Switzerland 2010 Part III

Rheinfall

It's hardly Niagara, but these falls in northern Switzerland near the German border are the largest in Europe. Wikipedia tells me that they are 450 ft wide and 75 ft high.
Immediately on stepping off the train I could hear the roar of the water, but first I headed upwards to Schloss Laufen. As well as providing access to various viewing platforms, the castle houses an interesting exhibition where I learned that Dutch timber companies wanted to blow the falls up but were eventually prevented from doing so by the locals who didn't want to lose their tourist attraction. Various plans for hydroelectric power were also thwarted.

Built in 1880? That's what this sign in the middle of the falls seems to be saying.

On the other side is Schloss Wörth, from where boat trips take tourists to the small island right in the middle of the falls.

Visitors can also view the falls from an airship.

I took a ride on one of the boats which are a sort of larger version of the abras in Dubai and "dock" by simply charging at a ramp on the shore. I wimped out of visiting the island and just took a trip across the river back to Schloss Laufen.

Stein am Rhein

Described in the guide book as having the prettiest town square in Switzerland, this town a few miles upstream from the Rheinfall has a well preserved Medieval centre, with many of the buildings having painted decoration.

Even the architecture of modern buildings (This one dates from the 1980s if I remember correctly) is in similar style.

Rheineck-Walzenhausen-Bahn

I continued further upstream to Rheineck to travel on the short rack railway up the hill to Walzenhausen. Now, where does the train leave from? Ah, it's on platform one. And I do mean on, the tracks are laid in the tarmac of platform one and the quaint 1950s railcar has its own raised platform!

Weisshorn

The Aroser Weisshorn (Not to be confused with another Weisshorn near Zermatt which is a lot taller) rises to 2653 metres (Wikipedia again!). A scenic railway from Chur takes you to the pleasant town of Arosa.

From Arosa two cable cars carry visitors up to the peak.

Then the real mountaineering starts, the final ascent of the north face involving a difficult traverse and some rope-work on the vertical section. Oh alright, in truth the final ascent is by escalator, indoors and heated! The views from the top, at 2,653m or 8,704 feet, are spectacular.

The line from Chur to Arosa runs through the streets of Chur, and I paused to take some pictures when I got back there. Even the loco run-round operation involves shunting in the street.

Üetliberg


This branch line runs from Zürich up a small (by Swiss standards - It's 873 m or 2864 ft high.) mountain. The unusual trains have their pantographs offset to one side. This is because the Zürich end of the line is shared with another line which has a different electrification voltage, so the contact wire is placed to one side to keep the systems separate. There are plans to introduce dual-voltage stock here, I imagine they will move the wire to the middle when that happens.

At the top is a TV tower and a smaller observation tower from which there are good views of Zürich and the surrounding countryside.

September 2010

Rail Log

For the rail enthusiasts amongst you, here's my complete travel log for the trip.
TimeFromToMotive power
Wednesday 8 September 2010
10.01HuytonNewton-le-Willows156488
10.35Newton-le-WillowsManchester Airport156486
13.45ManchesterZürichA319 HB-IPX
17.13Zürich FlughafenZürich HB460116
17.37Zürich HBSargans460083

Thursday 9 September 2010
08.17SargansZiegelbrücke560046
09.03ZiegelbrückeRapperswil561004
10.00RaperswilArth-Goldau11145
11.10GoldauRigi Kulm14
13.00Rigi KulmVitznau21
14.11VitznauFlüelenD.S. Gallia
16.11FlüelenZug523005
17.08ZugZürich HB
via Hedingen (S9)		450087
19.12Zürich HBSargans460086

Friday 10 September 2010
06.39SargansThalwil460041
07.45ThalwilLuzern460068
08.55LuzernBrienz101963
101964 from Meiringen
10.45BrienzRothorn15
12.20RothornBrienz14
13.57BrienzMeiringen130001
14.30ReichenbachReichenbachfall
15.30ReichenbachfallReichenbach
16.21MeiringenInterlaken Ost101964
17.01Interlaken OstBern460052
19.02BernZürich HB460111
20.12Zürich HBSargans460046

Saturday 11 September 2010
07.33SargansLandquart460xxx
08.17LandquartDisentis/Mustér620
10.14Disentis/MustérAndermatt102
11.37AndermattBrig91
14.23BrigGöschenen
17.08GöschenenArth-Goldau460007
18.13Arth-GoldauPfäffikon456095
20.41PfäffikonSargans460093

Sunday 12 September 2010
08.13SargansChur11126
08.58ChurSamedan643
10.49SamedanPontresina602
11.04PontresinaTirano3501
13.04TiranoSt. Moritz53 + 55
18.02St. MoritzSamedan643
18.14SamedanScuol-Tarasp601
19.40Scuol-TaraspKlosters601
20.29KlostersLandquart617
21.26LandquartSargans460001

Monday 13 September 2010
08.28SargansZürich HB460063
09.37Zürich HBWinterthur460054
10.06WinterthurSchloss Laufen526769
13.09Schloss LaufenSchaffhausen526772
13.31SchaffhausenStein am Rhein526727
14.57Stein am RheinRomanshorn526765
16.00RomanshornRorschach526682 526689
16.34RorschachHeiden25
17.05HeidenRorschach25
17.40RorschachRheineck526736 526707 526xxx
18.06RheineckWalzenhausen1
18.15WalzenhausenRheineck1
18.27RheineckSargans11154

Tuesday 14 September 2010
08.21SargansLanquart460033
08.47LanquartDavos Platz650
10.31Davos PlatzFilisur650
11.01FilisurChur643
12.08ChurArosa632
 ArosaWeisshornCablecars
 WeisshornArosaCablecars
15.48ArosaChur631
17.16ChurSargans460048

Wednesday 15 September 2010
08.28SargansZürich HB460030
09.37Zürich HBZürich Flughafen460080
10.10Zürich FlughafenZürich HB460004
10.25Zürich HBTriemli556527 556528
10.44TriemliÜetliberg556521 556522
12.06ÜetlibergZürich HB556522 556521
 Zürich BahnhofplatzFlughafenBe 5/6 3073
15.10ZürichFrankfurt737-200 D-ABXS
17.00FrankfurtManchesterA321 D-AISV
18.41Manchester AirportSaint Helens Junction156486
19.39Saint Helens JunctionHuyton150142

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