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Rhaetian Railway (RhB) – Prototype and H0m Model Railroading

BCU – Bündner Cement Untervaz

Preface (July 2001 / February 2006): BCU is history …

      When I wrote this page between February and May 1999, I could not anticipate what little time it would take to make its contents obsolete: In 1999, BCU became a part of HCB (“Holderbank Cement und Beton”), and in a → press release from March 21, 2001, it was made known that “Holderbank” was renamed, according to the holding, Holcim Ltd., to Holcim (Schweiz) AG.
      These changes are reflected in the RhB's rolling stock: Ge 4/4 III 649 (formerly “BCU,” then “HCB”) is currently painted in “Holcim” colours, and the “BCU” logo on the class Uce cement cars (“Mohrenköpfe”) is already railway history.

      After these developments, I had considered to delete this page, but already in 2001, I decided to keep it: “BCU” with the ibex logo has been so well known for a long time in the Grisons and also in connection with the RhB's rolling stock – in model railroading, too – that this article may be of some historic interest.

      Consequently, I left the text unchanged; it documents the situation in early 1999. Current information is found on → Holcim's website.

      Here is the original text from 1999:

      Untervaz is the hometown of the company BCU which is known to RhB enthusiasts from the colorful Ge 4/4 III # 649. In 1998, when BCU celebrated its 40th anniversary, the company logo was attached to some RhB cement transport cars.

On October 15, 1998, I found Uce 8028 in Landquart; unfortunately, the jubilee logo was severely damaged.       (Locomotive and cars are available in H0m scale from Bemo.)

In Untervaz, you do not have to search long for the original of the company logo that is found on locomotive and cars: You simply can't miss these giant silos.

On the BCU area, the logo is found everywhere …       (Tip: Before you start to take pictures on company premises, it is always a good idea to ask for permission. I have never been denied a friendly request, and it helps to avoid misunderstandings.)

      Gunnar Meisner is already known to my readers as an expert on German and Swiss industrial locomotives from the page about locomotives used at the Vereina tunnel construction site. Gunnar was kind enough to open his archive again and provided pictures and information about the locomotives used by the BCU.

Copyright © 1999–2008 and responsible for contents: Christoph Ozdoba.
First version February 6, 1999, last edited February 17, 2008.

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