SOME INFO ON THE FO:

The Furka Overalp Bahn is a narrow gauge mountain railway in switzerland with a gauge of 3'3/8". It runs in the Graudbünden, Uri and Canton of Valais. Since 2003 it is a part of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn.

The first half of the line was opened by the French company Brig-Furka-Disentis Bahn (BFD) in 1914. Trains could go as far as Gletsch, starting from Brig. Construction of the second part over the Furka Pass and Oberalp Pass was well under way when the war situation in France halted all works by 1915. The company lingered on, but was finally bankrupt in 1923. Two years later the railway had a new owner, called Furka Oberalp Bahn, founded by the cantons and the neighboring railway companies. Construction work resumed, now with important federal funds, and on 4 July 1926 regular through services between Brig and Disentis could start. RhB trains reached Disentis under electric traction in 1922.

In 1930 the tracks of the newly electrified BVZ reached Brig, which gave birth to the famous Glacier Express. The oncoming crisis and the war limited the number of tourists. Nevertheless the FO line was considered to be of strategic importance. This finally made funds available to electrify the line and purchase the necessary motive power. At the same time the Andermatt–Disentis line was protected against avalanches to allow winter services.

The Furka Oberalp Railway procured in the years 1940 - 1956 a total of 7 electric locomotives of the type HGe 4/4 I with the numbers 31-37. For a long time, this type of locomotive typified the image of the FO. The new HGe 4/4 II have already largely replaced the HGe 4/4 I.