[swisstrains]

I have just obtained a copy of the book "Mythos Gotthardbahn" and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the modern day Gotthard route.
I possess numerous books and magazines which feature this line but in my opinion this must be the best one yet. The quality and composition of the many photos is absolutely superb with many of them taken from unusual viewpoints and from a low flying helicopter. The book mainly covers the period from the 1990's to 2007 and shows trains being hauled by all types of modern Swiss motive power as well as locos from the open-access German freight operators.
The book divides the route into sections, each with it's own map and brief description and the majority of the photos are in colour. The text is in German but non-speakers need not worry because, with a little knowledge of Swiss railways, most of the photos are self explanatory as are the maps and tables.
ISBN 978-3-940262-00-4 Hardback, 154 pages published by Europ Media Verlag. Price from Platform 5 in Sheffield was £34.95.

 

[goedel]

QUOTE (swisstrains @ 3 May 2008, 20:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have just obtained a copy of the book "Mythos Gotthardbahn" and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the modern day Gotthard route.
I possess numerous books and magazines which feature this line but in my opinion this must be the best one yet. The quality and composition of the many photos is absolutely superb with many of them taken from unusual viewpoints and from a low flying helicopter. The book mainly covers the period from the 1990's to 2007 and shows trains being hauled by all types of modern Swiss motive power as well as locos from the open-access German freight operators.
The book divides the route into sections, each with it's own map and brief description and the majority of the photos are in colour. The text is in German but non-speakers need not worry because, with a little knowledge of Swiss railways, most of the photos are self explanatory as are the maps and tables.
ISBN 978-3-940262-00-4 Hardback, 154 pages published by Europ Media Verlag. Price from Platform 5 in Sheffield was £34.95.
Hello John,

That sounds like a fascinating read, thanks for the "heads up" on that, as one fighter pilot to another! I have enjoyed some of your many photographs on www.SwissTrains.net so those in the book must be good! Is there much information and history about the places dotted along the Gotthard route or is it focused completely on the marvels of the railway itself? (And there are plenty of those!

)

I must confess I have found getting reading material about my Swiss and Austrian interests fairly tricky in the UK, and of course postage costs from eBay or whereever can be expensive. Have you a preferred method of aquisition such as at exhibitions or when on holiday? Or are there many specialists such as Platform 5 about? (Platform 5 don't even seem to have a website?) I hadn't heard of them until recently when I found out that they offer subscriptions to magazines that one would find very difficult to subscribe to directly give the cost of bank transfers etc. Welcome knowledge indeed!

 

[swisstrains]

QUOTE (goedel @ 4 May 2008, 18:03) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>................. I have enjoyed some of your many photographs on www.SwissTrains.net so those in the book must be good! ...............
Thanks for the kind comments but the photos in this book really are in a different league and put most of my humble offerings to shame

QUOTE Is there much information and history about the places dotted along the Gotthard route or is it focused completely on the marvels of the railway itself?..........................
The book divides the route into sections and each one contains a map of that section and a brief description of the towns and places of interest to be found in it. There is also a brief description of the new Gotthard Base tunnel, a chronology of the routes history and a list of all its bridges and tunnels.
QUOTE I must confess I have found getting reading material about my Swiss and Austrian interests fairly tricky in the UK, and of course postage costs from eBay or whereever can be expensive. Have you a preferred method of aquisition such as at exhibitions or when on holiday? Or are there many specialists such as Platform 5 about? (Platform 5 don't even seem to have a website?) I hadn't heard of them until recently when I found out that they offer subscriptions to magazines that one would find very difficult to subscribe to directly give the cost of bank transfers etc. Welcome knowledge indeed!
I do buy books and DVD's when on holiday but I find that most of the ones that interest me are available from Platform 5 and as I subscribe to "Todays Railways Europe" I am entitled to a discount which more or less covers the P & P. It's a pity that they don't have a website but their telephone ordering system has always been friendly and efficient. Why not send an email to [email protected] and ask them for a copy of their latest non-English publication catalogue? Platform 5's prices are usually a few pounds higher than you would pay in mainland Europe but when you take the International postage into consideration I don't think they are too bad.

 

[goedel]

Thanks very much for that reply John, I've just emailed them to ask about my areas of interest! I suppose it's too much to hope that they offer subscriptions to N-Bahn-Magazin!