RailPictures.Net Photo: 421 387 (11387) IRSI (International Rolling Stock Investment Gmbh, Frauenfeld) Re 421 (Re 4/4 II) at Winterthur, Switzerland by Georg Trüb
Re 421 # 387 (Re 4/4 II # 11387) of the International Rolling Stock Investment Gmbh (IRSI) in the steel blue/cream "Rheingold" colors (the "Rheingold" uses cobalt blue), is pulling train 69456 of TR TransRail from Islikon via Winterthur-Kloten-Regensdorf-Brugg-Olten-Burgdorf to Bern Weyermannshaus (freight yard) and after a switchback via Bern-Lyss to Aarberg (Swiss sugar work). The train has about 25 Sgns container cars with 3 empty ForstLogistik containers each, which will be used for the sugar beet traffic in western part of Switzerland. The about 470 meter long train is running between Winterthur and Winterthur Tössmühle. The locomotive was bought by the IRSI from SBB Cargo in autumn 2019 and got a revision R2 with new paint scheme in the industrial work of the SBB in Bellinzona in spring 2020 (revision date "Be 19.05.20"). The colors sympathizes with the express train "Rheingold" (Amsterdam-Basel) colors of the years 1962 to 1965. The "Rheingold" was the fastest train of the Deutsche Bundesbahn at this time with a maximum velocity of 160 km/h. Initially, in Germany six locomotives of the class E 10 (with "angular" ends, E 10 # 1239 to # 1244) were used as traction units, which were given special bogies designed for 160 km/h and painted in cobalt blue/cream to match the cars for their special operations. The class E 10.12 electric locomotives that were actually intended for the Rheingold with the more elegant front ("Bügelfalte"), whose colour scheme corresponded to that of the cars from the beginning, were used when delivered from autumn 1962. The provisionally used locomotives were then rebuilt to normal E 10. The "Rheingold" was then classified as TEE (TRANS EUROP EXPRESS) from summer timetable 1965 and prolonged from Basel to Geneva. In Switzerland, the train was pulled by a green Re 4/4 I and there was not a appropriate locomotive available for the cobaltblue/cream cars. The cars were soon painted red/cream (about 1966) and in Switzerland, the Re 4/4 I # 10033, 10034, 10046 und 10050 got an appropriate red/cream paint scheme for this service not until 1972.
