Dennis Basford's Rails, Roads and Runways: ‘Scene’ in Switzerland, In Aigle, Canton Vaud 2 on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

Monday 21 August 2023

‘Scene’ in Switzerland, In Aigle, Canton Vaud 2 on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

Part 1 was posted on 31/07/2023

Switzerland is split into regional administrative districts called Cantons which are similar to states in the USA being part of the federation that is Switzerland.

There was a time in the later years of the last century and the early years of this that friend Peter Rose and I both focussed our railway attentions on Switzerland.

The UK scene at the time was a bit drab and unexciting whilst Switzerland was different, varied and mainly sunny.

We both had railway holidays there although never together or at the same time.

I was very much into video at the time so it is Peter’s images that this blog, admittedly historical, is built around for which I thank him.

The town of Aigle lies in the valley of the river Rhone on the Swiss mainline linking the area around Lake Geneva, Lausanne and Montreux with Brig to the east and then south through the Simplon Tunnel down into Italy.

Part map of Central Switzerland.

on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

What makes Aigle unusual is that, apart from the East-West mainline, it is the centre for three routes that link it with other towns and villages in the area that in other times and places would be served by buses but here are served by trains.

The mainline through Aigle was built to standard gauge whilst the three ‘branches’ which start in the road outside the station were all built to narrow (metre) gauge.

Some sections with gradients are equipped for rack and pinion working.

At one time all three companies were independent but in 1975 merged to form a single operating company ‘Transportes Publics du Chablais’ (TPduC).

This was a move to bring about a greater level of co-operation between the

three companies which are the ‘Aigle-Leysin’, the ‘Aigle-Ollon-Monthey- Champery’ and the ‘Aigle-Sepey-Diablerets’.

All three routes can be traced on the map.

At the same time, the ‘Bex-Villars-Bretaye’ railway which provides a similar function (see map) joined ‘TPduC’.

Constructors abbreviations used;

SLM, Schweizerishe Lokomotive und Maschinenfabrik, Wintherthur.

ACMV, Atelier de Constructions Mechaniques, Vevey.

SIG, Schweizerishe Industriegesellschaft, Neuhausen am Rheinfall.

BBC, AG Brown Boveri & Cie, Baden.

SWP, Schindler Waggon AG, Pratteln.