SGEG — SGEG

As a memento of our excursion, here is a photo from Arth-Goldau. In 1975, the driver’s cab on the valley side of railcar 3 was unfortunately removed for an exhibition at the Swiss Museum of Transport. On 7 October 1975, I was able to photograph the freshly detached driver’s cab, together with the rest of the vehicle which was subsequently scrapped, at the historic Rigibahn depot in Arth-Goldau. The railcar dates from 1907 and was built by Rastatt / Wüest, Seebach, together with the identical carriages 4 and 5. They offered 36 second-class seats and 60 third-class seats. In addition, there were 24 spaces on the large platforms behind the driver’s cab and behind the track inspector’s post on the mountain side, bringing the total to 120 passengers! Car 3 was taken out of service in 1965. It was therefore four years older than Car 6, which is now considered the oldest cogwheel railcar. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Rigi Historic, many other historic vehicles have been spared this fate and continue to delight the public with regular appearances. Photo: © 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.

Arth-Goldau

Members and friends of the SGEG who regularly visit our website will probably not be too surprised that we are presenting a piece on railway history to coincide with our next excursion.Everyone is familiar with Arth-Goldau station, either from changing trains there or as the starting point for a trip up to the Rigi. Arth-Goldau is also an important starting point for the Südostbahn. So there is certainly plenty of material for a few look-backs…

Let’s start with a typical Gotthard locomotive, which was, however, less well known to the general public and rather unpopular with train drivers. The Ae 4/6 10812 is pulling its Lucerne – Erstfeld passenger train 1516 into Arth-Goldau. Above the rear of the train, you can see the Rigibahn’s famous elevated cross-platform station. Behind the locomotive is a (presumably manned) mail van, as was often the case at the time. 30 July 1977 Photo: © Edi Meier, Bülach

The last years of the Be 4/6 12305

When I first started taking photos of trains, the last Be 4/6 locomotives at Winterthur depot were eking out a living hauling general freight trains such as the 8049 from Zurich to Schaffhausen. During a lengthy stop at Bülach, the Be 4/6 re-formed the train with a lengthy shunting manoeuvre. On 7 September 1970, Be 4/6 12305 stands ready for departure. In the background, a Be 6/8 II with a gravel train is also waiting for the green light. Bülach, 7 September 1970 Photo: © Edi Meier, Bülach

OJB B23 Part 2: Passenger Trains

Let’s start modestly with the SNB BDe 4/4 5 and the B 23 in front of the monastery church of St. Urban. The Baroque monastery church, built between 1711 and 1717 on the site of an older church, would of course be well worth a visit, but we didn’t have time for that! The BDe 4/4 5 was built in 1918 by SWS and MFO for the SNB and delivered some three months after the line opened. In 1954, the carriage body was modernised and in 1961 it was fitted with new, more powerful traction motors from SAAS (Sécheron). 24 March 1984 Photo: © Edi Meier, Bülach

Arth-Goldau – More than just the gateway to the south

The SBB training workshop, the Rigi Railways depot and the Horath private collection

The village of Goldau, part of the municipality of Arth in the heart of Switzerland, boasts a number of railway-related attractions. This is the second most important site for the training of SBB signalling technicians after the Centre Loewenberg in Murten. The focus is on relay signal boxes and outdoor system components such as points, level crossings and train control systems. It is also home to the only training facility for gas and electric point heating systems.

GM 2026: Zeppelin Museum

This year, participants of our AGM with accompanying programme met at Romanshorn, where the motor vessel ‘St. Gallen’ was waiting. It served as a replacement for a car ferry that is currently undergoing maintenance.
The photo shows a historic warehouse in front of the church at the entrance to Romanshorn harbour. 7 March 2026 Photo: © Edi Meier, Bülach

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