Switzerland - BAM Bière–Apples–Morges railway, Transports de la région Morges-Bière-Cossonay MBC.
For a full scale picture, please click on the picture shown !
Bière–Apples–Morges railway BAM is a metre gauge small railway which is owned by the organisation Transports de la région Morges-Bière-Cossonay MBC.
Both acronyms BAM and MBC are often used to refer to the railway, but lately most often MBC. It is a metre gauge railway, roughly 30 kilometres long,
beginning in Morges by the federal "big" railway, by the lakeside of Lake Geneva. The line is electrified with 15 kV 16,7 Hz AC just like the federal
railways. One speciality of the railway is that it serves a large area of army barracks. Military trains carrying tanks and other heavy army equipment
is often transported and this is done with adapter bogies so that normal gauge wagons can be hauled all the way to the army barracks near Bière.
Passenger traffic is quite frequent.
This motor wagon Be 4/4 no.11 is from the year 1981. Today it's mostly just used as a reserve as newer wagons also exist.
Picture from Morges 11.11.2001 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Another view of the motor wagon Be 4/4 no.11.
Picture from Morges 11.11.2001 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Same train, seen from the other side.
Picture from Morges 11.11.2001 by Ilkka Siissalo.
A similar train Be 4/4 no.12 in Moregs in 2003.
Picture from Morges 26.1.2003 by Ilkka Siissalo.
A similar train Be 4/4 no.12 in Moregs in 2003.
Picture from Morges 26.1.2003 by Ilkka Siissalo.
In 2017 most of the passenger traffic on the line was being run with these Stadler-made new trains of the type ABe 8/12 which the railroad has named "Le Joran".
Trains are now branded as trains of "MBC" and not anymore "BAM". MBC stands for Transports de la région
Morges-Bière-Cossonay.
Picture from Morges 1.10.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.
In addition to the metre gauge trains, MBC has also this one normal gauge line locomotive, a former SBB Re 420 no.506. It is mainly used with military trains.
Picture from Morges 1.10.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Another view of the old Re 420 locomotive.
Picture from Morges 1.10.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Still the same Re 420 locomotive, seen from the other side.
Picture from Morges 1.10.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.
MBC has also one old normal gauge electric shunter locomotive of the type Tm III. It is used at Morges station whenever there is a need to move cargo wagons between the metre gauge network of MBC
and the normal gauge network of SBB. Typically this means moving normal gauge military transport vehicles being moved on adapter bogies so that they can roll on the metre gauge
rails.
Picture from Morges 1.10.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Adapter bogies. When a normal gauge wagon is put on top of these, it can roll on metre gauge rails.
Picture from Morges 1.10.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.