Trip to Switzerland 2010 - Lucerne

Sunday 25 April

07:44 Bonigen bus to Interlaken Ost 07:50
08:04 Interlaken Ost to Luzern 10:04
10:30 Lake Ship to Verkehrshaus Lido 10:54
Trolley bus from Swiss Transport Museum to Luzern
14:55 Luzern to Brienz 1634
16:50 Brienz pier lake ship to Bonigen pier 17:58

 The hotel gave us all a ticket which was valid on the local buses, although the Swiss Rail Pass was also valid.

Marion Hohenstein at the bus stop by Lake Brienze

The first part of the journey was over the Zentralbahn from Interlaken to Luzern. At Meringen the old electric locomotive was exchanged for a rack equipped one for the hill over the Brunig Pass. The weather was good and there were excellent views of the lake (Brienzsee) and the cliffs on the other side where there were several high waterfalls.

On the Brunig Pass there is a lot of trackside art where someone has carved and varnished wooden animals. I suppose this should not be surprising bearing in mind that Brienz is a woodworking center where carving and other woodworking skills are taught. We saw bear, eagle, deer, ibex, rabbit, lynx, moose, squirrel, owl and frog. At one part there was a forest of inukshuks.

The Sarnersee was very peaceful with very still waters. There were a few ducks, coots, grebes and swans with some fishermen in boats.

The Transport Museum is fully as good as it has been described and there was not enough time to get an in depth appreciation. All the modes are represented including space flight. There is a good model of the Gotthardt Pass but the scenery, particularly the water could be better.

 Ticket for entry to the Transport Museum

We took a local trolley bus back into town and got off at the old part. It is quite interesting but nothing really sopecial although the buildings are well maintained. We walked past the weir and over the shorter of the two wooden bridges and then had lunch at the restaurant of the Hotel des Arts, close to the longer of the two bridges. Mary had a risotto of white asparagus and mushrooms with parmesan and I had Lucern pork sausage with an onion sauce and french fries. Both were good.

Sunday Lunch

Being a Sunday the town was full of local people as well as tourists. Many of them came into the center to have lunch. It seemed to be very much a family time.

We walked back along the second of the wooden bridges and made our way to the boat landing stage before returning to the station. Luzern station is enormous and has two gauges with trains operated by the SBB, the BLS, and the Zentral Bahn. We rode the Zentral Bahn back to Brienz where we transferred to the ship for the leisurely cruise up the lake to Bodigen where the boat docked very close to the hotel. It made a series of zig zags across the lake to stop at small locations that are pretty much isolated. One place Geissbachfalle claimed to have the oldest funicular in Europe, opened in 1879. It runs between the jetty and a hotel.  We zig zagged across the lake calling in at several small points, some of which would have been difficult to reach by land.

The boat docked at Bodensee, close to the hotel.  The boats are run with as much precision as the trains and you can set your watch by them.

Trip to Switzerland 2010 - Locarno to Interlaken

Saturday 24 April

Funicular to the Sanctuary and return
14:12 Locarno to Domodossola (FART) 15:55
16:07 Domodossola to Brig 16:37
16:49 Brig to Spiez 17:24
17:33 Spiez to Interlaken Ost 17:57
18:05 Interlaken Ost, bus to Bonigen See 18:10

Click above for a slide show of pictures from Locarno

The day started off easily with a leisurely breakfast followed by a saunter around town arriving at the funicular. The weather was great and the views wonderful. There are many flowering plants and trees, wisteria, tulips, pansies etc. We watched a pair of grebes flirting. The funicular was good but the cable car to the next level was expensive and the top was in cloud so we decided to stay at the top of the funicular where we saw the monastery and then rode down from an intermediate platform. After a capucino we found a good restaurant for lunch. Their menu del dia was veal marsala with risotto ticino and the waitress was able to entice us in. We started with a salad and also had a bottle of Ticino Merlot which was passable although not great. We were the only people in the restaurant at first, a loony guy loped in and tried to engage someone in the kitchen in conversation but nobody looked at home and he eventually went away. He was evidently well known to the restaurant staff.
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The outdoor space was shielded from the road by a couple of large vines, both having very thick trunks.

We had some time to spare before the departure so we went to the front and watched the people walking past. Saw a family of coots (four youngsters) but no ducklings in evidence.

The tramway to Domodossola was spectacular with many tall viaducts. We climbed up into the valley through small villages and the valley sides became steeper and the valley narrower. There were many vinyards and we saw several private cable cars or platforms used to transport materials to habitations high in the hills on the other side of the valley.

There were four meets and I saw 52, 53, 57, 58, 64 and 17 at Domodossola

The train managed to be over five minutes late for no apparent reason – typical Italian operating – and there was a mad scramble for the train to Brig. On this journey we went through both the Simplon and the Lotschberg tunnels. Our reserved car in the train to Spiez had no air conditioning and the train to Interlaken Ost was a couple of minutes late so the train crew hurried us to get in (it was on time into Interlaken Ost, the terminus).

 View from our room at Interlaken

While everybody was milling around I went up to the bus stop and found out the details of the bus to Bodensee and it was a short ride to the hotel which seems very good indeed. Our room has a balcony which looks right on to the lake.

Trip to Switzerland 2010 - Locarno Lake Maggiore

Friday 23 April

10:30 Locarno express lake ship to Isola Madre 11:47
14:20 Isola Madre lake ship to Isola Bella 14:40
16:20 Isola Bella express lake ship to Locarno 17:40

Click above to see a slide show of pictures from Lake Maggiore

The Italian seamen had scheduled a strike for today but called it off at the last minute, possibly because of the weather which was overcast, poor visibility and raining. The trip out was carried out on time stopping at several locations on the way. Some of the ports had interesting stands of houses painted in many different colors – gray, yellow, blue, buff. light green and orange. The swifts were diving and swooping over the water to catch their food. In some places the cloud was down to building level but it didn't stop the mallards, coots or grebes from doing their normal thing.

Mary at Isola Madre

The gardens on Isola Madre are beautiful. Some of the blossoms had been brought down by the rain but even so the rhododendrons, magnolia and wisteria were beautiful. There were many exotic birds with beautiful plumage including a lot of white peacocks and peahens and golden pheasants. The house itself was reasonably interesting although several of the rooms were dull and dingy. The marionettes were interesting and the dining room was excellent. The marble statue of a naked man holding up the corps of a man he had just killed with his entrails spewing out as in particularly bad taste. We had sandwich and coffee at a small cafe and then went around to the embarcadero where we found a bar. I negotiated language with the girl and we settled on Spanish although after wards I found out she spoke excellent English! We had a spritz with Prosecco with Aperol, soda water, ice and a slice of orange. We had small bowls of olives and chips on the side.

Isola Bella

A regular boat took us to Isola Bella (the express boat was a hydrofoil). Isola Bella is devoted almost entirely to the castle and there is a row of tourist shops and restaurants close to the landing. The castle was very well preserved. The main hall has a very high ceiling with three or four rounds of balconies. The plaster moldings have been very well restored. The grotto is weird – it has an ocean theme. The gardens have a lot of white peacocks and peahens who seem to delight in taking up positions on statues where they make excellent photographic subjects.. The least said about the tourist shops the better.

I devoted the ride back to Locarno to the Marriage of Figaro

Trip to Switzerland 2010 - Chur to Locarno

ursday 22 April

09:00 Post bus Chur to Davos Platz 10:35
11:02 Davos Platz to Landquart 12:13
12:18 Landquart to Chur 12:38
14:08 Post bus Chur to Bellinzona 16;20
16:30 Bellinzona to Locarno 16:57

Click above to see a slideshow of pictures from Chur, Arosa and Leinzenheide

We took the Postbus to Davos this morning. The first part to Leinzenheide was as a special run for us only, but we continued to Davos as a stage bus. The journey was in sunny weather with just a little haze over the mountains. We passed small villages with small churches located prominently, sheer drops over narrow roads, one point was particularly difficult for a van to pass – it had to go around us on the wrong side of the street. Leinzenheide was an interesting place with a lot of great street art.

Davos was reached just a few minutes late and there was only just time to find the train and get in. It was an interesting trip to Landquart descending a very long , severe gradient all the way to Klosters. Ski lifts, pink heather, much forest. At Klosters there were a couple of sidings which were protected by oil drums cut in half with handles welded on. We changed to the stopping train to Chur at Landquart.

Klosters 3505, 611, 85, 243
Klosters Dorf 614 on stone train.
Schiers 613, 624
Landquart 3502

Lunch in Chur – no idea what Mary had ordered
Vegetable soup
Capuns (cabbage roll)/meat loaf
Beer

Post bus trip Chur to Bellinzola
Many tunnels and avalanche shelters. Went through many small villages. Long horned cattle - high waterfalls. The summit of the San Bernardino pass was quite high and had a lot of snow still. At Bellinzola we caught the train to Locarno and found intense agriculture. Very mild climate, pleasant room with a great view of the lake.

 

View from our room at Locarno

Trip to Switzerland 2010 - Chur Bernina Express

Wednesday 21 April

08:58 Chur to Tirano 13:12
14:33 Tirano to Chur 19:03

Click above for a slide show of the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express

Today we rode the Bernina Express of the Rhaetian Railway from Chur to Tirano and back. We received pretty shabby treatment from the railway which insisted we ride in a second class car where we were very cramped instead of providing a first class car – we all had first class tickets. This “don't care” attitude is atypical of the Swiss railways and possibly because the Rhaetian Railway has a monopoly of this admittedly great trip.

We left four minutes late and there were traffic regulation problems at the beginning of the run. The bar/trolley has an ibex head, with horns and front feet attached to the front.  Many people offered to buy the Ibex but it wasn't for sale, the girl was offered $50 at one time.

 Gerald with the bar trolley

 Between Filisur and Preda there was an emergency brake application in a tunnel. We resumed after a wait of a minute or so while the air was recovered – then a sticking brake took a minute or so to come off.  Maybe it was caused by a circuit breaker tripping.  Our car was not coupled tightly enough and there was jerking when we started and stopped.

The Landwasser Viaduct is impressive although there are several other beautiful stone viaducts in addition to this. The piers were built from cut stone without any scaffolding.  After the Albula tunnel there are swiftly flowing mountain streams with rocky bottoms. The water is a milky color. There is still lots of snow. Great scenery for Mozart piano concertos which I was playing on my iPod. There are fields of small crocus as yesterday in the areas where the snow has only just melted as the grass is still brown.

At Samedan we were switched to another platform and at Pontresina our locomotive was exchanged for two 1000v DC motor cars which took the train right through to Tirano.

The descent into Tirano is breathtaking. There are many spirals which gave us a great number of different perspectives of Lake Poschiano and it took a long time before we eventually reached it. Many of the retaining structures are dry stone walls. There was some street running in both Brusio and Tirano. The Customs at Tirano were not interested in looking at our passports and we quickly walked into the old town. We found we had to be careful of the cars whose drivers took no notice of pedestrian crossings. Tirano is a typical Italian town and is dirty and unkempt compared to what we have experienced in Switzerland. We found a pleasant lady in one of the few shops that had not closed for lunch and bought two small bottles of Proseco. She even provided some paper cups. A revolting sweet red wine was quickly consigned to the waste bin in the train.

 

 Tirano

The trip back was also enjoyable as we knew what to expect. We saw some deer and a fox (not close to each other). Again, our train was switched at Pontresina and Samedan. The railway uses small four wheel loco tractors for this and although they would appear to be equipped with air brakes, the air did not seem to be cut in. This is not a good practice when the cars are occupied by passengers. At Pontresina we received a pretty heavy knock as they squeezed up the coupler to attach the links. I was horrified to see a switchman standing on a coupler at Pontresina to cross from one side to the other.

Lago di Poschiavo

The weather was excellent, particularly on the Italian side and this made things very bright at the higher altitude where there was still a lot of snow. In places in the afternoon the snow was melting rapidly and running off into rivulets.

RhB Locomotives seen
Bernina Express 703
Thursis locotractor 117
Filisur 614
Preda 647
Samedan 702 on freight, Stadler railcar 3504, locotractor 89
Pontresina 617, 44 and 47 put on Bernina Express
Bernina Legalb 55
Poschiavo locotractor 151, 161, meet with 41 and 42, 48 in yard.
Campologno 118
Tirano 22, 53
Samerdan 703 on log train, 604, 89
Filisur 646, 88
Chur 611.

Trip to Switzerland 2010 - Chur Glacier Express

Tuesday 20 April

10:15 Chur to Andermatt 12:49
13:28 Andermatt to Goshenen 13:43
14:08 Goschenen to Arth-Goldau 15:06
15:13 Arth-Goldau to Pfaffikon 15:52
16:41 Pfaffikon to Chur 17:43

Click above for a slide show of the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express

Today we took the Glacier Express from Chur to Andermatt. The train was very comfortable with tall windows that curved to follow the roof contour. There were two first class cars at the front and two second class cars at the back with a restaurant/kitchen car in the middle. We were served lunch at our seats. (salad, pork medallions in a mushroom gravy, cooked wheat and carrots, chocolate cake or cheese (three types)). A couple who had made this trip three years ago said that the meal was exactly the same then. It was sustenance but not particularly special. One good thing was that the meal was actually prepared on board in the Kitchen and the portions were served on to the plates at the tables out of a pot There was a recorded commentary which served to cut out the noise from the talkers but it wasn't particularly interesting because it concentrated on economic and political items and there was less about what we could see from the train. Other trains were given priority and we took the siding for most of the meets.

At Disentis the RhB locomotive was changed for a MGB locomotive #108. They had to wait for a train coming the other way to clear but this was done very quickly. Two men couple up by standing one either side. The engine squeezes up the single center buffer and each man screws up the link coupling on his side.

Thee MGB engineer was evidently trying to make up the time that was lost by the meets on the RhB and he took the curves at a speed higher than was comfortable although not unsafe.

In spite of having to wait for a number of opposing trains we were only a couple of minutes late at Andermatt. At Oberalppass we met the Glacier Express going in the opposite direction hauled by MGB #103. The grass that was clear of snow was covered with tiny crocus flowers, mostly white but some purple.
MGB locomotives seen 18, 21, 91, 96, 101, 104, 105, 107.

At the summit the white snow was glaring and took everyone by surprise as we came upon it out of a tunnel. There are many chair lifts but very few seem to be in operation this time of year. The route down into Andermatt uses many loops and doubles back on itself several times. We could see Andermatt from on high and from several different angles as the train descended.

Anermatt is nothing special. We raced up to the church to see the decorated font and admire the paintings and the decorated organ and then went back to the station to take the earlier train to Goshenen to get some pictures for Martin. The route between Andermatt and Goshenen is very steeply graded down hill and the rack is used extensively. Most of this section is protected from slides so the line is in a gallery, at one point there is a rack-equipped siding inside the gallery.

Goshenen is a miserable place which could do with a coat of paint. The MGB comes down steeply on one side and there is a succession of freight and passenger trains running on the SBB into the Gottard Tunnel. The freight trains were runnng at high speed, closely spaced and all under green signals.

The main party had a very short time to make the transfer from the MGB to the SBB platform and Glen was not going to make it. The station staff kept him by the plank crossing and instructed our train to pull up clear of the crossing. This must have been done by radio while the train was still in the tunnel. Glen could then cross in safety and we all made the train.

The journey back to Chur was made with transfers at Arth Goldau and Pfaffikon. The first part was heavily graded with several loops to lose height but the last part from Pfaffikon was through very flat country with steel valley sides. There were vineyards, fruit trees, spring flowers, meadows. All along the SBB line there were preserved electric locomotives, mostly on siding trackage. This included a crocodile at Ersfeldt. The weather became milder although it was beginning to cool off by the time we had reached Chur. Some of the SBB first class cars have tall observation windows that extend into the roof.

Trip to switzerland 2010 - Appenzell to Chur

Monday 19 April

10:08 Appenzell to Gais 10:19
10:51 Gais to Alstatten Stadt 11;13
11:27 Bus Alstatten Stadt to Banhhof 11:33
11:42 Alstatten Bahnhof to Chur 12:38
14:08 Chur to Arosa 15:09
15:48 Arosa to Chur 16:52

After breakfast we had a walk around the town and admired the flowers in the churchyard – the light was good and the sun was in the right direction. We took an earlier train to Gais and had half an hour to wait for the others. The Appenzellerbahn train to Alstatten was two cars fitted with the Strub rack system. We entered the rack after climbing the first hill and used it most of the way down into the valley at Alstatten. It was a little noisier than the Rigenbach rack on the decent in to St. Gallen but, if anything, the grades are steeper. We descended into the valley in sunshine and it was evident that the trees are a couple of weeks ahead compared to higher in the mountains.

At the AB station in Alstatten we had to take the city bus to the SBB station. Will had made arrangements for a group movement on this bus which turned up on time behind a cheerful lady driver who was expecting us. We all piled on and were taken to the SBB station. A TV screen showed our progress just like at Zurich. Just try and arrange a group movement on OC Transpo!

The SBB train to Chur was fast and efficient. The Rhine valley narrows here and we were treated to a vew of another country, Lichtenstein. Passing Landquart works of the Rhaetianbahn I saw one of the new three car trains that are going into service on the RhB. This was No. 3501, the first to be delivered.

 Click above to see pictures of Chur, Arosa and Leinzenheide

The station at Chur is very modern with the trains to Arosa going outside next to the bus bays. The walk to the hotel is very short and the place is very peasant and, of course very clean.

 This is a train from Arosa arriving at the bus station in Chur

We took the 14:08 to Arosa and the 15:48 back. This was a bright red a RhB train hauled by a locomotive.  The train leaves from the bus station just outside the railway station.  We started off up the street, first on the side and then in the middle before joining a separate right of way. The railway climbs from 600 m to 1700 m up a steep sided valley. There are some giddy drops and at one point the line comes out of a tunnel and straight on to a high viaduct – shades of Peru. As we climbed higher there were clearings with a few houses and fields for the animals. There was a lot of snow lying around.

As we approached Arosa we could look down on to a lake of milky green water. At Arosa the lake was covered with ice/snow.

Arosa is a skiing town that is pretty dead at this time of year. There was no incentive to stay and so we caught the first train back. It had been snowing or raining at Arosa but as we started back down the sun came out and is was a pleasant ride back into a very warm Chur. We hit a car where the line comes on to the street running section. There was a thump, then the brakes went on and the whistle blown. A black car took off and we soon started up again.

I walked back up the line from the station a little way to watch the next train start out up the road. Not often you see roadside running with a locomotive hauled passenger train.

This is the best picture I took on the trip.  A train to Arosa running in the streets of Chur, under the wires at 11,000 volts AC.

We haven't yet ridden a train, boat or bus that has not run to time.

RhB locomotives seen:
Landquart 614 Schier
Chur 612, 608
Arosa line 626, 627