28 January, 15 CET: 1st webinar on steamship restoration

IATM – Start of a series exciting worldwide webinars

The IATM Board has decided to organize 2021 every month a Webinar to maintain to contact with our members and to enlarge the range of participants, not only the Directors but also the other staff members.

The start will be made by the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne on

Thursday, 28 January 2021 at 14:00 (GMT) / 15:00 European continent.

Duration: 1 hour (including live Q & A)

Topic of the webinar:

Restoration of the steamship DS Rigi, Lake Lucerne 1848-1952 (in the museum since 1959).

The steamship Rigi is as old as modern Switzerland and thus our oldest preserved machine-driven vehicle. The boat was built at the very beginning of the mechanisation of the transalpine route through the Gotthard at the cradle of industrialisation in England. Intended primarily for transporting goods on Lake Lucerne, the cargo ship had a large open deck. The “Rigi” brought export goods from Lucerne to Flüelen and took import goods back to Lucerne. In those days, still dominated by carriages, wagons and poor roads, the steamship was the fastest means of transport. The transport capacity was also important on the way from Basel to Milan or even from Rotterdam to Genoa. 

Thomas Cook let his guests travel on the steamship “Rigi” on the first trip he made to the Swiss Alps in 1863. The steamship Rigi is one of the most valuable objects in our exhibition.

During this “Live Webinar”, you can look over the shoulder of the project manager and directly ask questions about the history and the restoration. 

Welcome to a virtual visit to the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, which is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Martin Bütikofer, Director

Date / Time: Thursday, 28 January 2021 /14:00 (GMT)
Host: Swiss Museum of Transport, Lucerne Switzerland