AUTHOR JEREMIAS BEERLI
In 1847 – 175 years ago – the Swiss Northern Railway opened the first Swiss railway line between Zurich and Baden. In 1947, the entire country celebrated the centenary of the "Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn." For this occasion, the Swiss Federal Railways commissioned a replica of the steam locomotive "Limmat." The composer Artur Beul (1915–2010), born in Einsiedeln, also saw the anniversary as an opportunity to dedicate a song to the railway. The former teacher wrote the music and lyrics for the foxtrot "s’Spanischbrötli-Bähnli."
The Schmid siblings – Klärli, Werner, and Willy Schmid – from Hägglingen recorded the piece on vinyl. The cover of the sheet music not only features an illustration of the railway but also a photo of Beul (left) and the Schmid siblings. Since 1941, the composer and the vocal trio had worked together successfully; their two most famous works are "Nach em Räge schiint d’Sunne" and "Stägeli uf, Stägeli ab."
At the time, Beul and the Schmid siblings enjoyed fame across Europe and, by the late 1950s, were known in the USA as the Trio Shmeed or Happy Yodlers.