9th January 2015 - Jura steam tripFriday 9th January 2015 It was not raining this morning though some precipitation was still threatened as we made our way to Zürich HB on SBB metals rather than the tram with another new class 450 as a “reward” for going this way. After three days on our own it was back to the railtours with a trip on an IR train to Olten to join up with the other participants for a steam-hauled journey to the Jura. This trip was an alteration to the original itinerary which should have been steam rail-motor no. 31 to Linthal today and Mikado 2-8-2 141R 1244 on a circular trip in the north east of the country on Saturday but scheduling issues for the steam motor trip and the Mikado being out of service with firebox problems forced some changes. Most notable of these was a completely different day out on Friday with 2-6-2T no. 5819 of SBB Historic, a class mate of 5810 which we had on Monday, which went in the opposite direction towards the French border in the Jura region rather than heading to Romanshorn on Bodensee / Lake Konstanz. This trip would start from Olten where the loco was based and head towards Delémont, avoiding Basel, then on to Porrentruy and Bonfol, the latter branch being particularly rare for steam traction. 5819 was seen getting ready on the shed as we arrived at Olten where we had about 45 minutes to wait before the special departed. A couple of freights passed during this time but, as we always find with this location, it is hard to anticipate and be on the correct platform at the correct end so we had to be content with a couple of pictures of class 460 locos in advertising liveries on passenger trains.
Our train, formed of 5819, 2 coaches, dining car and luggage van, only arrived a couple of minutes before the booked departure time and was nice and warm inside; or rather was only nice and warm inside until many of the windows were opened for the climb up to the tunnel at Läufelfingen. It must have been a smoky passage through the tunnel for the next EMU, which we paused to cross at Läufelfingen station a pause which gave everybody enough time to get some pictures.
A further stop was made at Liestal where we thought that water was being taken but it turned out it was only for a crew change so we were quickly ushered back on board; not before a picture was grabbed of 460.036 wearing a a livery featuring Mount Fuji advertising Japan tourism.
Onwards towards Basel and we were slightly surprised to be routed through the large marshalling Yard at Muttenz, just missing out on a shot of a pair of Re4/4s on a tank train, before we realised which route we were taking. Our train appeared to be a bit of an attraction judging by the many hoots and whistles from other forms of motive power as we passed through the yard at a fair old lick before turning left round the back of the shed and avoiding Basel station. It was at this point we remembered that the only way to access this curve was by going through the yard.
There was a further pathing stop at Münchenstein to let an S Bahn and ICN past followed by a more prolonged stop at Laufen where the loco took water from a hydrant a short distance from the station which gave some more opportunities to take some photos.
Although the train spent quite a long time taking water at Laufen it only went a further 16 kilometres to Delémont where it stopped briefly in the platform before propelling about 500 metres to the old roundhouse which is now in use as a museum though there were also some more modern items parked outside. We were allowed off the train to have a look round whilst 5819 went onto the turntable and was rotated so that it’s bunker could be backed up to a crane-fitted Tm which proceeded to hoist large bags of coal up to be unloaded into the bunker. Whilst this was going on the passengers were allowed into the roundhouse to look round before the second sitting of lunch in the dining car consisting of vegetable soup followed by a meat stew with mashed potato and rounded off with fruit salad, the first two courses having been prepared on the coach’s coal-fired range.
5819 set off from Delémont shed bunker first as this was the only chance during the entire trip to turn the loco, before heading off to Porrentruy where there was a brief stop in the station then into the sidings to run round as all three platforms were needed for service trains. Once the service trains had been and gone then it was our turn to head along the 10.9km long (about 6 ½ miles) branch line to Bonfol which is owned by the Chemins de fer du Jura. This company’s main operation is a 73km long metre gauge system running through the heart of the Jura region so this standard gauge line is a bit of an outpost and has a couple of second-hand EMUs to run the service, the unit in use today being a former RM (Regionalverkehr Mittelland) one.
It appeared that half the population of Bonfol had turned up to the station to witness what was apparently the first steam hauled train here since 2001, so it was not really surprising that many of the onlookers were children as it was quite possibly the first steam loco that some of them had ever seen. The loco had to run round quickly before the service train arrived but then had to wait as the EMU reversed and went straight back to Porrentruy at which point the crew decided to top up the water in 5819, causing us to leave a few minutes late. There was a nice climb leaving Bonfol through a concrete sided cutting then the train drifted down to Porrentruy where we ran round in the platform this time, enabling some final photos to be taken in the fading light. There was a short stop at Glovelier where the CJ’s metre gauge line terminates, though since our previous visit here it had gained a nice new platform rather than terminate in the road outside the main line station. Onwards to Delémont where it had been decided that most of the party would detrain to catch an ICN for a speedy trip back to Basel, except there was one small problem, our train wasn’t actually in a platform! A bit of a confab took place, HV vests appeared and those who wanted to get off were escorted across the track to the platform; luckily the platform was fairly low or many of the people who did alight would not have been able to get onto it. Rather less luckily, by the time all this had taken place, the ICN had departed so those who chose to get off would have to wait for the following local train which they could have caught at Laufen though it would only be three minutes behind us at that point. We had considered staying on the train to the bitter end at Olten, not least for the steep climb from Sissach, but it was dark and the thought of waiting for 50 minutes whilst the loco was watered at Laufen didn’t really appeal so we changed platforms and hopped onto the following EMU to Basel with the intention of getting a snack and a cup of tea before catching the 19:07 ICE back to Zürich. This plan was rapidly changed when an Re4/4 was spied on the 18:47 IR train via Aarau and Lenzburg, it wasn’t in the diagrams but we guessed that it should have been a class 460 as nearly all the turns via that route to Zürich are.
We pulled up in Zürich HB 11 hours and 55 minutes after leaving there this morning and as we would need to out and about again in 12 hours time it was straight down to the original S Bahn platforms and onto the first hauled train back to “base” at Hardbrücke.
Keywords:
Railway Touring Company,
Switzerland
Comments
Martin Baumann(non-registered)
I have enjoyed reading your blog. I was in Switzerland in January 2015 myself but the only time we were on the same trains was the 9th when my Father and myself did 460 058 to Olten and the steam tour as far as Delemont in the evening. I have train 17367 recorded as two units: 521 028+522 203
No comments posted.
Loading...
|