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Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway

sbbresale.ch

11–20 of 119 posts

Re: Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway

#11
post #10

If I was filthy rich, I'd buy a plot of land near a railway line (that is at least attached to the main lines), build my own siding, and buy one of DSB's IC3 MUs[0], maybe also an IR4 MU[1], so they can together ride on electrified and non-electrified tracks. Then refurbish their interior, install as many signal compatibility systems, and, for the IR4, have it support as many overhead voltage systems as possible. I h…

Or maybe donate it to the Illinois Railway Museum (irm.org) so that they could run it for more people than just yourself.

Re: Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway

#13
post #4

You can pay Amtrak to haul your train car around[0], so you’ve just got to figure out a way to get the car from Switzerland to the US, and then you can really get around in style. [0]: https://www.amtrak.com/privately-owned-rail-cars

Is there someone that does this frequently with a breakdown in costs and their experience? This sounds lit as a goal for an eccentric millionaire.

There is a fee schedule available: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...

Re: Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway

#14
post #4

You can pay Amtrak to haul your train car around[0], so you’ve just got to figure out a way to get the car from Switzerland to the US, and then you can really get around in style. [0]: https://www.amtrak.com/privately-owned-rail-cars

Is there someone that does this frequently with a breakdown in costs and their experience? This sounds lit as a goal for an eccentric millionaire.

I don't have personal experience, but I've heard it's not viable. The biggest issue is that Amtrak offers the service on a "best effort" basis, which means that if the train you want to hook up to is running late (which this frequently are due to conflicts with cargo traffic), they won't hook your car up, and you have to wait for the next train, which also might not be able to hook you up.

Re: Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway

#15

You can pay Amtrak to haul your train car around[0], so you’ve just got to figure out a way to get the car from Switzerland to the US, and then you can really get around in style. [0]: https://www.amtrak.com/privately-owned-rail-cars

Someone should definitely forward this to Kim Jong Un, maybe they also make a custom armored version.

Re: Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway

#16

You can pay Amtrak to haul your train car around[0], so you’ve just got to figure out a way to get the car from Switzerland to the US, and then you can really get around in style. [0]: https://www.amtrak.com/privately-owned-rail-cars

It’s possible in The Netherlands to charter a private train. I have seen large companies do this for a company retreat. It’s not even that expensive. I remember it being €5000/hour which isn’t a bad way to move 300 employees to the other side of the country.

Re: Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway

#19
post #5

A similar option is available in North America (1). Very niche, and it’s run by Larry Paikin, 93-year-old father of legendary Canadian journalist Steve Paikin. (1) http://www.locomotives.ca

Curse you. Now I have a new objective in life.

For those of this persuasion in the Montreal area we have https://exporail.org

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