Future Releases

The (provisionally) next releases are expected to be:

Rails on the Isle of Man, 1987 - Some 75 minutes of Super-8 sound films are being restored for this edition. Subjects are:

  • MER : Manx Electric Railway. The double-track, interurban electric tram from Ramsey in the North via Laxey to the capital Douglas is served by trams so old they have all lived through two world wars. A museum, then? No. It is a transport company that maintains a busy service.
  • SMR : Snaefell Mountain Railway. From Laxey, a steep mountain railway leads almost to the top of the highest mountain on the island: Snaefell. The trains in use here date from before 1900. Museum? Again: no. The line is operated intensively for tourists.
  • DCT : Douglas Corporation Transport - Douglas Bay Horse Tramway. Horse-drawn trams have been running along Douglas's promenade since 1876. Worldwide there are only a few of these types of companies in operation, of which Douglas is the largest.
  • IMR : Isle of Man Railway. The former steam railway network on Man has shrunk over the years to a just one single line between Douglas and Port Erin, in the south of the island. With beautifully maintained, original equipment, again a timetable is maintained (and transport capacity offered) far in excess of what a "museum line" would imply.
  • GGR : Groudle Glen Railway. The line from Groudle to the site of the former zoo on the steep coast has a history of trial and error. Grand plans and bankruptcies always followed one another. In 1987 we see an early phase of today's company. The terminus had not yet been reached (pieces of old rails could still be found, though), and two diesel locomotives had to carry out all duties until the first steam locomotive arrived in the 1990s. The decoration of the stations was also far from finished.

Bähnli - P'tits trains - This is intended to become a series about small Swiss railway companies, showing footage from 40 years ago on super-8 alongside modern video takes of the same lines. This creates an overview of changes in both environment and equipment. This first issue (at least it seems likely at the moment that this will be the first) will be devoted to the Appenzeller Bahnen. Today it is one company, but forty years ago there were the separate Appenzeller Bahn, St. Gallen-Gais-Appenzell Bahn, Trogener Bahn, Frauenfeld-Wil, Rorschach-Heiden Bergbahn and Bergbahn Rheineck-Walzenhausen.

  • AB : Appenzeller Bahn. The line Gossau-Herisau-Urnäsch-Appenzell-Wasserauen is first seen in the times of the red/cream stock, and forty years later in the Stadler era.
  • SGA : St. Gallen - Gais - Appenzell. Here too, a ride is shown in the old days, when yellow/green equipment was still sparsely available between the more modern red trains, which themselves are already history. The later shots show the new, articulated trams. On the rack line from Gais to Altstätten, equipment has also been renewed once, but necessary further modernization does not seem to be likely to happen anymore.
  • TB : Trogener Bahn. Again in separate films, we see the old, independent TB and the new situation in which the Tango trams from Appenzell to St. Gallen now continue to Trogen.
  • RhW : Bergbahn Rheineck - Walzenhausen. There is also an old and a new film of this shortest line, constructed as a rack railway, but with far fewer differences between then and now. The same old railcar, in new colors, is still in service. However, the future is uncertain.
  • Extra: FW : Frauenfeld - Wil. This modern suburban line was not added to the Appenzeller Bahnen until 2021. That is why there is no historical footage, and we only see the modern state of affairs.
  • Extra: RHB : Rorschach - Heiden Bergbahn. This line, too, is only represented by a film in modern times. It is the only standard gauge line of the Appenzeller Bahnen, but it is a rack railway line.

Bähnli - P'tits trains - This issue will see us in Aigle, Bex and Le Châtelard. The TPC (Transports Publics du Chablais) is an amalgamation of four lines we first encounter when they were still independent:

  • AL : Aigle - Leysin. In the mid-eighties, the rolling stock was still trundling around in its cream/brown livery.
  • AOMC : Aigle - Ollon - Monthey - Champéry. Again in the eighties, older trains and second hand stock is seen on the way.
  • ASD : Aigle - le Sépey - les Diablerets. At the same time, the ASD was severely under threat of closure. The ancient trains were a very colourful collection.
  • Aigle 1989 : A flying visit in 1989 gave a chance of seeing new trains on all three lines, but still in the old colours.
  • BVB : Bex - Villars - Col-de-Bretaye. The local trams were still running in Bex. The larger red units went to Villars, and the last stretch was the domain of the larger capacity trains.
  • TPC : The four lines of Bex and Aigle were brought into one company and modernised. High time for a fresh look.
  • SATEB : In three scary stages, we travel from le Châtelard Giétroz to the dam of Émosson-Barberine.
  • Verticalp : This is the new name for the SATEB, and a lot besides has changed as well.

Please note: this DVD was originally intended as an earlier release, but there were (are) major changes in the pipeline at AL, AOMC and ASD, so this has been postponed for the time being.

The order of releases following after that is not decided yet, nor is the exact content, but the following are expected:


  • Rails on the Isle of Man
    • Edinburgh Trams (construction, testing, opening, regular service and extension)
    • Coatbridge: The tram of the Summerlee Museum of Industry

  • Small rail companies in Switzerland in the 80s
    • Bremgarten-Dietikon Bahn
    • Dolderbahn
    • Waldshut-Koblenz (DB/SBB)
    • Wohlen-Meisterschwanden
    • Berner Oberland Bahnen
    • Schynige Platte-Bahn
    • Wengernalpbahn
    • Jungfraubahn
    • Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren
    • Chemins de fer des Montagnes Neuchâteloises
    • Lausanne-Ouchy
    • Nyon-St. Cergue-Morez
    • Orbe-Chavornay
    • Tramway de Neuchâtel

  • Small railway companies in Switzerland in our time
    • TransN Le Locle-Les Brenets
    • TransN La-Chaux-de-Fonds - Les-Ponts-de-Martel
    • Waldenburger Bahn (760mm)
    • Lausanne-Ouchy after conversion into a 'rubber-wheeled metro'
    • Orbe-Chavornay
    • MBC: Apples - l'Isle-Mont-la-Ville
    • Nyon-St. Cergue-Morez: the last days of the old workshop at Les Plantaz

  • An Island Tramway in Spain
    • Metro Tenerife

  • Museum railways in the Netherlands in de 80s
    • Drentse Stoomliefhebbers ('t Oale Kompas)
    • Elektrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam
    • Efteling Stoomspoorweg
    • Museum BuurtSpoorweg
    • Nederlandse Smalspoorweg Stichting
    • Rijdend Tram Museum
    • Stoomtram Goes-Borsele
    • Stoom Stichting Nederland
    • Stoomtram Hoorn-Medemblik

  • Other...
    • Germany: Drachenfelsbahn
    • Germany: Monorail Wuppertal
    • Germany: Bocholt-Wesel
    • Germany: Kleinbahn Kaldenkirchen-Brüggen
    • Germany: Trossinger Eisenbahn
    • Netherlands-Germany: Bus Op Rails Enschede-Gronau
    • Netherlands: Heilig Land Stichting
    • Netherlands: Almelo-Mariënberg
    • Netherlands: Tram Houten
    • Netherlands: Rapid Tram Utrecht (developments since the DVD)

Please feel free to be vocal about any preferences for the next releases!


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