Rh.B.107 "Albula" No.2

Rh.B.107 "Albula" No.2

Her tender is heaped high with bags of coal, her firebox well-fed. The brown coal smoke issuing from her stack is
a mere “preview” to the attention-getting CHUFF that will echo through the large train shed at Chur’s busy station
when her driver pulls back on the throttle and Rhätische Bahn No. 107 “Albula” departs with her train of vintage
carriages on her all-day trip from Landquart to Sumvitg in the Surselva region of Switzerland’s Canton Graubünden.

The old gal has a long memory, and can actually remember the Chur Hbf, long before
the modern departure signs and the PostAuto station just ahead, above the tracks.

She’ll chuff her way, on this sunny autumn Sunday, along the Rhine down to Reichenau/Tamins, at which
point she’ll take the line that follows the Vorderrhein branch of the young Rhine, through the Riunaulta,
also known as the Swiss Grand Canyon, on her way to Ilanz and Sumvitg.

“Albula” was built in 1906. The old gal remains spry and limber, thanks to all the TLC she gets
from her friends and, of course, the support of the Rhätische Bahn for these special excursions.

This image is available in archival gallery prints and as a custom printed Photo Note Card.

Photo, Narrative, and Design ©2011/2012 Steve Ember