Great Railway Journeys Club

13/08/2023

Adding to my list of Must Do's when in adding this to my list of places t
Switzerland.

26/07/2023

Good start to plannng a Swiss holiday.

Experience Switzerland by train, bus and boat. With the low-price tickets from Swiss Travel System, your journey through Switzerland will be stress-free.

21/07/2023

20/07/2023

I will add some more Swiss Journeys over the next week. Including visiting the Appenzell Region. Travelling around Lake Geneva. So many possibilities.

19/07/2023

Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe
For many its the trip to go on, well at least once. The cost keeps rising and even with a Swiss Travel Pass or Regional Pass you can pay an extra €120.00 or $150 Bucks. As a once off its worth it but you really have to have good weather. So not much point booking well in advance. You can go early in the morning say at 08:15. There are 3 early trains each day but you have to return well before 14:00…. You can now speed up the bottom part of the journey by using the newly built cable car from Grindlewald to the Eiger Glacier station and saves nearly 45 minutes in travel. It seems again to be extra, depending on your other ticket to the Summit. I am not certain of the all in price. If your booking from the UK or Ireland you can ring the office in Europe and buy tickets on line. Beware there are websites proportions to be the official ticket office who will sell you tickets at a bit of a price increase. You need to do a bit of checking first. It looks to me that in 2023 a ticket including using the quicker Eiger Express could cosy over €220.00.
Its probably a nice extra trip using the new Eiger Express Cable car. One of the reasons for building this cablecar system is to allow Tourists to ‘do’ the Jungfrau quickly and move on to another area or even just spending one day in Switzerland. Its not everyone who is in a hurry but the trains can get very crowded in summer. Last time in Switzerland they had a tour from one of the biggest companies in China and there was something like an extra 20,000 tourists all being brought to the main attractions. I was there at that timed there were other large groups all travelling by coaches being rushed in military like fashion.
One of the reasons to travel for me is to relax, this is why I like to add a few boats trips especially ones using Steam Paddle power. Once you hit the water its time to relax, have a beer on an Ice Cream and enjoy the scenery and walk around the boat or chat to someone.
Back to the Jungfrau trip. Much of the final part of the train trip in inside the mountain. You have no view except for the odd glimpse through an opening in the mountain. When you reach to Summit you are still inside until you use the elevators and rise to the Shops and Cafes or out in the open where there is Snow almost all year round. Surprisingly the food and drink wasn’t that expensive considering your limited in choice. You can and should bring some food and bottles of whatever you fancy. In 2002 there was places you could eat your own food.

19/07/2023

19/07/2023

I hope to complete my 'potted' guide to the Bernese Oberland with my visit nearly 20 years to the Top of the Jungfrauroch. Just looking up some old photos. I had my first digital camera and it wasn't very high definition and I was also very short of memory.

15/07/2023

Lauterbrunnen

Is on the main railway line from Interlaken Out. You can set out from Interlaken and plan a visit to Schynige Platte and Muren on the same day.
All. Trains stop at Lauterbrunnen. Most travellers get off to go the Murren but there are also Waterfalls to be visited and a different way up the mountain via Cable car.
Murren
To get to Murren you get the relatively modern Cable Car which raises you to the Grütschalp Train Station. Up until 2003 there was a Funicular railway but due to land slippage it was decided to stop repairing the Tracks and foundations and replace it before the next year with a Cable car which is less susceptible to movement of the ground Other countries would take 4 or 5 years to achieve this. . Virtually everything needed to run Murren village is also transported on the cablecar and onto the Murren mountain railway or they also use Helicipter. Even the Railcars for the railway had to be winched up using the old Cog Railway. New railcars will be needed and a different way will have to be found to bring up new vehicles.
Once you reach Grütschalp there is always a smart brown coloured Railcar or set of cars waiting. Its a relatively short ride to Murren. The railcars have completely opening windows which are usually open even in Winter to facilitate keen photographers. There are a few stops for Walkers.
Once you meet Murren you notice it is a virtual car free village. There are a few cars and small Vans. Many of the mainly wooden houses and dwellings are several hundred years old. It is possible to stay in Murren and houses are available to rent by the week. There are some Cafes and a few small shops and a couple of Hotels. Its a quiet place to wander around and take in the views and the mountain air. Even the water freely available on taps and troughs tastes fresher than bottled water.
Another cablecar arrives in Murren from Stechelberg. You can take this cablecar up eventually to the Schilthorn peak, and the Pizza Gloria revolving restaurant. This was featured in a James Bond movie and they exploit the connection extensively. Some years this Cablecar ride is free with the Swiss Pass. The weather can often be cloudy or very cold so may not be worth the extra cost. Murren is definitely worth spending a few hours.

15/07/2023

Lauterbrunnen

Is on the main railway line from Interlaken Out. You can set out from Interlaken and plan a visit to Schynige Platte and Muren on the same day.
All. Trains stop at Lauterbrunnen. Most travellers get off to go the Murren but there are also Waterfalls to be visited and a different way up the mountain via Cable car.
Murren
To get to Murren you get the relatively modern Cable Car which raises you to the Grütschalp Train Station. Up until 2003 there was a Funicular railway but due to land slippage it was decided to stop repairing the Tracks and foundations and replace it before the next year with a Cable car which is less susceptible to movement of the ground Other countries would take 4 or 5 years to achieve this. . Virtually everything needed to run Murren village is also transported on the cablecar and onto the Murren mountain railway or they also use Helicipter. Even the Railcars for the railway had to be winched up using the old Cog Railway. New railcars will be needed and a different way will have to be found to bring up new vehicles.
Once you reach Grütschalp there is always a smart brown coloured Railcar or set of cars waiting. Its a relatively short ride to Murren. The railcars have completely opening windows which are usually open even in Winter to facilitate keen photographers. There are a few stops for Walkers.
Once you meet Murren you notice it is a virtual car free village. There are a few cars and small Vans. Many of the mainly wooden houses and dwellings are several hundred years old. It is possible to stay in Murren and houses are available to rent by the week. There are some Cafes and a few small shops and a couple of Hotels. Its a quiet place to wander around and take in the views and the mountain air. Even the water freely available on taps and troughs tastes fresher than bottled water.
Another cablecar arrives in Murren from Stechelberg. You can take this cablecar up eventually to the Schilthorn peak, and the Pizza Gloria revolving restaurant. This was featured in a James Bond movie and they exploit the connection extensively. Some years this Cablecar ride is free with the Swiss Pass. The weather can often be cloudy or very cold so may not be worth the extra cost. Murren is definitely worth spending a few hours.

14/07/2023

Schynige Platte
This is a small Mountain Ridge which rises up to a viewpoint of over 2,000 metres and has its own Narrow Gauge Railway which brings you from Wilderswil Railway Station up to the Summit. Wilderswil Station connects with Bernese Oberland Railway coming from Interlaken. It takes just a few minutes to get to the Station. The BOB railway is itself a Narrow Gauge railway of 1000mm. The S.P. is also 800mm and is another of one Switzerlands Cog Railways. The line opened in 1863 and was an early adopter of Electric power in 1913. The beautiful Locos and carriages look more like a Toy Railway when you approach the Station at Wilderswil,
The service runs from April to October. Some of the catenary and equipment is taken down each October and they have retained Steam Power for this purpose when the electricity is turned off.
As usual in Switzerland the Equipment and Local and carriages are maintained in superb condition. From memory it is a slow journey to the Summit and takes nearly an hour. The weather can change quickly and the last time I visited in April 2018 it suddenly turned cold and by the time the summit was reached it had started to snow. It has been described by Swiss Railway Journeys TV as the ‘Ooh and Ah ‘ railway due to the reaction by passengers as the carriages emerge from one tunnel to reveal another beautiful scene. There was a passenger I got chatting to. He was on a real ‘Bus Mans’ holiday. He worked for Scottish Rail and used his free travel to visit Switzerland. He was sitting on the floor, I think he said it was nearly too much for him, it was his idea of a perfect journey and he had to stop taking photos.
If the weather is good there is a beautiful walk at the summit at the Wildflower garden. Some of the more adventurous Hikers walk back down instead of using the train. There used to be a shop at the Summit where you could test out Walking Shoes and you left them back in I think Wilderswil. There is a small Cafe and they were building more facilities when I was last there before Covid intervened in my Travels. Some journeys are by semi open top carriages which are rather basic but very enjoyable in sunny weather. But they had canvas covers for the snow I encountered. They also occasionally have steam driven Locos.
Some Seasons it is free to holders of the famous Swiss Pass. But in recent years you get a 50% reduction. In my view it is a better option that the trip up the Jungfrau Rock (Roch). I remember there was also an afternoon ticket with a further reduction and a complimentary drink and a small cake at the summit. The full fare is nearly €60.00 so you have to decide what extra trips you want to buy in Switzerland. Check https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/schynige-platte/schynige-platte-ticket/.

11/07/2023

Places to visit from Interlaken.

MEIRINGEN
About 30 minutes from Interlake by train. A narrow gauge railway and mainly new Carriages. But the railway to Lucerne needs a cog rail system to climb over the mountainous route to Lucerne. All trains have to stop in Meiringen as the need to reverse to go on to Lucerne so you usually get off and board a similar train to Lucerne. This may have changed slightly in operation since my visit.
Its a small village but theres quite a bit to see. They have a Sherlock Holmes Museum. The ficticious character apparently fell to his death fighting Moriarty. You can get a Funicular up the Waterfall to see the Point where the 2 characters had they fight. And its a place Travellers take photos as a reminder of their time in Meiringen. Its a slight walk to the Funicular but you can get a bus. This Funny is not free but you get a 50% discount if you have a Swiss Pass.

Tram to Innertkirchen.
This tramway is not connected to the mainline railway but you can usually see a tram waiting just beside the end of the Main Station. In recent years they replaced the older Trams with modern trams and these are acknowledged as the most ugly and badly designed trams. All over adverts just hide the awful appearance. There are plans to extend the tramway beyond Innertkirchen and hopefully replace the trams.

Accommodation.
There are a number of Hotels and other places to stay. In fact it maybe much cheaper to stay here rather in Interlaken.
Food.
There are a few options for food and not too expensive. Micros have a small Supermarket and they have a small Cafe attached. There is also a Swiss style traditional called ‘Tea Room Frutal ‘on the main street, well worth visiting and a relaxing place to stay and do try a Merangue cake. This Cafe closes early in the afternoon. It gets great reviews on Tripadvisor.

10/07/2023

Switzerland
Interlaken is 2 hours from Zurich and two and a half hours from Geneva, by Train of course. The journey by rail is on modern intercity trains and its a nice trip from either way.
Accommodation.
It a very popular destination and getting somewhere to stay is rarely cheap. Its is possible to stay in Chalets and Tents and many do that. Many people come for Adventure sports, climbing, and walking obviously. Some of us enjoy easier trips by train.
Eating Out
Cafes and Restaurants are expensive and especially here. I knew this before my first visit but I had read a few Travel Guides and noted down many tips. First piece of advice is to avoid even MacDonalds and the other American Outlets. Also most Swiss Restaurants are double or treble the cost of many other countries. The best advice is to look out for 3 or 4 Swiss Cafes and Shops. Migros or MMM. The more ’Ms’ mean a bigger shop and many have a reasonable Cafe. Reasonable meant by 2020 you could have an inexpensive meal for say € 12.00 and add €3.00 for a soft drink. There is a large Migros in Interlaken facing the West Railway Station. Not sure if there is a COOP or Manora in Interlaken but there tends to be at least one in most towns. Many shops close on Sundays. Please note this.
Last time I was in Switzerland I stayed for 4 days in a small Town called Meiringen, a small town 28 minutes by train to Interlaken. Luckily I had found reasonable accomodation in a house offering Bed and breakfast for € 45.00 a night and luckily there was a Migros Cafe and shop selling food and all your holiday needs. Again many Cafes close by 17:30. There was also a few small Cafes open late for mostly Italian food, Chips, Pizzas and Pasta. There was also a typical Swiss Cafe offering Drinks and Cakes. Its claimed that the cake Called Merangue was invented here. It may be a coincidence.
Places to visit by Train or Boat.
Meiringen.
Lucerne.
Schynigge Platte Cog Railway and Mountain resort.
Murren Mountain Village.
Lauterbrunnen.
Grindlewald.
Stechelberg Waterfall.
Jungfrau Mountain Railway
Montreax Oberland Bahn. (Long but enjoyable trip)
Also Bern is very popular place to visit.
Gruyères.

I will cover these destinations in a couple of day.

09/07/2023

Interlakken. is one of the most popular places for many to visit and base their holidays around. The town is located between two Lakes called Brienz and Lake Thun. The name actually mean Between the lakes, that is InterLakken. People have been travelling to Interlakken for several hundred years, well before Railways were built. There was even opposition from Horse Coach owners the building of Railways. However once the first line was built, demand was so great several more lines were built. Tomorrow I will publish a short guide and illustrations. Interlakken was the first place to stay on my first ever Holiday in Switzerland.

03/07/2023

Trips around Lucerne
Rigi Bahn Cog wheel Railway.
Rigi summit to Art Goldau
Luzerne to Mt Engelberg and on to Cablecar.
Luzerne to Meiringen and Interlakken.
Luzerne to Stans by rail, then Vintage Stans Funicular and further on to Stanerhorn by Cablecar.
Stoos Funicular, accessed by Rail and Bus.
Beckenreid Funicular, accessed by Boat or Bus.
Mt Pilatus, Cog Railway recently renewed and 2 Cable cars. Access by Train.
Brienz Rothern Steam Cog Railway, accessed by rail.
The final two are not included free with the Swiss pass, but there is a supplement.

19/06/2023

First Railway Journey abroad in almost 3 years due to Covid restrictions mainly. Off this Thursday for a repeat journey to North Wales. Staying in llandudno. Home of the Great Orme Tramway/Funicular cable drawn anyhow. Lovely victorian Resort. Promenade, Beach, older world Shops. Not far to several Great Little Railways and I hope a visit to the Wirrel Tramway in Birkenhead. My Grandfather, Francis ‘Titanic’ Maguire was born there and moved to Kilkenny. More about the little trip later.