European Railroad Discussion > Viewing freight at Winterthur, CH

Good afternoon.  I have a Zurich trip tomorrow and will have some time for freight fanning on Friday.  The weather doesn't look very cooperative, so I may ride up to Winterthur just to explore things because of the relative short ride and frequency of service.  I frequently see photos from there on the web, but I'm unsure if the freight trains traverse the main passenger station, or if the photos are taken elsewhere on a freight bypass or another station within the city.  

Any insights are greatly appreciated, as always.

Mike Derrick
 

My suggestion would be the line from Zürich Oerlikon towards Bülach. This is west of Zürich Flughafen Kloten. My suggestion is to take a S-Bahn train to Zürich Oerlikon then from there take an S9 or S15 towards Bülach. Either Glattbrugg or Rümlang are the best but not scenic, the tank farm for Zürich airport is between the two stations and all Jet Fuel arrives by train. Loads arrive from the south go past the tank farm on the siding then set back into the unloading tracks. The loads depart to the north and take the back door route along the Rhein to Basel. For better scenery go further to Eglisau where the big viaduct over the Rhein is located. Not all freight will cross the river some will use the line along the south bank to or from Basel. Good luck and happy hunting.

Thanks for the recommendations, John.  I didn't get to put them to use-- wound up rescheduled off of the Zurich and in Denver, Colorado instead.  Just a slight difference!

Mike