Mittelthurgaubahn is one of Switzerland´s normal gauge private railroad companies. It operates mainly in the Kanton of Thurgau, around the city of Winterthur and the town of Weinfelden and the coastal line of Lake Bodensee, but also on SBB´s network, especially in cargo traffic. MThB operates also some lines to Germany and inside Germany in the German Keris Hegau, for example a service called "Seehas" (sea hare) between Radolfzell and Konstanz. MThB´s own network is 42 km long and it was opened for traffic in 1911.

MThB has a broad cooperation with SOB, the SüdOstBahn, another private normal gauge rail company. Together with SOB, MThB also started "Lokoop", a cooperative, which bought first old DDR locomotives and now later brand new CB Br 145 locomotives from Germany and leases them to SOB and MThB as well as some other private companies.

Another piece of history, unfortunately badly spoit by "modernisation", this Mittelthurgaubahn MThB Re 416 is originally one of the very few surviving first generation Re 4/4 locomotives of the SBB from 1946. SBB has been taking them out of service and as this is being written, the very last few are being used at the Basel station in switching work at the wagon washing line of long distance coaches. This example and its four "sisters" had been saved by the SBB from being demolished and they were intended to be saved as museum locomotives for the Federal traffic museum "Verkehrshaus" and by the Classic Rail, but the SOB and MThB managed to somehow buy these four, causing considerable and understandable irritation at the SBB. MThB put them into service, operating postal trains for example between St. Gallen and Glarus where they now directly compete against their ex-owner SBB. What is worse, they also "modernise" them: this one, now designated Re 416, has been stripped of several doors and especially the front part has been mercilessly simplified while the original dark green livery has also been replaced by a modern "Verkehrsrot" red and the ugly MThB logo text.

Re 416 no. 625 (or Re 4/4 I) from 1946 is small, only 14,7 metres long and it weighs 57 tonnes. Maximum speed is 125 km/h - it was the very first locomotive generation to reach 125 km/h speeds in curves, allowing the letter "R" for "rapid" in the type designation.

Photo at SOB depot in Samstagern at 21.10.2001 by Ilkka Siissalo, ilkka.siissalo(at-sign)iki.fi
Uploaded June 16th, 2002