During the coldest times the freight trains keep going

During the month of February, on a cold Monday morning, there seemed to be no traffic on the railway line. It had just snowed the previous evening and we could feel the cold running through our veins. However, we couldn't find a warm place, we wanted to see a nice freight train that day! So we waited for minutes that seemed to be turning into hours. Suddenly a great Re 6/6 peeked out of the snow (see image). The picture and train brought good cheer for we finally knew that all the waiting had paid off. The heavy freight train passed, bringing air, joy and surprise to our faces.

The first locomotive was the Re 6/6 11609 and the second was the Re 4/4 11364 still in green livery which brought us much surprise. In these cases a double traction is needed, for one locomotive alone will not be able to carry all the load through the Swiss Alps. A Re 6/6 can only carry a maximum weight of 800 tons at a speed of 80 km/h. Both locomotives are from the Bo'Bo series by SLM and were bought by the SBB CFF FFS.