Experience & Discover
Plan & book
The historic railway to Schynige Platte does not operate in winter. The train crew use this time to overhaul the historic rolling stock. They apply the same methods as they did a hundred years ago.
Samuel von Känel grips the long handle of the iron pan with both hands. He heaves it off the forge and props it up on a pole that a colleague holds out to him. This gives him a steady hand to empty the silvery, bubbling liquid right into the slot of the mould.
Von Känel casts new bearing linings from white metal. He and his colleagues from the Schynige Platte Railway (SPB) use the winter months to prepare the twelve locomotives, all over a hundred years old, for the summer season. Each one is unique. Since no spare parts are available, the staff manufacture them themselves in Wilderswil, thereby preserving traditional craftsmanship that has long disappeared elsewhere.
They have now produced around 20 different casting molds. Von Känel learned how to do this from his older colleagues. Every year, he continues to expand his knowledge. The SPB does not have a textbook. Only recently have they started creating work sheets for processes that are meant to remain unchanged.
Von Känel and his colleagues cannot always rely on experience. An original part can function for a hundred years. But if it suddenly fails, they have to improvise. For example, they replaced the defective steel housing of a pendulum axle with a welded construction, as melting steel is not possible in the small workshop.
While the white metal solidifies in one casting mold, von Känel removes a bearing with an already hardened lining from another. The surface is still uneven. He scrapes it with a spoon-like spatula until it is completely smooth. Ten to twelve times, he checks how the bearing fits on the shaft. Depending on the locomotive, he has to reinstall the shaft and move it a short distance to do so.
All of this takes time. So much that von Känel sometimes wishes winter would last longer. But somehow, he and his colleagues always finish on time. By the start of the summer season, the historic trains are running again up to the Schynige Platte.
Jede Lok der Schynige Platte Bahn hat ihre eigene Geschichte und ihre eigenen Spezifikationen. Eine wertvolle Übersicht über das historische Rollmaterial bietet dieser Prospekt.