting for duty you can see the Gifthittli skilift.

The Mattethorn-Gotthardbahn Gm 3/3 72 seen at Zermatt Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2016:07:27 15:35:30 Tags: Zermatt 232 268 MGB galéria tehervonat csarnok Svájc dízelmozdony tolatómozdony MGB

In the meantime we have arrived to the lowest station of Zermatt where we continued photographing the trains of the MGB Matterhorn-Gotthardbahn on the former line of the Brig-Visp-Zermattbahn (BVZ). The partly rack-and-pinion railway's traffic is going to be showcased in an upcoming gallery, but until that I recommend having a look at the other predecessor of the MGB, the Furka-Oberalpbahn (FO):

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