To celebrate its 80th anniversary, Swiss train manufacturer Stadler has published a book about both the company’s history and Swiss railway history in general.

Stadler’s headquarters are at Bussnang in eastern Switzerland, and appropriately the book is titled “Stadler – Von Bussnang in die Welt” (Stadler – from Bussnang to the world). A previous book by author Theo Weiss that was published in 2010 was titled “Stadler – Von der Stollenlokomotive zum Doppelstockzug” (Stadler – from the mining locomotive to the double-decker train). That book took a technical and chronological approach to the company but is now out of print.

Written by author Philipp Landmark, the book has almost 300 pages and is richly illustrated. It doesn’t claim to provide a complete account of Stadler’s history but tells individual stories to illustrate a series of the essential developments that, taken together, have made Stadler what it is today. The book is available to purchase from Stadler’s webshop at stadlerrail.shop.

The company was established as an engineering company during the Second World War by Ernst Stadler. For many years it was a small niche player in the Swiss railway market, but in 1989 Peter Spuhler, who was just 30 years old at the time, acquired the company and its then 18 employees. Soon afterwards, Stadler had developed its first train, a GTW articulated railcar, which became a bestseller and signalled the start of Stadler’s rapid expansion.

Switzerland’s railway industry was once world-leading, but companies such as SLM, Sécheron, SIG, and MFO are long gone. The country’s railway history is now perpetuated by Stadler, one of the World’s leading train builders. What was once a small train manufacturer in the tranquil Thurgau town of Bussnang, is now a globally active company, with its best-seller FLIRT model, which can be configured as a regional or as an Intercity train. The company has over 13,000 employees based in various production and engineering locations and in over 70 service locations.

Stadler’s product range includes high-speed and intercity trains, regional and suburban trains, metros, tramways and trams, mainline and shunting locomotives, and passenger carriages. It will also build vehicles tailor-made to customers’ specific requirements and is the world’s leading manufacturer of vehicles for rack-and-pinion rail systems.