Bill's Excellent Swiss Train & Tram Adventure

[bill937ca]

The final train is the Red Arrow. The Red Arrow is a group of similar but different rail cars and trains built in the 1930s.  The were a mixture of single units and double units, either diesel or electrically powered.  The unit in the photos is the Churchill Arrow which was once used by Winston Churchill to deliver a famous speech on the future of Europe in 1946.  It is now used as a special event train.  Here it is running as a Fondue train.  Zurich has Fondue trams @ 125 Swiss Francs per passenger which sell out for the season within days.  I spotted this train just after I had dinner the final evening.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Arrow_(Swiss_train)

Edited Sunday at 04:34 PM by bill937ca

[kuro68000]

I wonder if it's like buying a car and they charge €500 extra for the nice pearlescent paint.

[bill937ca]

8 hours ago, kuro68000 said:

I wonder if it's like buying a car and they charge €500 extra for the nice pearlescent paint.

Everything is pricey in Switzerland.  I have to buy breakfast at the hotel. My breakfast the first day before I was in the hotel was $36 Canadian for two eggs, bacon, bread and coffee. Wow! But, OH what trams and trains.

Edited Sunday at 06:01 PM by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

So the reason I went to Switzerland was to photograph four types of high floor trams due to be replaced in the near future.

 

These are Zurich VBZ Tram 2000 built in three series between 1976 and 1992, the Basel BLT Be 4/6  and 4/8 201-266 built since 1978, the Forchbahn Be 8/8 built from 1976 to 1986  in three series and the Basel BVB Be 4/4 built in 1986 and described by The Development of the Modern Tram by Brian Patton as "probably the last conventional bogie trams to be placed in service in Western Europe."  There also are Swiss Standard trailers in Basel that are the last Swiss Standard trams anywhere in the world.

 

Whereas the railways are standard gauge, all Swiss tram systems are meter gauge (1000mm or 39.37 inches).

 

The Swiss FO (foreign office)  has been sending retired Swiss trams to the Ukraine and in the recent past to Sofia, Bulgaria and Belgrade, Serbia.

 

Photos

1. Zurich VBZ Tram 2000 Sedan and Pony motorized trailer at Stauffcher, May 2025.

2. Basel BLT Schindler Be 4/8 (and a 4/6 set out of sight) at Basel SBB Centralbahnplatz, May 2025

3. Forchbahn Be 8/8 train at Forch, May 2025.

4. Basel BVB Be 4/4 towing a Swiss Standard trailer in the landscaped loop at Birsfelden Hard, May 2025.

 

I told I took 700 photos in just 5 days.

 

 

Edited Monday at 01:27 AM by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

Trams have the right of way in Switzerland primary because of their braking distance.  There is direct democracy at all three levels in Switzerland and since 1971.  Zurich trams have had priority at all times.  Planners prefer to separate modes so trams and trolleybuses generally have their own lane.

 

Switzerland is very much a rules based society. Over half the adult population are active in military reserves.  Tram stops have crosswalks at both ends and all minor traffic charges are criminal.  Speeding 5mph over the 50kpm limit results in a big fine and can result in two years jail time. For dodging a public transport fare a wide range of doors close: applying for a rental lease, citizenship applications, credit card, mobile phone and mortgage applications all typically grind to a halt. Seems to be very much like bankruptcy.  I sense the impact of direct democracy here.

 

Tram lines run every 7.5 minutes, every 10 minutes evenings until 11pm and every 10 minutes Sundays.  In many places lines are double up and frequencies are much less.

 

Zurich's tram system is a marvel of investment and engineering.  There is one four track section, and three track sections at Bellevue, Stockerstrasse and Bahnhof Enge.  Several tram hubs free of auto traffic including Bellevue with 7 tram lines, Paradeplatz with 7 or 8 tram lines depending on the time and Bahnhof Enge with 2 loops and three loading positions. All of these have pavilions for waiting passengers.

 

Bahnhof Enge has a banana curve on the tram 7 platform (see photo).  Bellevue used to have a two banana curves but these were straightened out when the junction was rebuilt in 2015 "for better mobility".  Tram assignments have are determined by the length of some tram stops.  The shortest can only accommodate trams up to 36 meters.  The longest trams are 43 or 43.5 meters.  Something else to research and photograph!

 

The old Tram 2000s apart from one small group will be gone by December 2025 when there also will be a major routing change.

 

Photos

1. Gauntlet track on Bahnhofstrasse leading to the four track section between Bahnhofplatz and Bahnhofquai.

2. Four track section between Bahnhofplatz and Bahnhofquai.

3. Entry to Bellevue tram hub. The pavilion has tracks on all three sides and there is a loop around the complex.  Starting point for many special tram operations.

4. Paradeplatz in the heart of the city.

5. Bahnhof Enge

Edited Monday at 05:53 PM by bill937ca

[tridentalx]

Great photos and additional information. Love riding the Swiss Railway network (a bit closer to the UK than Japan is). Have done the 3 main tourist trains and quite a lot of the main network but barely any of the branch lines. Hoping for another visit sometime this year.

[bill937ca]

The Forchbahn runs from near downtown Zurich to Esslingen 16 km from the city. Inside the city the Forchbahn runs like a tramway on street track, then past the end of trams at Rehab the FB operates on side-of-the-road track, a short subway with two stations, some single track line and much double track line out through the Swiss countryside. Currently,  many construction projects are under way to upgrade the FB. included amongst that will be 10 new 75 meter rail cars that will replace the Tram 2000 style interurbans.  FB interurbans are 2400mm wide versus 2200mm wide for the Zurich trams. And like the Zurich trams they have upholstered seats. The ticket agency at Forch even has flower pots outside its little shop.

 

Photos:

1. Tram 2000 style stock at Stadelhofen.

2. Old school interurban interior with upholstered seats.

3. Train arriving at Forch Station.

4. Flower pots at Forch travel agency.

Edited Tuesday at 01:17 AM by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

The classic Tram 2000s and the first group of low floor articulated cars use what appears to be a steering wheel to control the tram.  It is a tap changer that is  a  mechanism that controls a transformer for acceleration and braking.  This case it is in 6kph increments.  

 

This is the photographed through the window of the locked cab in the second unit of a Tram 2000 double traction set with the tap changer visible.

Edited yesterday at 04:43 AM by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

All the Zurich trams have backup controls concealed in a large box at the back of the tram. It has long been a favorite place for locals to ride. When you see trams it seems there is always someone sitting on the box. It is such a local institution that newer trams now have four seats at the back window.  To go with the backup controls there is gong button on the floor in back of Tram 2000 motor cars and Pony motorized trailers. Occasionally you will hear someone step on the gong. I know who did that! Bang the gong!

[cteno4]

Do they let them off the tracks in Switzerland? I thought seeing a steering wheel was like one of those kids steering wheels in the car to play with.

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

Yeah, its really not full size.

[bill937ca]

The primary reason for my visit was to photograph and experience the Tram 2000 cars.  The second series is to be retired by December 2025 as more Flexity trams arrive. Tram 2000 is a tram that was designed to appeal to passengers with their seats and dimensions, aisle width and easier steps into the car. From a raised tram stop there would only be one step into the tram. But all this is out line with today's world.

 

The articulated Be 4/6 six axle motor trams are 21.4 meters long and 2200mm wide. The Pony Be 2/4 four axle motorized trailers are 15.4 meters long.  These trams were designed to run either in double traction with two motors in a train almost 43 meters or as Pony trains with a motor and a motorized trailer. The Pony train is essentially what was once known in North America as a six-motor train.  Two motorized units were deemed to required to maintain schedules as towing a true trailer over Zurich's hills would not work.  The 36 meter articulated motor and Pony were assigned to lines with tight stops that don't allow longer trams.

 

The Tram 2000 has been called the best classic high floor tram ever built.  The ride is smooth, the interior is very quiet for a tram and these trams corner smoothly.  The Pony rides very smooth for a trailer, probably because of the weight of the motors. Like the other trams I was seeking, the Tram 2000s have upholstered seating, something that is becoming very rare today.

 

It is not noticeable that these trams are 40 years old.

 

Photos

1. Tram 2000 with Sedan section added during the early 2000s.

2. Entry doors and fold down step.

3. Interior looking the enclosed cab.

4. Interior of a Pony without a cab.

5. Seating.

Edited 5 hours ago by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

Basel is a city of 173,000 people just over an hour from Zurich. Basel has two tram systems running on common infrastructure.  The BLT operates five lines and is the heir to four former suburban railway and tram lines. The BVB is the local tram network with 9 routes. BLT has 100 trams and BVB has 115 trams and 22 trailers.

 

Because of local resistance to spending Basel trams have always less elaborate than Zurich's.  The designs at Basel, starting with the yellow BLT 4/6 Schindler trams of the 1970s focused on simple, flat shapes and surfaces.  Zurich's Tram 2000 was too expensive and unusable in Basel without significant modifications. Basel trams required compressed air equipment for trailer operation and the Tram 2000 was all electric.  Basel kept its cam control while Zurich used fully automatic chopper control. Pantographs in Basel were manual and in Zurich pantographs operate with an electric drive. This group of 66 trams is winding down its life on the BLT lines. At least one group is moving onto Lviv in the Ukraine and some have gone to Germany.

 

Starting in the late 80s a large portion of the Schindler's had a third section designed for low floor entry added.  These now run in trains of a 4/8 lead tram and an original 4/6 second tram.

 

Photos

1. BLT 4/8 outside Basel SBB train station running with a 4/6.  E11 is a rush hour only route.

2. Be 4/6 on a Fahrschule (driving school) assignment.

3. Centralbahnplatz outside SBB Basel.

Edited 5 hours ago by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

In the late 1980s BVB introduced a particularly affordable environmental tariff to encourage greater ridership. Patronage soured by over 10% in the first year and additional rolling stock was required.  Instead of the then common 6-axle articulated tram, BVB chose four-axle motor trams in order to make use of the large number of existing trailers.

 

Conventional resistance technology was chosen as the drive technology in order to be able to combine the motor vehicles with the existing rolling stock. When these vehicles were built, the control technology used was considered outdated. In retrospect, this policy has proven to be successful: thanks to the lack of technical bells and whistles, the vehicles are hardly susceptible to repairs and can be used universally. 

 

With the Be 4/4 477-502 the BVB formed three car trains for the first time.  These trams either run as motor + trailer or motor + motor + trailer.  There are 2 x 204HP motors in each tram for climbing the steep grades of lines 15 and 16 to Bruderholz.  Unlike most trams I have ridden in Europe these trams are almost old time growlers.   BVB Swiss Standard trailers have a bouncier ride than the Tram 2000 Ponys in Zurich.  Like the Tram 2000s in Zurich these trams give no indication they are approaching 40 years of service.

 

Many Swiss trams have nicknames and these trams are no different. Most common is "Gherkin" or sometimes "small cucumber."

 

Photos:

1. Gherkin 498 at Bruderholz terminus.

2. Be 4/4 498 downtown at Bankverein.

3. Interior of a Be 4/4

4. Controls of a Be 4/4. No tap changer!

5. Bench behind the closed cab hiding control technology.

6. Swiss Standard trailer at Birsfelden Herd.