Switzerland: variable-gauge system successfully tested

[Adlington]

https://www.railjournal.com/rolling-stock/goldenpass-variable-gauge-system-successfully-tested/

PROSE has successfully tested a newly-developed gauge-changing bogie and the associated gauge changing system in Zweisimmen. The system has been designed to allow operation on both Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway’s (MOB) metre-gauge line and BLS standard-gauge infrastructure.

As well as changing the bogie between standard gauge and metre gauge, the system also adapts the floor height of the coaches to match platform heights, which vary by 180mm.

Is this the first case of variable gauge between the standard and narrow gauges?

You can see the system in operation here.

 

[Bletchleyite]

https://www.railjournal.com/rolling-stock/goldenpass-variable-gauge-system-successfully-tested/
Is this the first case of variable gauge between the standard and narrow gauges?

You can see the system in operation here.

They've been theorising about this for well over 10 years! Good to see it working in the end.

 

[Adlington]

Slightly more than theorising.... Tests started some 8 or 9 years ago.
The passenger service (Montreux to Interlaken) will start in December 2020.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Commonplace in Spain and increasingly used in eastern Europe (between standard and broad gauges).
It's how Spanish "classic-compatible" stock runs between high-speed (standard gauge) and classic (Iberian gauge) networks.
It's CAF and Talgo's speciality from their Spanish experience, but this seems to be a new design for Switzerland.
I think all the systems allow running through the gauge changer at about 15km/h.

 

[Mag_seven]

In March 2018, MOB awarded Stadler a contract to supply 20 variable-gauge coaches for GoldenPass Express services from Montreux to Zweisimmen and Interlaken East, which it will operate jointly with BLS.

They should link up with "Zentralbahn" and continue on and run right through to Luzern from Interlaken East via the Brunig pass.

 

[jopsuk]

Commonplace in Spain and increasingly used in eastern Europe (between standard and broad gauges).

The innovation here seems to be that it changes not just the distance between the wheels but the height of the floor too

 

[Adlington]

What about the loading gauge? I bet it's not the same on Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (1000 mm) as on the BLS (1435 mm). Are the carriages narrower than those used purely on standard gauge lines? Then there'll be a wider gap between carriages and "standard" platforms, which is no good....

 

[Bletchleyite]

What about the loading gauge? I bet it's not the same on Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (1000 mm) as on the BLS (1435 mm). Are the carriages narrower than those used purely on standard gauge lines? Then there'll be a wider gap between carriages and "standard" platforms, which is no good....

It's not much different, but the difference can easily be handled via a folding step, which most of the MOB units have anyway.

 

[AndrewE]

It's not much different, but the difference can easily be handled via a folding step, which most of the MOB units have anyway.

That's platform height or width. The loading gauge might actually be bigger (higher) on the narrow gauge as you see standard gauge vans on transporter wagons. Of course it may be that there are low-roof vans specifically for this use...

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's platform height or width. The loading gauge might actually be bigger (higher) on the narrow gauge as you see standard gauge vans on transporter wagons. Of course it may be that there are low-roof vans specifically for this use...

None of that is relevant to the concern raised in the post I replied to, though, which was about the narrow gauge coaches being a bit narrower in loading gauge too (they are a bit, though not much) meaning a big step to the platform. The folding step solves that issue entirely.

The vertical loading gauge will, I imagine, vary quite a bit.

 

[Adlington]

you see standard gauge vans on transporter wagons.

On Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway ???

 

[Bletchleyite]

On Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway ???

Nope. The tunnels would put paid to that.

You do see that happening around there, though - I think BAM (Biere-Apples-Morges) do it, there was always a stack of them sat waiting in the yard around Morges. They weren't exactly high wagons, though, more like wheelskates. Mostly for the military traffic that line gets, I think; for anything else it's probably just easier to transfer it to the back of a lorry.

 

[MarkyT]

They should link up with "Zentralbahn" and continue on and run right through to Luzern from Interlaken East via the Brunig pass.

I was under the impression that was an early objective when options such as dual gauge infrastructure was first being looked at. As it stands I don't think the gauge changing bogie design could also accommodate a rack wheel. Essentially there's no room between the inner ends of the half axles when set to narrow for a rack wheel. Maybe that could change and a future generation of these trains might gain rack ability after some long term running experience with this first model. With additional gauge changing apparatus at Interlaken, the non-rack equipped trains might get to Meiringen if desired.

 

[themiller]

Cailler chocolate factory at Broc receives standard gauge SBB vans via the metre gauge TpF (Transport Publics Fribourgois) via Bulle station where they’re loaded on ‘converter’ wagons.

 

[ac6000cw]

Back in 2005 I was in Jenbach, Austria (about 30 km east of Innsbruck), the junction of the 760mm gauge Zillertalbahn line to Mayrhofen. In those days it carried full-size wagons of forest products to a factory up the line at Fugen, and I watched the loading of the transporter 'trucks' in the yard at Jenbach. The middle part of this video I shot at the time shows some of the loading process (from the 2 minute point onwards):

Note the amount of people and work involved - it certainly made me wonder about the economics of the operation (most of the forest products freight switched to road in 2013, apparently).

As Bletchleyite said, when it's all been loaded, the mainline wagons ride on what are basically glorified wheel-skates joined together by spacer bars. The Zillertalbahn is not electrified and (from memory) has minimal over-bridges, so the overall height of the train is not a big problem.

(love that tiddly 0-4-0 narrow gauge diesel shunter scooting around though - 08's eat your hearts out )

 

[AndrewE]

The innovation here seems to be that it changes not just the distance between the wheels but the height of the floor too

And looking at the video, Switzerland is about the only place in the world that I could imagine that mechanism being maintained and continuing to function properly!

As Bletchleyite said, when it's all been loaded, the mainline wagons ride on what are basically glorified wheel-skates joined together by spacer bars.

They are a lot more than glorified wheel skates. You can see the brake reservoirs between the frames, which are pretty hefty girders in their own right. (I don't imagine that the "wheelskates" are unbraked either) I would have described them as skeletal or minimalist wagons but with a very heavy sole-bar.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They are a lot more than glorified wheel skates. You can see the brake reservoirs between the frames, which are pretty hefty girders in their own right. (I don't imagine that the "wheelskates" are unbraked either) I would have described them as skeletal or minimalist wagons but with a very heavy sole-bar.

Those ones are much more heavyweight than the ones used on BAM, which *are* more like wheelskates.

 

[Meerkat]

Surely it would be quicker and safer to use swap bodies?

 

[axlecounter]

Those ones are much more heavyweight than the ones used on BAM, which *are* more like wheelskates.

Like these:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollbock#/media/File:MBC_Ua_235A.JPG

Still, they’re more like braked mini-bogies.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, those.

 

[ac6000cw]

They are a lot more than glorified wheel skates. You can see the brake reservoirs between the frames, which are pretty hefty girders in their own right. (I don't imagine that the "wheelskates" are unbraked either) I would have described them as skeletal or minimalist wagons but with a very heavy sole-bar.

I was aware that they had braking equipment (it's clearly visible). However, when they are in use, there is one piece under each axle (for 2-axle wagons) or each bogie of the mainline wagon, so it's a bit like using wheelskates.

From what I saw at the time, for loading purposes, all the required 'transporters' are joined together to form a continuous rail surface to allow the mainline wagons to be pushed on. When the first wagon has reached the end of the set, the leading axle/bogie is secured to the leading transporter, then that is pulled out until the trailing axle/bogie is on the next transporter (with a gap between them). That is secured to that transporter, then the process is repeated for the next wagon etc. until the whole train is strung out with each axle/bogie supported on a transporter.

Incidentally, I'm pretty sure that to move the mainline wagons onto the transporters, they were using the little narrow-gauge shunter on a parallel track (behind the wagons) with a 'shunting pole' between it and the wagons - not something I've ever seen used in the UK, although I know shunting poles were used in the steam era sometimes (I've seen pictures of them carried on steam shunting locos).

Surely it would be quicker and safer to use swap bodies?

Yes, probably - and then you'd probably just swap them to road trucks for the 10km trip from Jenbach to Fugen...