For the love of Trams
October was a busy month, with our family having the opportunity to return to Basel, Switzerland for a holiday. We hadn't returned to Basel since 2014 so it brought back memories of riding on trams, travelling on the superb train system and visiting our local neighborhood. I lived in Basel for 6 years from 2006 and this is where my love for trams was born as I heard the trams every day and found it an efficient means of getting around. We use to live in the Gundeli and our nearest tram stop was Heiliggeistkirche where we caught the 15 or 16 number tram. My time in Basel inspired me to do a layout on the Sydney tram system although I was not born during the time of its operation.
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| Above: Picture of our local tram stop . Photo taken taken back in December 2006. |
One distinct feature of the visit was seeing and riding the Basel City trams new low floor Flexity trams replacing the ageing Duewag GT6 trams. As usual, a trip to Europe is not complete without a visit to the local model train store to obtain those hard to get items not available in Australia. It was sad to note that two of the stores I use to visit have been closed. One being the main one in Basel city centre.
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| Above: a picture of my spoils October 2018 |
Whilst we knew it was a holiday it was very sad and difficult to leave Switzerland with our precious time with our friends in Basel and using my German. It gave me inspiration that I hope to return to Europe one day on a more longer visit so that I can become fluent in German and also ride trains and visit model train shops along the way. Bis spateer der Schweiz
Modelling Basel town
Although there are no plans to build a model of Basel town with its trams and central station I did have inspiration to find and purchase a Duewag GT6 Model on Ebay. This is not in Basel Stadt livery but is close enough in colour. This is a ""Vestiche" German livery made by Rivarossi. As yet I have yet to find a tram for the Baselland Transport (BLT) yellow and red livery.
2. https://www.blt.ch/ more information on the Basel land transport operator
Having just visited Basel on Aug 1 this year (yes, the national holiday), I agree, the trams were frequent, and well patronised. I didn't get much free time in the city center, although the river port, accessible close to Tram #8 terminus, has a wealth of ideas for anyone wanting to model a modern river/rail interchange. Thanks for tweaking the memory.
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