Blonay–Chamby museum railway

The Blonay–Chamby museum railway (French: Chemin de fer-musée Blonay-Chamby, BC) is a short 3-kilometre-long (1.9 mi) steep but adhesion worked metre gauge heritage railway operated as part of the Blonay - Chamby Railway Museum using vintage steam and electric locomotives and rolling stock. It is rail-connected at both ends, at its upper terminus, at Chamby with the Chemin de Fer Montreux Oberland Bernoise and at the lower end, Blonay, with the Vevey - Les Pleiades, Chemin de fer électriques Veveysans, line.

Blonay–Chamby museum railway
Electric railcar BCFe 4/4 11 and passenger car BC^4 22 of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois railway (MOB)
Technical
Line length	2.95 km (1.83 mi)
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ^3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	Overhead lines (900 V DC)
Maximum incline	5  %
Route number	151
Route map Simplon railway line (SBB) to Lausanne and Montreux Vevey 411 m above Sea Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera from Vevey to Blonay Blonay MVR and CCB 620 m above Sea Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera to Les Pléiades 0,0 Blonay BC 620 m above Sea Tercier Clarens-Chailly-Blonay to Clarens 0,970 Chantemerle (H) 667 m above Sea Viaduc de la Baye de Clarens (80 m) 1,500 Vers-Chez-Robert[1] 680 m above Sea Tunnel de Cornaux (45 m) 1,990 Cornaux (H) 705 m above Sea Chamby-Musée (Chaulin) 736 m above Sea Bifurcation Montreux-Oberland Bernois to Zweisimmen 2,950 Chamby 750 m above Sea Montreux-Oberland Bernois to Montreux

History and Aims

The Blonay - Chamby Railway and Museum was opened in 1968 with the aims of operating the metre gauge railway line from Blonay to Chamby and in doing so preserving railway equipment of technical or historic value. For this purpose the Blonay - Chamby Railway has purpose built two motive power and carriage depots at Chaulin - Chamby, a short distance from its upper terminus which nowadays houses what is generally regarded as the largest and most representative collection of metre gauge relics in Europe.

The Museum Line

The Blonay - Chamby Museum Railway is a railway preservation group staffed entirely by volunteers who operate trains each Saturday and Sunday between May and October. Vintage steam locomotives or electric locomotives haul equally vintage carriages slowly through a spectacular environment with fine views over Lake Geneva and the Alps. Visitors can access the shed / museum complex from Chamby, travelling the short distance on a vintage tram.

A further part of the remit of the preservation group is the encouragement of local and regional tourism and tourist traffic on adjacent lines. The timetable for the Blonay - Chamby line can be found on Table 115 and 115.1 of the Swiss National Railways Timetable.

The Museum Collection

The collection includes in spring 2009 the following items. The museum is the home of over 70 items of rolling stock.

Steam Locomotives

Steam Locomotives

Steam locomotive HG 3/4 3 of the Brig–Furka–Disentis-Railway

Picture	No.	Name	Class	Cyls.	Builders Details	Works. No.	Date Built	Notes.
	1	Le Doubs	G 3/3	OC	SLM	618	1890	Ex-Regional des Brenets (RdB)/Chemins de fer des Montagnes Neuchateloises (CMN)/On loan from Swiss Transport Museum Luzern.
	3		HG 3/4	OC	SLM	2317	1913	Ex-Brig–Furka–Disentis railway (BFD), Furka Oberalp Railway (FO) (Abt rack)
	5	Bercher	G 3/3	OC	SACM	4172	1890	Ex-Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway (LEB), barrage de la Dixence (EOS), Hilti & Jehle, Feldkirch.
	6		G 3/3	OC	SLM	1341	1901	Ex-Brünigbahn/Jura-Simplon JS 909, SBB 109, Biere-Apples-Morge (BAM) No.6, Scierie Renfer, Bienne.
	23		G 3/5	OC	MTM	282	1926	Ex-Olot-Gerona
	104	Zell[2]	G 2x3/3	OC	Hanomag	10437	1925	Ex-SEG, Mallet type, 0-6-6-0T, Compound
	105	Todtnau[3][4][5]	G 2x2/2	OC	MBG	2051	1918	Ex-Haspe-Voerde-Breckerfeld (Germany), Mallet type, 0-4-4-0T, Compound
	99 193		G 5/5	OC	MFE	4183	1927	Ex-Deutsche Reichbahn, Deutsche Bundesbahn.

Tramway Steam Locomotives

Picture	No.	Name	Class	Cyls.	Builders Details	Works. No.	Date Built	Notes.
	4	Rimini	G 2/2	OC	Krauss	4278	1900	Ex-Ferrara-Codigoro (Ferrovie Padane) Rimini-Novafeltria.
	7		G 2/4	System Brown	SLM	316	1882	Ex-Mulhouse Tramways

Electric Locomotives, Railcars and Trams

Locomotives

Picture	No.	Name	Class	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	2	La Grisette	He 2/2	SLM / CIE		1899	Ex-Bex-Villars-Bretaye (BVB)
	29[6]	-	HGe 3/3	SLM / MFO		1926	Ex-Bernese Oberland railway (BOB)
	75	-	Ge 4/4	SLM / MFO	2328	1913	Ex-Georg Fischer (+GF+)
	81	-	Ge 4/4	SLM / BBC		1916	Ex-Berninabahn (BB), Rhaetian Railway (RhB)

Railcars

Electric railcars BCFeh 4/4 6 of the Aigle–Ollon–Monthey–Champéry railway

Picture	No.	Name	Class/Type	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	4	-	BCFe 2/2	SIG / MFO		1928	Ex-Sernftalbahn (SeTB)
	6	Valais[7]	BCFeh 4/4	SLM / SIG / EGA	146	1909	Ex-Monthey–Champéry–Morgins railway (MCM), Aigle–Ollon–Monthey–Champery railway (AOMC), Abt rack
	10	-	BCFeh 4/4	SLM / SWS / BBC		1914	Ex-Loèche–Loèche-les-Bains railway (LLB), Abt rack
	11	les sept à vingt	BCFe 4/4	SIG / EGA	2191	1903	Ex-Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB)
	12	-	Ce 2/2	Ringhoffer / EAG		1907	Ex-Langenthal–Jura railway (LJB), Oberaargau–Jura railway (OJB)
	35	-	ABe 4/4^I	SIG / SAAS / MFO		1908	Ex-Bernina railway (BB), Rhaetian Railway (RhB)
	105	-	ABDe 4/4	SWS / MFO		1913	Ex-Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans (CEV), 2017
	2002	-	DZe 6/6	SIG / BBC	2703	1932	Ex-Montreux–Oberland Bernois railway (MOB), 2008

Trams

Electric tram Ce 2/2 52 of the Städtische Strassenbahn Bern

Picture	No.	Name	Class/Type	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	7	-	Ce 2/2	Rat / CIE		1904	Ex-Tramway de Fribourg (TF)
	28	-	Ce 2/3	SWS / SAAS		1948	Ex-Tramways Lausannois (TL)
	31	-	Ze 2/2	SIG / EGA		1914	Ex-Rheintalische Strassenbahn (Rhine Valley Tramways) (RhSt)
	52	-	Ce 2/2	SWS / MFO		1914	Ex-Städtische Strassenbahn, Bern (SSB)
	76	-	Ce 2/2	SIG / MFO		1911	Ex-Tramways de Neuchâtel (TN)
	151	-	Fe 4/4	SIG / S&H		1911	Ex-Compagnie Genevoise des Tramways Électriques (CGTE)

Passenger Coach

Picture	No.	Name	Class/Type	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	2	-	As^2	SIG		1903	Ex-Rhaetian Railway Bernina Line (RhB)
	6[8]	Kaiserwagen[9]	B^3	SIG		1901	Ex-Bernese Oberland railway (BOB), Ex-Modelleisenbahnfreunde Eiger Zweilütschinen (MEFEZ)
	7	-	C^4	ANF		1910	Ex-Chemin de fer Vicinaux de la Haute-Saône (CFV), Morez-La Cure (MLC), Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez railway (NStCM)
	10	-	BC^2			1908	Ex-Monthey-Champéry-Morgins (MCM), Aigle-Ollon-Monthey-Champery (AOMC)
	11	-	BC^2	SIG		1890	Ex-Régional des Brenets (RdB)
	13	-	C^2	MAN		1905	Ex-Sernftalbahn (SeTB)
	15	-	ABCFZ^4	De Dietrich		1895	Ex-Cie de l'Ouest, Chemins de fer de l'Etat (ETAT), Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais (SNCF)/Réseau Breton (RB)
	20	Reine Berthe[10]	C^2	Chevalier, Chailus & Cie à Paris		1865	Ex-Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway (LEB), original Mont Cenis Pass Railway, 2016
	21	-	CF^2	SIG		1900	Ex-Aigle–Leysin railway (AL)
	21	-	BC^2	SWS		1902	Ex-Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans (CEV)
	21	Giardiniera[11]	C^2	SWS		1911	Ex-Lugano–Cadro–Dino railway (LCD)
	21	-	CF^2	SIG		1890	Ex-Régional des Brenets (RdB)
	22	-	BC^4	SIG		1915	Ex-Loèche - Loèche-les-Bains (LLB)
	22	-	BC^4	SIG		1901	Ex-Montreux–Oberland Bernois railway (MOB)
	23	-	C^2	SWS		1903	Ex-Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM)
	44	-	C^4	SIG		1926	Ex-Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB)
	61	-	B^4	SIG		1906	Ex-Montreux–Oberland Bernois railway (MOB)
	121	-	AB^2	SIG		1903	Ex-Rhaetian Railway (RhB)
	171	-	C^4	Herbrand		1891	Ex-Mittelbadische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (MEG)
	811	-	C^4	SIG		1930	Ex-Swiss Federal Railways, line Brünig (SBB-CFF-FFS),

Tramway Passenger Coach

Picture	No.	Name	Class	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes
	57	-	C^2	SIG		1930	Ex-Tramway Vevey–Montreux–Chillon–Villeneuve (VMCV), Ex-Bex–Villars–Bretaye Railway (BVB)
	370	-	C^4	SIG		1920	Ex-Compagnie Genevoise des Tramways Électriques (CGTE)

Post and Baggage Coach

Picture	No.	Name	Class	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	36	-	FZ^2	SWS		1903	Ex-Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM)

Goods wagon

Open wagon L^O 153 du Montreux-Oberland Bernois Railway

Picture	No.	Name	Class	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	30	-	K	Kirchheim		1874	Ex-Schweizerische Lokalbahnen (SLB), Appenzeller Bahn (AB)
	31	-	K	MAN		1905	Ex-Sernftalbahn (SeTB)
	31	-	K	SWS		1910	Ex-Tramways de Lausanne (TL)
	41	-	K	SWS		1915	Ex-Loèche–Loèche-les-Bains railway (LLB)
	51	-	M	SWS		1915	Ex-Loèche–Loèche-les-Bains railway (LLB)
	60	-	L	SWS		1915	Ex-Loèche–Loèche-les-Bains railway (LLB)
	87	-	K	SWS		1912	Ex-Aigle–Leysin railway (AL)
	101	-	K	SIG		1903	Ex-Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB), 2014
	153	-	L^O	SIG		1901	Ex-Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB)
	610	-	K	SWS		1904	Ex-Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM)
	672	-	K	GFM		1955	Ex-Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM)
	706	-	M	Busch		1904	Ex-Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB)
	712	-	L	SWS		1905	Ex-Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM)
	801	-	O	Busch		1904	Ex-Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB)

Diesel Locomotives, Shunters and Maintenance vehicles

Picture	No.	Name	Class/Type	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	1	-	Tm 2/2	O&K, Berlin	20200	1930	Ex-Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB), ex Holzwerks Rieder St. Stephan
	3	Biniou	Dm 2/2	Billard			Ex-Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais (SNCF)/Réseau Breton (RB)
	926	-	Te 2/2	StStZ / MFO		1935	Shunter, Ex-Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ)
		-	Dm 1/2				Draisine motorized, Ex-Rhaetian Railway (RhB)
		-	Dd 1/2				Draisine hand drive, Ex-Rhaetian Railway (RhB)

Rotary Snowplow

Picture	No.	Name	Class	Cyls.	Builders Details	Works. No.	Date Built	Notes.
	9214	-	X^rot d	OC	SLM	2299	1912	Rotary snowplow, ex-Bernina railway, Rhaetian Railway (RhB), Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstecke (DFB). 0-6-6-0

Service Coach Stock

Picture	No.	Name	Class/Type	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	1	-	Xe 2/2	SWS / MFO		1915	cistern for fire service - Ex-Tramway de Bienne (TrB)
	52	-	X^2				joinery - Ex-Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans (CEV)
	52	-	X^2	SWS		1915	cran truck - Ex-Loèche - Loèche-les-Bains (LLB)
	9951	-	X^3	SIG		1889	refectory - Ex-Swiss Federal Railways, line Brünig (SBB-CFF-FFS), ex. JBL C^3 466

Placed external line Blonay-Chamby

Picture	No.	Name	Class/Type	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Notes.
	121	Baladeuse	C^4	Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Basel		1892	Ex-Tramways de Neuchâtel (TN), permanent loan to Musée du tram Neuchâtel, Association Neuchâteloise des Amis du Tramway (ANAT)
	125	-	Ce 2/2	SIG / SAAS		1920	Ex-Compagnie Genevoise des Tramways Électriques (CGTE), permanent loan to Association Genevoise du Musée des Tramways (AGMT)
	230	-	C^2	SWS		1905	Ex-Gruyère-Fribourg-Morat (GFM)

Former vehicles

Picture	No.	Name	Class/Type	Builders Details	Works No.	Date Built	Location	Notes.
	40	-	K	SWS		1915	Inden, Switzerland	Ex-Loèche–Loèche-les-Bains railway (LLB), sale at the municipality Inden, Switzerland in 2017
	671	-	K	GFM		1955	Broc Fabrique (Nestlé), Switzerland	Ex-Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM), ex Blonay–Chamby museum railway, submitted to GFM Historique in 2020

Abbreviations (Selection)

Rolling stock manufacturers

• BBC : Brown, Boveri & Cie
• CIE : Compagnie de l’Industrie Électrique, Geneva
• EAG : Elektrizitätsgesellschaft Alioth
• MFE : Maschinenfabrik Esslingen
• MFO : Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon
• MGK : Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe
• MTM : Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima (in Sanish language)
• O&K : Orenstein & Koppel
• Rat : Rathgeber, Munich
• SAAS : Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron
• SIG : Swiss Industrial Society (German language: Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft)
• SLM : Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works, Winterthur (German language: Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik)
• SACM : Alsatian Engineering Company in Grafenstaden (German language: Elsässische Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Grafenstaden)
• SEG : South German Railway Company (German language: Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft)
• SWS : Schweizerische Wagons- und Aufzügefabrik AG Schlieren-Zürich

Steam Locomotive Cylinders

• OC : Cylinders outside frames
• IC : Cylinders inside frames

Literature

• Sébastien Jarne, Le chemin de fer-musée Blonay-Chamby, tiré à part du livre « Voies étroites de Veveyse et de Gruyère », édition Chemin de fer-musée Blonay-Chamby, Lausanne, éd. 2, 1991, 56 p.
• José Banaudo and Alex Rieben, À la découverte du Chemin de fer-musée Blonay-Chamby, Édition du Cabri, Breil-sur-Roya, 1992, ISBN 978-2-903310-98-1.
• Peter Willen, Lokomotiven und Triebwagen der Schweizer Bahnen, volume 2, Privatbahnen Westschweiz und Wallis. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zürich, 1977, ISBN 3-280-00923-5.
• Alain Candellero, Charles-Maurice Emery, Brice Maillard and Nicolas Regamey, 40 ans de musée vivant, Chemin de fer musée Blonay-Chamby 1968-2008, édition Chemin de fer-musée Blonay-Chamby, Lausanne, avril 2008, 32 p.
• Users Wikipedia: Museumsbahn Blonay-Chamby, ein Auszug aus Wikipedia Anfangs 2011, E-book,[12] 2011, 52 p.
• Alain Castella and Charles-Maurice Emery: Faire la Voie, Chemin de fer-Musée Blonay-Chamby, Département de la formation, de la jeunesse et de la culture (DFJC) – Service des affaires culturelles (SERAC) of Canton de Vaud,[13] Lausanne, 2010
• Michel Grandguillaume, Gérald Hadorn, Sébastien Jarne, Jean-Louis Rochaix, François Ramstein: Voies étroites de Veveyse et de Gruyère. Bureau vaudois d'addresses (BVA), Lausanne 1984, ISBN 2-88125-003-3

References

1. Eric Bettega and Patric Bouillin: Chemin de fer-musée Blonay-Chamby: Plus vivant que jamais! in: Voies Ferrees (periodical) No 186, 2011, pagina 67-75 (graphique des circulations du dimanche 12 et du lunid 13 junin 2011, pagina 69)
2. www.echtdampfwelt.de, Herrmann Echtdampf, Echtdampfshop, Echtdampflok SEG-Mallet - Picture Archived 2013-01-02 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 13 August 2013)
3. www.drehscheibe-foren.de, Drehscheben Online, Forum, Schmalspurdampf ex Zell-Todtnau auf der GFM, 1973, mit 24 Fotos - first picture (Retrieved 13 August 2013)
4. www.youtube.com Youtube Film LGB Mallet SEG104 + eMOTION XLS Sounddecoder (mit sichtbarem Wappen von Zell) (Abgerufen am 15. August 2013)
5. www.bahnbilder.de Bahnbilder.de, Bild 185576, BC - Museumsbahn ex SEG G 2x 3/3 104 am 19.05.1997 in Chaulin - Dampflok - Name: ZELL - Baujahr 1925... (Abgerufen am 15. August 2013)
6. Neues in Kürze (Nik), Museums- und Touristikbahnen BC in Eisenbahn Amateur (Swiss railway and model railway magazine) 02/2014 page 69 (German)
7. Ralph Bernet und Timi Rizza: Schweizer Schmalspurbahnen, Historische Loks & Triebwagen. Band 1, Edition Lan, Bäretswil 2013, ISBN 9783906691718
8. www.eurolok.ch Kaiserwagen in Interlaken Ost, retrieved 10 February 2014
9. Wolfgang Finke: Die Fahrzeuge der Jungfraubahnen - Berner Oberland-Bahn (BOB), Jungfraubahn (JB), Mürrenbahn (BLM), tram-TV Verlag, Köln 2012, ISBN 978-3-9813669-2-1 (German)
10. Blonay–Chamby museum railway, www.blonay-chamby.ch, Le parc remorqué s'agrandit de 2 unités, September 2016, retrieved 17 September 2016
11. Christian Ammann: Begegnungen mit der LCD in: Eisenbahn Amateur (Zeitschrift) Nr. 1, 2017, Seiten 24 bis 29.
12. chaulin.jimdo.com Blonay-Chamby Museum Railway, private internet page in German language, Blonay-Chamby Ebook, retrieved 25 November 2012
13. issuu.com Faire le Voie, retrieved 25 November 2012

External links

• Blonay–Chamby Museum Railway (BC)