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Rhaetian Railway (RhB) – Prototype and H0m Model Railroading

Eras (epochs) of the RhB

      My attention was drawn to this subject when I saw an era classification in the 1998 Bemo catalogue with which I do not fully agree. That's the way Bemo sees it:

Era	Locos/Cars – Freight cars	Era	Locos/Cars – Freight cars
1		2
3		4
5

      I think that it is a good idea to use colours and lettering to distinguish different eras (or epochs) for the Rhaetian Railway; what other criteria can you use for a company that still uses rolling stock that is 50 or 100 years old?
      The suggested classification, however, was perhaps complete for Bemo's product line in 1998 – since then, however, this has been extended far into the early years with models like the Mallet, the old 2-axle coaches, and the Xrot d –, but not for the RhB as a whole.
      Bemo has kept this classification; recently, “era VI,” beginning in 2004, was added. “Era I” is now defined as “until 1950.”

      There is an “official” classification of Swiss railway epochs, the NEM standard → NEM 804 CH (NEM: Normen Europäischer Modellbahnen, European Model Railroad Standards). According to this Swiss-wide standard, the beginning of the RhB in 1889 would fall into era I c – I find this somewhat strange …
      When looking for a RhB-specific classification, I found three such listings (two of them are identical):

• an era classification by the RhB,
• an era classification by the Albula-Bahn-Club Bergün (ABC), and
• an era classification from the journal “Die Modelleisenbahn” which corresponds to the ABC's listing.

      The reader is invited to decide for himself how he wants to handle this issue on his layout …

Era classification by the RhB

      I asked the RhB about this, and I received a detailed answer for which I wish to express my gratitude. In a letter dated January 15, 1998, Mr P. Härtli of the RhB Press Office wrote:

      “There is no official era classification. The following overview might be helpful:”

Era 1a   ·   1889–1920

Steam locomotives black, electrical locomotives, passenger cars and service vehicles green (fir green)
 

Era 1b   ·   1921–1930

Lettering Rh.B. cream with red shadowing.
Steam locomotives black, cab and tender green, electrical locomotives brown
 

Era 1c   ·   1930–1945

Lettering for new and rebuilt passenger cars RHÄTISCHE BAHN
(not identical to B 2245–2247)
“Engadin-Express”-coaches A4ü 51–54, As4ü 61, and F4ü 4201–4203: cream/green window line and blue/green lower coach line
Fliegende Rhätier (“Flying Rhaetians”) BCeü 4/4 501–504, AB4ü 251–252, and C4ü 2301–2306 red (these vehicles were always red)
Some service vehicles grey
 

Era 2a   ·   1942–1956

Merger with the DC lines Chur-Arosa Bahn, Ferrovia elettrica Bellinzona-Mesocco and Bernina Bahn
Motor coaches and passenger cars cream/green. Of the two-axle cars, all that came from the DC lines were re-painted (except for Dk 3503: white/blue until 1960), of the others, only B 132–135, C 2075–2078, and 2101–2107
 

Era 2b   ·   1956–1974

Class re-structuring (3rd class discontinued) on June 3, 1956, combined with re-numbering of passenger cars. Motor coaches red, passenger cars green again
Since 1959, box cars, gondolas and service vehicles oxide red
 

Era 2c   ·   1975–1982

New RhB logo
 

Era 3   ·   since 1983

Locomotives, motor coaches and passenger cars red except for historical vehicles and, since 1988, vehicles with company logos/full commercial livery. All cars formerly oxide red were painted either brown or clinker grey
Shunting vehicles orange with black/yellow markers
Service vehicles yellow

      This is the RhB's own classification. Perhaps I should ask occasionally whether there are updates.

Era classification by the Albula-Bahn-Club Bergün

      This overview is found in an article in “Das Krokodil,” the official journal of the Albula-Bahn-Club:
Die Epocheneinteilung in ihrer Entwicklung bei der Rhätischen Bahn.
Das Krokodil 2/93, p. 3–5

      The text was slightly shortened here.

Epoche I   ·   1889–1895

Landquart-Davos-Bahn. Rolling stock: G 3/4 and the first more powerful G 2x2/2 steam locomotives. Passenger cars only with two axles and flat roof. Locomotives are black with a green cab, passenger cars are green, freight cars gray.
 

Epoche II   ·   1895–1956

Epoche II A   ·   1895–1919

The Albulabahn is built, more Mallet locomotives and the 29 G 4/5 are put into service. Passenger cars with domed roofs, since 1913, 4-axle passenger cars. In 1913, the Engadin line is opened with one-phase-AC power supply. New electrical locomotives Ge 2/4 and Ge 4/6 with green body painting.
 

Epoche II B   ·   1919–1939

Main line (“Stammnetz”) fully under catenary. Acquisition of 15 C'C'-locomotives in brown. Older electrical locomotives are also painted brown. In the late twenties, the heavy steel cars and the similarly constructed MITROPA dining cars are introduced.
 

Epoche II C   ·   1939–1956

First light motorcoaches (“Fliegende Rätier”) painted in red. AC lines Chur–Arosa (ChA), Berninabahn (BB) and Bellinzona–Mesocco (BM) are taken over by the RhB. Passenger cars are adapted from gray/white (ChA), yellow (BB) and green/white (BM) to the new colours cream (above window line) and green (below window line). In 1947, the first green B0'B0'-locomotives and the light steel cars with center doors in green/cream are put into service.
 

Epoche III   ·   1956–1969

Changeover from three to only two classes. All passenger cars uniformly green, Pullman cars remain cream/green, “Fliegende Rätier” red, dining cars wine red. Freight cars successively painted red-brown. 1st-class-coaches with yellow line above the windows. Introduction of standard passenger cars and six-axle locomotives. Since 1969, all motorcoaches, control cars and passenger cars with control equipment red.
 

Epoche IV   ·   1969–today

Epoche IV A   ·   1969–1984

Freight cars classified according to UIC standards. First electrical locomotives put out of service. Four-axle freight cars are introduced. Type II standard passenger cars replace last two-axle cars. Introduction of the RhB logo. Pullman cars are the last to change from cream/green to cream/red.
 

Epoche IV B   ·   1984–1989

General revision of the standard colour scheme: Locomotives and passenger cars red, shunting locomotives orange, service vehicles yellow. Lettering “Rhätische Bahn / Ferrovia retica / Viafier retica” in silver. Standard cars (EW III) in brown/red for the Bernina-Express. Older passenger cars and the ten Ge 4/4 I locomotives are rebuilt.
 

Epoche IV C   ·   since 1989

Freight cars in commercial colour schemes. New three-phase current locomotives. EW IV replaces EW III in the Bernina-Express. Work on the Vereina tunnel begins; it is the first new line in 75 years.

Era classification from the journal “Die Modelleisenbahn”

      This classification was found in the journal “Die Modelleisenbahn” in 1989:
M. Koblischka: Schweizerische Epocheneinteilung (SBB und RhB).
Die Modelleisenbahn 12/89

      It corresponds exactly (including subsections A, B, C) to the “Krokodil's” classification, but it ends with era IV B. Furthermore, the explanatory texts are much more detailed in the “Krokodil” article.

Copyright © 1998–2008 and responsible for contents: Christoph Ozdoba.
First version January 21, 1998, last edited February 17, 2008.

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