Created in 2010, the Foundation for Rapid Steam Modelling (FMVV) was born from a desire: to sustainably preserve an exceptional heritage linked to live steam and the railway world. Over the years, a remarkable collection has been built up at Le Bouveret. It now brings together more than 130 exhibits, including more than 30 live steam locomotives, static steam engines and numerous objects from railway history.

But preserving this heritage does not only mean conserving machines. Behind every locomotive are hundreds of hours of design, machining, assembly and tuning. They bear witness to technical and artisanal know-how that has become rare, passed down from generation to generation by enthusiasts.

The Foundation’s mission is to preserve this heritage and the related know-how and to ensure that it continues to live.

OUR GOALS

The Fondation du Modélisation à Vapeur Vive works to preserve, maintain, restore and enhance the locomotives, live steam engines and railway objects that make up its collection.

It has several objectives:

• To preserve a unique heritage, by protecting from the abandonment or disappearance of machines and objects that bear witness to the history of steam and railways.
• Keeping the machines running, because a live steam locomotive makes sense when it can still run, produce steam and transmit the sensations of a moving mechanism.
• To safeguard the know-how, gestures and knowledge necessary for the construction, maintenance and operation of these machines.
• To pass on to future generations, allowing children, young people, families, schools and enthusiasts to discover in a concrete way the history of steam, mechanics and the railway.
• To make this heritage accessible to the public, by creating a place where history, technology, living heritage and discovery meet.