Rivarossi HR4390 - Edelweiss Pullman Express

The Edelweiss Pullman Express

The "Edelweiss" travelled between Switzerland and the Netherlands via Alsace and Luxembourg from 1928 to 1979, with an interruption due to the war. Until 1939, the train ran as a luxury train operated by the International Sleeping Car Company CIWL from Amsterdam to Basel and over a certain period also Lucerne. After the Second World War, initially operated as a normal express train, the Edelweiss became one of the first train pairs of the new Trans-Europ-Express system (TEE) from 1957. It was discontinued in 1979.

It is a little-known fact that the CIWL's Edelweiss Pullman Express was a direct competitor to the Rheingold at the time. Until the Second World War, however, the train also travelled south of Basel together with the Rheingold's scheduled coaches.

Until 1939, the CIWL only used its Pullman coaches, which had been built from 1925 onwards, on the "Edelweiss". As these were equipped with a kitchen and an at-seat service, there was generally no separate dining car and only luggage carriages. Being a day train, the Edelweiss did not have sleeping cars. As a rule, the "Edelweiss" consisted of at least four Pullman coaches and two luggage coaches.

The new Rivarossi model consisting of HR4390 and HR4391 includes two prototypical "Étoile du Nord" type cars without kitchen, two baggage cars as well as a "Côte d'Azur" type car and a "Flèche d'Or" type car. The carriages are equipped with the new Rivarossi CLS interior lighting (CLS = Contact Light System). This works in both analogue and digital mode and can be switched on or off by touching a specific point on the roof once. The interior lighting is dimmed or brightened again by a longer touch. A memory function ensures that the CLS system "remembers" the operating status before the power supply was switched off. Capacitors built into the car ensure flicker-free operation.