Friday, April 6, 2012

Aigle - Sépey - Diablerets, Switzerland - 1

A poster featuring the Viaduc du Sépey, the major engineering work of the line.
A view of the Mont d'or - Golden Mountain - in the distance.
The Pont du Vanel
Another of Switzerland's highly scenic metre-gauge railways into the mountains, this 23.3 km operation was opened in 1914.  It starts at the station of Aigle on the main Simplon route, at an altitude of 405 metres, and climbs to Les Diablerets at 1,155 metres.  At about the halfway mark the station of Sépey is served by a kind of extended 'Y' shape spur. Vehicles operate on 1500 Volts DC from overhead.  Some goods traffic has been carried on the line as well as passengers, although the gauge change at Aigle doesn't assist with this. From 16 April to 22 June this year the track on the Sépey - Diablerets section is being renovated and buses will replace trains.

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