The Tramway Hotel Riffelalp was built in 1899 and was dismantled 12 September 1960 shortly before the fire that completely destroyed the hotel on 14 and 15 February 1961.
The new Riffelalp hotel was built in 2000 and the tram was rebuilt to identical to be put into service June 21, 2001.
Google Maps
A - Riffelalp Tramway B - Riffelalp Station (MGB)
C – Riffelalp Resort
In yellow, the Gornergratt Bahn Railway (MGB) /En jaune le chemin de fer du Gornergratt (MGB
DFB 02 – From Gletsch to Oberwald (1/2)
At 1:00 level crossing on the Furka road
At 3:20 note, on the right, the track after the exit of the helical tunnel and the bridge over the Rhone river.
At 3:40 the entrance in the helical tunnel
At 4:30 the cylinder tank filled with water from the mountain and which is used to feed the sprinklers arranged all along the line in the wonderful Oberwald forest.
DFB 03 – From Gletsch to Oberwald (2/2)
The crossing of the Oberwald forest.
At 0:30 the bridge over the Furka road.
At 3:30 the sprinklers all along the right side of the track which are used in case of fire in the forest.
At 4:47 a marmot runs on the green grass and hides int the stones.
Note the…… arrival over Oberwald which is the first village of the wonderful Goms valley. Then
the level crossing (with retractable cog) on the Furka road before the
final arrival at Oberwald station where Dampfbahn Furka Bergstrecke
(DFB) joins the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) (Glacier Express).
DFB 04 – Level crossing with retractable cog at Oberwald (1/2)
The section Gletsch -Oberwald at least was opened on August 13, 2010 after quite 30 years of the association. A level crossing with retractable cog has been installed at Oberwald to cross the Furka road.
DFB 05 – Level crossing with retractable cog at Oberwald (2/2)
DFB 06 – On section Gletsch – Oberwald
The locomotive HG 3/4 DFB 1 Furkahorn, recovered from DĂ -Lat Vietnam, pulls the train along the Gletsch – Oberwald section.
The bridge over the Rhone river and the twisting Furka road.
At 0:17 the train exits from the helical tunnel…. you can see the wooden doors of the helical tunnel.
At 3:14 the same traingoes up to …Gletsch.
At 5:21 the diesel Tmh 985 cog tractor follows the train to keep an eye in case of fire in the forest.
DFB 07 – From Oberwald to Gletsch
DFB 08 – At Oberwald station
At Oberwald station, the locomotive HG 2/3 no. 7 Breithorn maneuvers to be at the head of the train for the next departure to Gletsch.
DFB 01 – Diesel Locomotive HGm 4/4 from MGB at Gletsch
The Diesel Locomotive HGm 4/4 lent by MGB to DFB… arriving at Gletsch after passing the Furka pass.
Note the Rhone glacier at 0:10 behind the chapel.
My first travel on the new section from Gletsch to Oberwald.
At 3:20 note, on the right, the track after the exit of the helical tunnel and the bridge over the Rhone river.
At 3:40 the entrance in the helical tunnel
At 4:30 the cylinder tank filled with water from the montain and which is used to feed the sprinklers arranged all along the line in the wonderful Oberwald forest.
To prevent any risk of fire during the passage of steam locomotives in the forest section Oberwald – Gletsch, the Federal Office of Transportations has agreed to set up a sprinkler system throughout track and that before the passage of locomotives.
On other lines, such as the network Rhaetian Railway, steam locomotives are followed by a train with a tank of water. Here the solution that was chosen is a fixed sprinkler along the track that will spray water before the passage of the steam locomotive. For that two water tanks have been built … a 9 m3 concrete tank near helical tunnel and near the bridge over the Rhone river, which is fed by a brook on the right bank of the Rhone and the water is filtered by gravity to prevent blockage of the pipes with sediment. The second tank is plastic and of a comparable volume and located between the footpath which joins the restaurant Rhonequelle on the line and the bridge Lammens. He is responsible for watering the track by gravity on the bottom until Oberwald.
TĂŞte d'arrosage de type sprinkler / Sprinkler type head
The Glacier Express derailed between Lax and Fiesch
On Friday July 23rd 2010, the famous Glacier Express train derailed between Lax and Fiesch in Goms Valley.
One japanese tourist was killed and 42 other passengers were injured… dozen of which were seriously injured.
During the night May 6th/7th 2010, the level crossing was installed across the Furka road at Oberwald. So now the Dampfbahn Furka Bergstrecke (DFB) is able to reach the final station of the line after quite 30 years of work! The level crossing was built and assembled at Baumgartner AG, MĂĽnchenbuchsee near Bern. When it was finished, verified and qualified, the 36 tons part was moved on a truck to Oberwald.
This level crossing is really unique because it is made up with a retractable cog. The Abt cog is retracted so its teeth are under the level of the Furka road so that the cars and bikes can cross the level crossing. When the level crossing gate is closed, the cog is raised above the road so the train can have a continuous cog on the slope. When the train passed through the road, the cog is lowered under the road and the barriers are raised.
A Oberwald, la ligne DFB rejoint enfin la gare MGB d’Oberwald. Il ne reste plus qu’Ă terminer l’embranchement menant Ă la plaque tournante qui permet de tourner les locomotive de 180°.
At Oberwald, now the DFB railroad is going to the MGB station. There is one branch line left to do, those which leads to the turntable.
Gare d'Oberwald DFB et MGB / Oberwald DFB and MGB train station
A visit to Oberwald station at the end of the Goms… it is the opportunity to take some pictures of the MGB (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn), to see the status of the workshop of the future Oberwald DFB Station and also to look at the location of the future level crossing with retractable cog across the Furka Road.
Remember, on December 2nd, 2007, the new route of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) was unveiled at Brig (Valais) to avoid to pass through Natters after leaving Brig. Now Brig-MGB station is no more a ‘cul-de-sac’ station… Now MGB trains, as Glacier Express, coming from Zermatt continues after Brig on the same sense to Andermatt.
Last July I went to Naters to see how is the old line after it was abandoned. In the slide show you will see that the track was completely removed. The architects Vomsattel Wagner from Visp were chosen to rearrange the area of the old FO track. They will built a 2 km way for pedestrians. The old FO bridge will be preserved and it will be used at a new footbridge for this walk.
After that you will see two videos I did of the Glacier-Express at the new Brig-MGB station.
