layout

The layout

Figure 1 shows a sketch of the track arrangement for Belvédère. Belvédère is a head shunt station. This requires quite a lot of shunting to prepare the trains for their further journey: locomotives have to be uncoupled, they have to reverse their train and be coupled to the other side. It will be a great relief for the staff when BEMO will (hopefully) release the push-pull engine Deh 4/4 in spring 2000!

Belvédère has two exits: section 1 goes up the mountain towards Muttbach and the Furka pass. The rack section starts immediately after the railway has crossed the Furka road. The crossing is secured by flahing signals alone. Section 2 goes down to the valley towards Gletsch and Oberwald.

The gravel silos 3 store the gravel brought by lorries from a nearby quarry until it is needed on the construction site where a new dam for a hydro electrical powerstation is errected. Goods shed 4 receives daily deliveries for the same construction site. A small diesel shunter is used to keep things moving (goods carriages).

Platform 5 with the two station tracks is very basic as the whole station is. There are no light signals on the whole mountain line and trains are operated with train orders only. The switches are operated by hand levers.

Fig. 1: Track arrangement of Belvédère:

Pict 1: First module towards exits 1 and 2

Pict 2: Same module seen from the top in a further status (12/9/2001)

Pict 3: Same module

Pict 4: Second module with goods shed

Pict 5: Same module from a different angle of view and further status (12/9/2001)

Pict 6: Same module from above

Pict 7: Modules on supports