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Rhaetian Railway (RhB) – Prototype and H0m Model Railroading

The RhB on old postcards

Postcards with RhB motives are valuable (and sometimes the only available) sources of information, especially about the early years of the RhB. Many books dealing with the history of the RhB or of a specific line are illustrated with postcards. They contain important information for a railway historian or model railroader.

Early rolling stock

These pictures are important as they show inscriptions, colour schemes or help to compose trains that are “correct” for a certain era.
In the early years, you find many hand-coloured cards – colour photography only became available in the thirties, too late to document the blue-grey Chur-Arosa motor-coaches, the yellow Bernina motor-coaches or the Mallet locomotives.

Changes in the landscape, the roadway arrangement or in railway buildings

A classical example is found in the early pictures from the Albula line: The adjacent hillsides had been lumbered as a lot of wood was needed for the viaducts' centrings. Some of the views on old postcards are no longer possible today as the slopes have – luckily – been afforested.

It is not even necessary to look back that far; just have a look at some of the larger building projects in the last about ten years:

Since the 107 m long concourse that spans across four tracks has been officially opened at Disentis in June 2001, the “classical” view from the other side across the station with the monastery in the background is no longer possible.
Around 2002, I made a detailed photographic documentation of the track layout at Filisur station as major modifications were made there.
In Klosters, the old railway bridge was replaced by a new two-track bridge in connection with the Vereina tunnel project.
In Preda, the turntable was removed and a double-track laid.

This list could be continued …
If you want to document railway history or if you are looking for a precise documentation of a certain station at a given time for a model railroad project, you can use your own pictures – or old postcards!

Documentation of social changes

The role of the RhB in its early days can hardly be overestimated today. The Grisons, the “Canton of the 150 Valleys,” experienced an opening to the rest of the world never seen before. Many dreams were fulfilled, many too ambitious projects failed. Classic examples of postcards that document these changes and expectations are “The first steam locomotive in the Engadin” and “Preda – the Town of the Future:”

During construction of the Albula tunnel, the “Town of the future Preda”
even had a kindergarten and a small hospital. Only since this time, Preda is continuously inhabited.
The population of this little hamlet that belongs to the community of Bergün, however, is less than ten today.

If the small selection from my steadily growing collection of old RhB postcards that I present on this website has aroused your interest in this subject, you may ask yourself:

Collecting postcards – how?

As I live in Switzerland, it's easier for me than for an RhB enthusiast in Canada or New Zealand: Here, every stamp dealer offers a selection of postcards. Use the opportunity when you are traveling in the Grisons or in Switzerland in general!
Swiss stamp auction houses usually have a postcard section in their catalogs; I have found many beautiful items this way. Flea markets and stamp bourses are also good sources.

Collecting postcards need not be expensive: Once you have some experience, you will find that some cards come up very often (steam locomotive with the Campi ruins in the background, black and white; hand-coloured view of Albula viaduct I–IV) and, therefore, can be bought rather cheap. On the other hand, some cards reach Swiss Franken prices in the three-figure field (the above mentioned card “first steam locomotive in the Engadin” belongs to this category; it is very rare, and it is by far the most expensive item in my collection). The same rules as to any other collectible apply to postcards, too: Supply and demand regulate the price. You will understand that I cannot give any prices here; the market is too mixed for this.