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Rhaetian Railway (RhB) – Prototype and H0m Model Railroading

Dates on Rails

Preface (February 2008):

      This page was written in November 1999. Then, you could still find the rails shown here in Filisur, meanwhile, after the extensive renovation of the station, they are gone. Nevertheless, this page documents a small fragment of RhB history, and I decided to keep it on my site.

      Have you ever noticed that RhB tracks are dated?
      When sunlight falls on the rails from the side, these dates are perfectly readable even after nearly one hundred years as shown above.

      I have only recently begun to regularly check these dates; the oldest rail that I have found so far (1902; cf. picture above) is part of “Track 1” at Filisur station. This is probably the first and original rail from the times when the Albula line was built. Around Klosters, the first tracks from 1889 have only recently been removed. (Thank you for the information, Raffael!)
      Here is a magnified view of the same rail section; in addition, you see two sections from 1935 and 1964:

      The really interesting thing about this: These three sections of track are directly connected, all three are found on track 1 in Filisur. Tracks are regularly checked and replaced if necessary; you can only find these really old rails on track sections with nearly no traffic.
      Just an idea for your next vacations in the Grisons; keep an eye on these dates!

Copyright © 1999–2008 and responsible for contents: Christoph Ozdoba.
First version November 2, 1999, last edited February 17, 2008.

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