European Railroad Discussion > An American Railfan in Europe, Part III

How about those side-rods !?! We checked into the Hotel Froshinn (above the right hand nose of the motor) in Erstfeld, Switzerland on 8/9/05, and saw the other side of this motor from our room. There's more at:

http://members.trainorders.com/gputz

I highly recommend the Hotel Froshinn for its accomodations and hospitality. The views aren't bad either, if your're a railfan.

Gerry

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This is where I live and work :-)) Did you made a tour trough the shops?

Stefan

Stefan, no we didn't make a tour through the shops. In general, I try to stay out of working railroaders' way so I don't cause a safety or security problem unless I'm invited in. Perhaps you can tell us what the plans are for the current line South of Erstfeld after the long tunnel under the Alps is completed. Will they still run passenger trains to connect with the Materhorn Gotthard Bahn ? Gerry

Fantastic photos! I enjoyed all of the freight train photos. What is the cargo on the "southbound Swiss cans"?

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> Fantastic photos! I enjoyed all of the freight
> train photos. What is the cargo on the
> "southbound Swiss cans"?


From the looks of it, they have a train of four-axle tank cars behind them.

Liquified gas??

Gerry,

I don`t know what their plans are. SBB Cargo says, they will abandon the line and move the
personnel to Arth Goldau.
Next time when your are in Erstfeld, go to the office building beside the workshops and ask for a tour. With a guide, you can visit the shops without any security or safety problems :-)) We have several people each week which make a request for a tour.

Stefan

http://www.mypage.bluewin.ch/Railfan

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> Fantastic photos! I enjoyed all of the freight
> train photos. What is the cargo on the
> "southbound Swiss cans"?

The "Swiss Cans" are containers on flatcars. So they are handling finished chemicals.
Most chemical "Intermediates" move in tank cars, but it is more common for finished chemicals to move in containers in Europe.

If Gerry knows the approximate time of day of the picture I have the current freight timetables for Switzerland and could probably ID the trains. The N/B TX Logistics train led by the Dispolok Taurus should be #79472 due through Göshenen at 7:39.

Stefan, thanks for the information about the tour availability. I really enjoyed my visit to Erstfeld and may return before the long tunnel opens. Gerry

SOO6617, we didn't arrive at Göshenen until about 10:00, so the n/b led by the Dispolok motor was either very late (in Switzerland ?), or another train. We returned to Erstfeld by 18:00, and the s/b "Cans" was one of the last trains we saw at Göshenen, probably between 16:00 and 17:00. Gerry

GPutz Wrote:
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> SOO6617, we didn't arrive at Göshenen until about
> 10:00, so the n/b led by the Dispolok motor was
> either very late (in Switzerland ?), or another
> train. We returned to Erstfeld by 18:00, and the
> s/b "Cans" was one of the last trains we saw at
> Göshenen, probably between 16:00 and 17:00. Gerry

Great photographs Gerry.
Swiss freights aren't quite as good as Swiss passenger trains but they
aren't normally that late. I found the asnswer among the "Conditional" freights. TXL
#40018 operates Tuesday through Friday as an overflow as needed. Scheduled through Göschenen at 10:49. BTW freights that originate in Italy are more likely to be late, than those that start from Swiss points, particularly if they have to cross Milan.
Did the southbound TXL train have two Dispolok Taurus? All of the schedules SB are booked for two.

As a side bar to the unusual crank rods of the Crocodile (initially type Ce6/8II). This was the first high powered electric ordered by the Swiss Railways (SBB) for passeneger and freight service over the Gotthard pass. The SBB was concerned that a single crank rod would not be able to handle that high of power from the two motors the wheel set, hence each motor got an individual crank rod, combined into a large triangular rod with an additional excentric weight. However the concern was unfounded and the later order (Ce6/8III) had only a single crank rod. Among railroaders the earlier design was referrd to as engines with an "Ueberbein" (literally extra leg).

ThomasE