The little train from Montbovon to Palézieux over Bulle in French-speaking Switzerland
After my first post on this blog, which was about the M32 locomotive class of MÁV I would like to show you an example of the other kind of post which is going to be dominant in the contents here: a description of a railway line. As the interests of railfans can be really different I am going to offer a great variety of topics and in contrast to the less-known lowlands locomotive in the previous post here you will be able to read about a railway in the Swiss Alps, and about a region that you have almost certainly already heard about.
The spectacular alpine landscape attracts tourists both by train and with motor homes
Switzerland is known not only for its stunning landscapes but for the many different standard-gauge and narrow-gauge private railways that let you get to some tiny villages by train. The train which has affectionately been called "La Gruyère" is a metre-gauge railway operating mostly in the canton of Fribourg and is part of the company Transport publics Fribourgeois that also operates local bus lines and two standard-gauge railways, one between Bulle and Romon and another one from Fribourg to Ins via Morat. As it is normal in Switzerland, the route of the Gruyère is fully refurbished, allows for comparably high speeds and is used by many locals as well as tourists visiting the region.
Construction
The line of the Gruyère connects to standard gauge at Palézieux and Bulle and to the metre-gauge main line of the Montreux-Oberland bernois (MOB) at Montbovon. Trains travelling through Chatel-St. Denis have to change direction. Map source.
The current metre-gauge line was created by a handful of smaller companies. The Châtel-St-Denis–Palézieux railway opened in 1901 was operated by the Chemin de fer Châtel-St-Denis–Palézieux (CP). The Chemin de fer Châtel-St-Denis-Bulle-Montbovon planned to build the railway line showed in its name but before the opening of the first section, it was renamed Chemins de fer électriques de la Gruyère. The line from Chatel-St. Denis to Montbovon over Gruyere opened in 1904 and the branch from Bulle to Broc-Fabrique opened in 1912. Currently, normal operation means hourly trains from Montbovon, where transfer to the MOB is possible to Bulle and hourly trains as well from Palézieux to Bulle with a change of direction at Chatel-St. Denis.
The reason for the need to change direction is that between 1904 and 1969 the Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans, currently part of Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera (MVR), had a branch from St. Légier to Chatel-St. Denis that connected at the Southern end of the station. Of the lines of CEV currently the Vevey-Blonay-Les Pléiades partly rack-and-pinion railway is operated as a regular railway while the Blonay-Chamby line, that also connects to the MOB mainline, is operated by enthusiasts as a museum railway with theme days for the different railways they own rolling stock from.
In 1942 the metre-gauge and the standard-gauge lines merged in the Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM), then with the addition of the local services of Fribourg in 2000, Transports publics fribourgeois SA/Freiburgische Verkehrsbetriebe AG (TPF) was founded.
Our journey began at Montbovon station which is the transfer point to the trains of the MOB. The station itself is owned by TPF, the building has a stone lower and a wooden upper floor and carved wooden station signs. After the departure from the beautifully located station the atmosphere gets a second boost as the red-white TPF train leaves Montbovon running at the street while motorists have to wait at the barriers closing the two ends of the main street.
After clearing the town the dramatic alpine landscape of Montbovon is left behind and the green, grass-covered fields allow the cows to climb small hills along the route. Even though the railway is not crowded with passengers in the summer (the greatest portion of travelers during the year are schoolchildren) every stop has an elevated platform and at least a freshly painted wooden shed to protect the people waiting for the train from the elements. Much more cozy than the standard glass-walled bus stops they build everywhere now.
The track itself is also in perfect condition with the train running smoothly and without much noise. After about fifteen minutes the train takes a sharp turn to the West, enters a tunnel and leaves the valley of the Sarine to arrive at Gruyères station. The spectacular town built on top of a lonely hill is of course famous of its cheese, a hard, salty, aged kind which is great for baking and hot sandwiches like the Croque Monsieurs. It is worth getting off the train and walking up the trail to the car-free town, eat a fondue - melted cheese served with vegetables, toast and many other things -, visit the Giger museum or the Alien themed Giger Bar at the opposite side of the street.
After Gruyères the landscape becomes really flat with hills only visible on the horizon - we quickly fled back to the Alps as we came to Switzerland for the high mountains -, and at Bulle the railway connects to the standard-gauge tracks to Romont and the metre-gauge branch line to Broc. At the end of the line is Broc fabrique, the station serving the Nestlé-Caillers chocolate factory. For almost a century standard-gauge freight cars were brought here by the GFM on carrier bogies to be loaded with chocolate but since 2018 lorries have taken over the job and now only the regular historic train called "Train du chocolat" visits the siding. The special runs almost every day on the Montreux - Bulle - Broc fabrique and return route with a specially decorated MOB locomotive, a historic Salonwagen and one of the Super Panoramic driving trailers.
From Bulle the run to Palézieux is less scenic but still interesting. Some trains only run to Chatel-St. Denis and unfortunately the last train of the day runs rather early on the network making it difficult to return to your accomodation without a car.
The reason for the need to change direction is that between 1904 and 1969 the Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans, currently part of Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera (MVR), had a branch from St. Légier to Chatel-St. Denis that connected at the Southern end of the station. Of the lines of CEV currently the Vevey-Blonay-Les Pléiades partly rack-and-pinion railway is operated as a regular railway while the Blonay-Chamby line, that also connects to the MOB mainline, is operated by enthusiasts as a museum railway with theme days for the different railways they own rolling stock from.
In 1942 the metre-gauge and the standard-gauge lines merged in the Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM), then with the addition of the local services of Fribourg in 2000, Transports publics fribourgeois SA/Freiburgische Verkehrsbetriebe AG (TPF) was founded.
The TPF BDe 4/4 122 / Bt 224 between Lessoc and Albeuve
Travelling on the line
The first episode I have seen of Swiss Railway Journeys on TV was the one about the Gruyère and I immediately started to like this little railway. In German they refer to most of its route as a Strassenbahn, meaning that the track runs alongside the road all the way. Even though there are no spectacular viaducts or really high mountains in the background the whole region the trains traverse radiate a calmness and beauty that I appreciated already when I first saw the film. When we visited Montbovon our goal was to take photos of an era of the MOB that was about to end by the replacement of the old, blue ABDe 8/8 4000 railcars with the new Stadler units, which brought together the disappearance of the light-blue livery of the slow trains and the GoldenPass branding of the panoramic trains. Despite our plans that we will only take one or two photos of the TPF it proved itself to be so much easier to photograph and offered better lighting as well that we ended up with a huge set of photos from this line and some nice shots of some of the last "La Gruyère" livery units.
The panoramic driving trailer of the Crystal Panoramic Express of the MOB. The driver sits in the bubble on the top. The train has a similar driving trailer on both ends and the locomotive is located in the middle of the consist.
Street-running section of the Gruyère at Montbovon
Lessoc
Gruyères
After Gruyères the landscape becomes really flat with hills only visible on the horizon - we quickly fled back to the Alps as we came to Switzerland for the high mountains -, and at Bulle the railway connects to the standard-gauge tracks to Romont and the metre-gauge branch line to Broc. At the end of the line is Broc fabrique, the station serving the Nestlé-Caillers chocolate factory. For almost a century standard-gauge freight cars were brought here by the GFM on carrier bogies to be loaded with chocolate but since 2018 lorries have taken over the job and now only the regular historic train called "Train du chocolat" visits the siding. The special runs almost every day on the Montreux - Bulle - Broc fabrique and return route with a specially decorated MOB locomotive, a historic Salonwagen and one of the Super Panoramic driving trailers.
The "Train du chocolat" at Les Sciernes at the MOB line
From Bulle the run to Palézieux is less scenic but still interesting. Some trains only run to Chatel-St. Denis and unfortunately the last train of the day runs rather early on the network making it difficult to return to your accomodation without a car.
Vehicles
Author: Plutowiki (Wikipedia)
Nowadays most trains run with the new three-car, low-floor ABe 4/12 multiple units that TPF acquired in a joint order from Stadler together with MOB, CJ and BAM though of different configurations. Some of the 1992-1996 Be 4/4 railcars are used in peak-hour services. Those vehicles were built at Ateliers de constructions mécaniques de Vevey and appeared on various Swiss direct current metre-gauge lines. The more rounded predecessors of the multiple units can now be found in the TPF Historique fleet and run some charter trains every year.
Author: NAC (Wikipedia)
The more regular Retro Trains are worked by the Be 4/4 116 dating back to 1922. The two GDe 4/4 locomotives identical to the four the MOB already owned were sold to MOB as it took over the gravel transport to Rossiniere - of course, those trains are also gone by now.
A few videos I took of the railway.
The YouTube video of Miclo69 shows the new trains as well as the Train du chocolat
- You can find more of my photos from the TPF lines on benbe.hu.
- All unmarked photos are my own works.
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