The ‘Jurapfeil’ RBe 2/4 1010 with its ABDi 50 85 81-03 001-4 trailer car leaves Romanshorn station for Rorschach. Visible in the background: buildings in the harbour area. 23 March 1977 © Edi Meier, Bülach
Here you will find information about our association, our planned and past excursions into the world of Swiss railway and industrial history, and lots of interesting facts about the world of railways.
Header images
The header images are changed approximately once a month. In case you missed one, we would like to present the last 12 header images to you again here. At the moment, there are a few more, as we have replaced the previous slider (which significantly slowed down the response time of the homepage) and are showing these images here again. Enjoy!
Steam locomotive 141 R 1244 belonging to the Mikado 1244 Association with special train 53056 in Romanshorn on 18 March 1979. We are unlikely to have that many participants at our AGM… Foto: (c) Daniel Heer/bahnarchiv.ch, SGEG DH A SWN135 1261-21
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On a related note: Homepage
When we migrated our homepage to the now standard WordPress platform four years ago, we had already decided to redesign the colour scheme. To keep things simple, we opted for a two-step approach. Unfortunately, the second step was delayed for years for various reasons…
Now, the sombre SBB green with yellow lettering (like the lettering on railway carriages) has given way to lighter tones that are more appealing and, above all, easier to read. At the same time, the site should no longer appear so fragmented on mobile phones, although this is still a work in progress.
We have now started the conversion process and it will take some time. There will be few changes to the content of the website. We apologise for any temporary malfunctions or visual imperfections. However, we welcome any feedback on such issues. Perhaps we haven’t noticed them yet…
SGTI invitations
Our partner association SGTI has invited us to two events:
– 21 March 2026: Tour of the historic paper machine in Bischofszell
Please refer to the attached flyer (PDF) for all the details.
– 18 April 2026: Tour of the gypsum mine with the Schleitheim tunnel railway, including a lecture on Swiss mines by author Roger Widmer
Please refer to the attached flyer (PDF) for all the details.
FW in the snow
Fourty years ago, snow was a little more common in the Swiss Mittelland, but high fog was already a permanent fixture back then. That’s why it was a rare stroke of luck on 16 February 1985 to encounter a combination of sunshine and freshly fallen snow on the FW (Frauenfeld – Wil – Bahn) railway line. I can’t remember whether there was a special reason for this photo shoot or whether it was simply my intuition and the hope of getting some great pictures… In any case, it was worth it and resulted in a photo series that is well worth seeing!
GM 2026
Saturday, 7 March 2026 AGM with accompanying programme ‘The Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen’
In beautiful but unfortunately hazy weather, the participants met in Romanshorn for a boat trip to Friedrichshafen, where we were able to take part in an interesting guided tour of the Zeppelin Museum. We were impressed by the incredible dimensions of these filigree airships.
Our destination: Friedrichshafen and the Zeppelin Museum in the former railway station building directly behind the ship 07.03.2025 © Edi Meier, Bülach
After a hearty and very tasty lunch, the AGM took place in a bright meeting room with a great view of Lake Constance. Afterwards, many headed home, while some visited the museum again to take a closer look at other exhibits.
A report on the visit to the Zeppelin Museum will follow.
Romanshorn
Romanshorn, the meeting point for the boat trip to our AGM in Friedrichshafen, has always been a worthwhile destination for railway photographers. A brief photographic review of times gone by…
At Romanshorn, the last Ee 3/3 ‘Halbschuh’ locomotives with a single-sided front end from the first series of SBB electrical shunting locomotives were active. Here, Ee 3/3 no. 16324 is preparing an EW II luggage van for its next assignment. 31 March 1984 © Edi Meier, Bülach
Le Pont – Le Brassus PBr
The railway line from Vallorbe via Le Pont to Le Brassus is unique in many respects. While the steep section from Vallorbe via the Le Day junction to Le Pont was owned by the SBB, the flatter section from Le Pont to Le Brassus belonged to the private railway company PBr (Pont Le Brassus). The entire line had been operated by SBB for years, and special vehicles were frequently used, as was the case during my visit on 4 February 1985.