Switzerland - BAM Bière–Apples–Morges railway, Transports de la région Morges-Bière-Cossonay MBC.
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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 Morges in 2003.
Picture from Morges 26.1.2003 by Ilkka Siissalo.
The same train Be 4/4 no.12 in Bière in 2023. These motorwagons are nowadays rarely anymore used for passenger traffic, but they act as locomotives bringing
normal gauge cargo wagons using so called roll cars or roll bogies on the narrow gauge track to Bière and back. Note how the logo and the paintings have only
slightly changed in 20 years.
Picture from Bière 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Since 2017 most of the passenger traffic on the line has been 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.
One of the new Stadler ABe 8/12 trains waiting at the station of Bière as a regional train to Morges. At Bière there's a large Swiss army garrison and just moments
after this photo was taken, there was a crowd of soldiers with their equipment and even assault rifles with them waiting eagerly to board the train and get to a home
holiday using first this train and then apparently SBB's long distance trains from Morges onwards.
Picture from Bière 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
The same train as shown above, but now seen from its other end. Note that the train has two motorised wagons and both of them keep their both pantographs up as the
driver knows there's going to be a heavy load this time.
Picture from Bière 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Still the same train as shown above. The different sides of the motorwagons are taped in different ways. On this side station names of the MBC network are shown.
Picture from Bière 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
MBC uses its new Stadler motorwagons also like this on less frequented routes. A full new ABe 8/12 Stadler train consists of two motorwagons plus one unmotorised
low-floor coach in between as shown above. But here MBC uses just one of the motorwagons without the other motorwagon and without the middle coach. There's an old
driving trailer wagon at the other end. These two wagons are quite enough to carry the few passengers, and while the new motorwagon has one pair of doors which
is reachable low-floor, this also fullfills the accessibility requirements of the new Swiss law.
Picture of a Regionalbahn MBC train at L´Isle-Mont-la-Ville 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
This was the other end of the same regional train as shown above. This is a driving trailer or steering cab coach wagon Bt 51 built in the nineteen eighties.
Picture of a Regionalbahn MBC train at L´Isle-Mont-la-Ville 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
MBC's Tm 2/2 no.41 is a narrow gauge rail truck which is used in various track reparation works and also for fixing the catenary wires.
Picture from Bière 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
The same Tm 2/2 no.41 rail truck as shown above, but now seen more from its side.
Picture from Bière 12.5.2023 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.
Still the same Re 420.506, now seen some seven years later in 2024.
Picture from Morges 20.10.2024 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, also called as roll bogies or roll cars. 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.
MBC is not only a train company. They also have a large network of bus lines.
Picture from Bière 12.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.