Edelweiss LOiseau Bleu
SBB-CFF-FFS RAm TEE I and NS DE4 was operated by what in Aug 1964?
SBB-CFF-FFS RAm TEE I and NS DE4 The SBB-CFF-FFS RAm TEE and NS DE4 were a class of five 4-car diesel-electric trainsets ordered for Trans Europe Express ( TEE ) service . Two were ordered by the Swiss Federal Railways ( SBB-CFF-FFS ) and three by Nederlandse Spoorwegen ( NS ) History . In planning the launch of the TEE services , it was decided to use diesel-powered fixed sets for the new trains . While the French and the Italians refined existing designs , the Germans introduced a new design , the VT 11.5 . The Swiss and Dutch railways cooperated on a joint development for a new 4-car diesel-electric trainset . The design comprised : - A power car with compartments for luggage , customs and the train conductor . - A nine-compartment trailer car ( 54 seats ) - A kitchen-restaurant trailer car with a 32-seat dining section , and an 18-seat first-class open saloon - A driving trailer car with 42-seat open saloon , and a staff sleeping compartment . All 114 seats were first class , with 2+1 seating in the saloons , and 2+2 in the dining section . The power cars were built by Werkspoor , with electrics by Brown , Boveri & Cie ; they were powered by a pair of RUHB diesel engines . A third diesel engine of provided power for heating , lighting , air-conditioning and the kitchen in the dining car . The trailer cars were built by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft ( SIG ) ; the design was based on the SBBs standard carriage design ( Einheitswagen I ) due to the short time available for design and construction . Only one entrance vestibule was provided at the front end of the cars , doors were of the folding aluminum type , and windows were double-glazed with a passenger-operated venetian blinds between the panes . The sets were equipped with Scharfenberg couplers , and were geared for a maximum speed of . They were painted in the TEE colours of dark red ( RAL 3004 purpurrot ) and cream ( RAL 1001 beige ) . Ownership of the sets was down-played in favour of the service – the restaurant cars having TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS lettering above the windows , while the owner ( SBB-CFF-FFS or NS ) and fleet number were only marked by small lettering on the power cars Service . From 2 June 1957 to 30 May 1964 the five sets were used in a four-day service pool as follows : - Day 1 : - TEE 30 Edelweiss — Zürich HB – Basel SBB – Strasbourg – – Brussels-Nord – Amsterdam CS - Day 2 - TEE 128 LÉtoile du Nord — Amsterdam CS – Paris-Nord - TEE 145 LOiseau Bleu — Paris-Nord – Brussels-Midi - Day 3 - TEE 108 LOiseau Bleu — Bruxelles-Midi – Paris-Nord - TEE 125 LÉtoile du Nord — Paris-Nord – Amsterdam CS - Day 4 - TEE 31 Edelweiss : Amsterdam CS – Zürich HB - Day 5 - Maintenance layover in Zürich One curious feature of this pool was the use of Swiss-Dutch stock on a Franco-Belgian route . When a RAm/DE4 set was unavailable , an SNCF locomotive with a set of was substituted . From 31 May 1964 , the LOiseau Bleu went to permanently locomotive-hauled Inox coaches , whereupon the service pool became : - Day 1 : - TEE 30 Edelweiss — Zürich HB – Amsterdam CS - Day 2 - TEE 122 LÉtoile du Nord — Amsterdam CS – Paris-Nord - TEE 125 LÉtoile du Nord — Paris-Nord – Amsterdam CS - Day 3 - TEE 31 Edelweiss : Amsterdam CS – Zürich HB The spare and maintenance sets were stationed ant Zürich and Amsterdam . From 2 August 1964 LÉtoile du Nord also went loco-hauled ; the service pool changing to a three-day circuit : - Day 1 : - TEE 30 Edelweiss — Zürich HB – Amsterdam CS - Day 2 : - TEE 31 Edelweiss : Amsterdam CS – Zürich HB - Day 3 - TEE 8 LArbalète — Zürich HB – Paris-Est - TEE 9 LArbalète — Paris-Est – Zürich HB This lasted until 28 September 1969 , LArbalète became locomotive-hauled Inox coaches ; the filling-in turn was then changed : - Day 1 : - TEE 30 Edelweiss — Zürich HB – Amsterdam CS - Day 2 : - TEE 31 Edelweiss : Amsterdam CS – Zürich HB - Day 3 - TEE 57 Bavaria — Zürich HB – Munich Hbf - TEE 56 Bavaria — Munich Hbf – Zürich HB This three-day pool lasted until one trainset was written off in an accident in February 1971 ( see below ) whereafter the remaining 4 sets were diagrammed for use only on the Edelweiss until 24 May 1974 which was their last day in TEE service . Accidents and incidents . - In August 1961 SBB 501 caught fire , and was out of service for 176 days until January 1962 . - – On 9 February 1971 SBB 501 was running as the northbound Bavaria with 53 passengers on board . Running trailer-first on the double track Munich–Lindau line , it entered an S-curve near Aitrang at about and derailed , fouling both lines . It was then struck by a VT98 Uerdingen railbus . Twenty-eight were killed and 42 were seriuosuly injured . Of the fatalities , 26 were in the TEE , 2 in the railbus , and included both drivers , and the German actor/director Leonard Steckel . The cause , although not known for certain , was assumed to be brake failure , possible caused by condensation freezing in the air-brake lines . The three trailers were scrapped on site ; the power car as taken to Tilburg works , but was later condemned and scrapped . End of TEE service . As from 26 May 1974 , TEE discontinued the use of diesel trainsets on all its services . The three Dutch and the surviving Swiss set were stored at Utrecht until another use or a buyer could be found . A plan by NS to convert them to electric operation come to nothing . In 1977 , all four were sold to the Ontario Northland Railway ( ONT ) of Canada . Northlander . The four trainsets were shipped to Canada , and after being modified to make them compliant with Canadian railway standards , they entered Ontario Northland service on the Northlander between Toronto Union Station and Timmins . ONR never used the driving trailers as they preferred the weight of the power car at the front of the train in case of hitting snow or a crossing collision Unfortunately the power cars proved unsatisfactory - they could not cope with the harsh Canadian winters , and the maintenance crews were unfamiliar with the European equipment . In 1979 and 1980 , the power cars were replaced with standard EMD FP7 diesel locomotives . The trains continued in service until February 1992 . Repatriation . The Swiss foundation TEE Classics bought eight cars to restore a trainset to its original condition . Five cars were repatriated to Europe : - One car of former NS 1001 ; - The control car of former NS 1002 ; - The three cars of the former NS 1003 . They were loaded onto the Norwegian cargo ship and sailed from Saint John , New Brunswick on 19 October 1998 , arriving at Hamburg on 5 November . After standing in Hamburg docks for several months due to having Canadian rather than European wheel profiles , they were moved to Heilbronn . One of the driving trailers was restored and displayed at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne . In June 2006 the TEE Netherlands Foundation brought all five cars together at Zwolle for restoration . One of the trailer cars was repainted back into the TEE red and cream livery to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the trainsets introduction . They also plan to construct a new powercar to replace the missing originals , none of which survive . The trainset has been on the railway yard Dijksgracht in Amsterdam since 2007 , waiting for repair . The intention is to use them again in the future after the restoration and rebuilding of the missing motor car . Shortly before the 50th anniversary of the Trans Europ Express ( June 2 1957 - June 2 2007 ) the head of one of the control cars was repainted in the old red TEE color . On December 23 , 2020 , the foundation announced that the carriages will be transferred to the Nederlands Transport Museum in Nieuw-Vennep where they will be restored . Ownership of the coaches was transferred on January 5 , 2021 . The TEE Nederland Foundation is disbanded . Funds are raised for the transport to Nieuw-Vennep and subsequent repairs . Models . Models of the RAm have been manufactured by Märklin and Roco in HO scale and by Trix in both HO scale , and ( under their Minitrix brand ) in N . Models of the RAm and Dutch DE trainsets were also made by LS Models and RailTop in exact 1/87 scale . A new model , fully made of metal will be released by Maerklin and Trix in 2020 as an Insider model . External links . - TEE-Classics ( Switzerland – in German ) - Stichting TEE ( Netherlands – in Dutch )