Brand new Golden Pass Express coaches in Zweisimmen. At the other end a green BLS Re 465 locomotive can be seen. These wagon sets are of a totally new construction which can change its gauge width on which it runs between 1000mm and 1435mm. The Golden Pass line begins in the south by the Lac Leman (Genfersee in German) at the city of Montreux. From there it climbs over the mountains with 1000 mm gauge adhesion locomotives along the track of the company MOB, Montreaux-Oberland Bernois. For years and years tourists who are paying a hefty price for their train tickets, have had to twice change trains on their way between Montreux and Luzern, first here in Zweisimmen, because from here to Interlaken the route continues on BLS' 1435mm tracks. Then in Interlaken there's another change of trains, again to metre gauge of the ZB Zentralbahn. ZB uses locomotives which have a cog wheel drive for a third rail. Now the idea was that the tourists wouldn't have to step out of their wagons any more, but the set of wagons would modify their gauge width and only the locomotive in the front would change. This service began in the spring of 2023 after several years of planning and testing. But only after some three months of use, it was forbidden to run these variable gauge coaches on BLS' normal gauge tracks as the wagons had a tendency to "climb up" on top of switches thereby badly damaging the tracks. This picture was taken at the time when it was already forbidden to run these on the BLS line. In another 3 months time the problem was solved and the new coaches are now in full use.
For more pictures of these Golden Pass Express variable gauge coaches, see the category Switzerland > MOB Montreux-Oberland Bernois.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A closer look at the steering cab coach of the variable gauge wagonset.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This is the gauge changer apparatus that forces the special bogies of the Golden Pass Express wagons to adapt from 1000mm to 1435mm or the other way round.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A closer look at the gauge changer shows clearly how it presses the wheels from 1435 mm to metre gauge when rolling over this system from right to left.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (French: Chemin de fer Montreux Oberland Bernois), also known as the Golden Pass line, is a metre gauge private railway in southern Switzerland. MOB's main line is 62,4 km long, 1000 mm gauge and electrified with 850 V DC. At certain places it climbs up over 7% inclines, but the line is not built to use third rail cog wheel drive systems. MOB's main line runs from the city of Montreux by Lake Geneva up to Zweisimmen, where it meets the normal gauge line of BLS Lötschbergbahn. In addition to the main line, there is also a branch line from Zweisimmen to Lenk. Most of MOB's business is passenger traffic, especially touristic trains, but there are some cargo services as well, especially gravel transport services.

This is one of MOB's newest trains, built by Stadler. Over ten narrow gauge railways in Switzerland bought simultaneously these similar trains from Stadler and took them in use in 2016-18. MOB calls these new trains "Alpina" and often adds older panoramic coaches in the middle of these two or three coach compositions.
Picture from Montreux 30.9.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.

One of MOB's new Alpina motor wagons no.9303 has just pushed a Regionalexpress train from Montreux to Zweisimmen, where MOB's main line ends. Note how the motorwagon needs to have both of its pantographs up and both pantographs even have three instead of the more usual two grinders touching the overhead catenary. This is due to the very low voltage of 850 V DC that MOB uses. Low voltage means high currents when moving heavy trains at steep slopes.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This is the other end of the same train that is shown above. This modern and fancy looking first wagon is not motorised, as one could easily suppose, but it is just a mere steering cab coach. And actually it is even a bit older than the new Alpina motor wagons that MOB now uses as omnipotent locomotives. Nevertheless, it looks modern and attractive and tourists love the big panorama windows. The train driver sits high up above the tourists.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This is still a detail of the same train that has been shown above. This is one of the new Stadler made partly low-floor middle coaches. Notice the small panorama windows partly on the roof, which allow tourists of a good view to admire the alps at a close range.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A long MOB train with an unmotorised steering cab coach Ast 152 at this end and a new Stadler Alpina motorwagon at the other end, stopping and taking in a huge crowd of schoolchildren.
Picture from Gstaad 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same train as above, but seen here as it was just approaching Gstaad station.
Picture from Gstaad 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

MOB's new Alpina motor wagon 9301 has brought its train to Montbovon, where this line of MOB ends. Montbovon is the place where MOB's and tpf's metre gauge networks meet.
Picture from Montbovon 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A MOB train in a typical Swiss landscape. This Alpina motor wagon has received four old former Golden Pass Express coaches in its middle. This is a good example of how MOB uses these new Alpina motor wagons with just about any coaches they happen to have.
Picture from near Château d'Oex 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Two Alpina motor wagons with three brand new middle coaches, two of which are even low-floor. This is as modern as it can get at MOB these days.
Picture from Les Combes near Château d'Oex 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same train as above, as it got close...
Picture from Les Combes near Château d'Oex 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The "station" (or train stop) of Les Combes. All the facilities are there: A bench with a shelter for rain, a loudspeaker through which one can hear announcements, an automate to buy tickets from. And a waste paper basket :-)
Picture from Les Combes near Château d'Oex 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

These double motor wagons ABDe 8/8 (later BDe 8/8 after they lost their first class) were from the year 1968. They were powerful enough to pull a five coaches long train up the steepest gradients of the MOB route, 7,3%. They were often used instead of locomotives to pull MOB's passenger trains. There were four of them, numbered 4001 to 4004. One such double motor wagon had eight electric motors and it could produce 880 kW of power output. They were all officially taken out of use in the autumn of 2017. One was broken to pieces, but the three others are probably still available as a reserve.
Picture of ABDe 8/8 no.4001 from Montreux 30.9.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.

One of the same double motor wagons BDe 8/8 no.4003 in Zweisimmen.
Picture 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This is one of the series 4000 electric multiple units, here hiding behind beautiful flowering trees.
Picture from Rougemont 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A modernised local service train of MOB / Goldenpass. The first and the last coaches are all new, but the motorised middle coach has been taken from an old electric multiple unit of the so called Be 4/4 5000 series from the late seventies. These trains were originally bought for short-haul traffic near Montreux and also for the Zweisimmen to Lenk side line. This picture is from the Zweisimmen to Lenk line.
Picture from the Saanen valley 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same train as above. The old middle motorwagon which has now lost its driver's cab is the old Be 4/4 no. 5004. The first and the last wagon are just unmotorised driving trailers.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A closer look at one of the two unmotorised trailer wagons.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

...and this is the old motorised wagon 5004 as it is now.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

For comparison, this is how the MOB electric multiple unit Be 4/4 no.5004 plus a steering cab coach used to look like before all the modernisations. The steering cab coach was scrapped and the motor wagon lost its cab front, but other than that, the motorwagon itself remained much the same except for new chairs and a new painting. Then new unmotorised steering cab coaches were added at both ends of the motorwagon. Here we see the original and as yet unmodified electric multiple unit at Lenk in Simmental on 8.11.1998 as the train 520 Lenk to Zweisimmen.
Picture 8.11.1998 by Phil Richards of London, UK from Lenk. Phil has published this picture free to use under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license.

This old motor wagon BDe 4/4 no.3002 is from the 3000 series. They were taken in use still during the second world war. Now it has been painted in a darker blue livery and named to belong to Goldenpass Services, which is the infrastructure part of the MOB group of companies. Goldenpass Services uses it just as a locomotive for track maintenance trains.
Picture from Flendruz 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same motor wagon BDe 4/4 no.3002 as above, here seen en route somewhere between Rougemont and Flendruz
Picture from near Flendruz 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Still a closer look at the same motor wagon BDe 4/4 no.3002 as above.
Picture from the station of Flendruz 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This motor wagon Be 4/4 no.1002 II was from 1951. It was first used by the Ferrovia Biasca–Acquarossa, known in German as Bleniotalbahn, a private narrow gauge railroad in Kanton Tessin (in Italian: Ticino). When that railroad was closed down, the motor wagon came to MOB in 1975. It was scrapped in November 2017.
Picture from Zweisimmen 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same motor wagon Be 4/4 no.1002 II from 1951 seen from the other side.
Picture from Zweisimmen 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Be 4/4 no.1007 is from a series that was built during the years 1966-78. It used to work for Aare Seeland Mobil, but when they got new trains, some of these were sold to MOB.

For comparison: One of these same motor wagons can be seen in its original Aare Seeland colours here.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This locomotive GDe 4/4 no.6005 is from the year 1983. MOB has had similar locomotives right from the time when they were new, but this one and and a second similar one no.6006 were bought as new and used by tpf, formerly Gruyère-Fribourg-Morat GFM. This one used to be tpf's locomotive no.101. To see its sister locomotive 102 still in GFM's livery, see here. When tpf/GFM stopped all cargo traffic on their network, they made a deal with MOB. There is a connection between MOB's and tpf's networks and now MOB runs all cargo traffic also on tpf's metre gauge network. MOB bought these two locomotives from tpf.
Picture from Zweisimmen 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same GDe 4/4 no.6005, former tpf's no.101, seen from the other side.
Picture from Zweisimmen 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

One of the similar locomotives GDe 4/4 as shown above, this no. 6002 has in the meantime received a new and quite darkish livery. It was standing apparently just as a reserve.
Picture from the station of Château d'Oex 10.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The Golden Pass panoramic express has just arrived from Montreux to Zweisimmen and it was this time led by the locomotive Ge 4/4 no.8004, the newest one of MOB's locomotives. This is an expensive touristic train. From Zweisimmen the tourists will continue further towards Interlaken with BLS Lötschbergbahn's normal gauge trains.
Picture from Zweisimmen 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same locomotive Ge 4/4 no.8004 as above, here seen from its side.
Picture from Zweisimmen 2.5.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This is the exactly same locomotive Ge 4/4 no.8004 as shown above. Unfortunately it's partly hidden by cargo wagons, but anyway you can see its new livery and how it has been fitted to look the same as the brand new Alpina motor wagons.
Picture from Zweisimmen 9.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.