For switchback in the sense of "a railway track on which there are steep ascents and descents" wiktionary suggests that the equivalent in Finnish is "vuoristorata" (literally "mountain track") which also means a roller coaster, so maybe that's what is meant by switchback? If you get into a minor quarrel with your neighbour why not build a roller coaster for them to make up for it?
this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2025
16 points (100.0% liked)
Moomin Valley
571 readers
20 users here now
This is a community for all things Moomin.
The Moomins is a franchise created by finnish author/illustrator Tove Jansson. It features a vast amount of comics, TV series, movies, books and games, telling various stories mostly set in moominvalley.
If you are new to the Moomins, this video essay is a fantastic starting point to learn about this family-owned franchise.
More European works:
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Seems like roller coaster, yeah. Here's one that was called "Switchback Railway":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchback_Railway
That does seem like overkill for apologizing to your neighbor, but I guess Moominmamma would rather go big than admit she's wrong.
Nice catch! But the original word would have been the swedish "berg- och dalbana".
These comics have an unusual path to their english existencce. They were comissioned by "The Evening News" London newspaper.
Tove wrote them in swedish, (her being swedish speaking) which was then translated to english by her brother Lars.
Lars would eventually also do some drawing starting with "Moomin Goes Wild West". He eventually took over producing the strips entirely with "Moomin's Lamp" in 1960, and would be the man behind the comic for the next 15 years, while Tove focused on her literary and artistic career.
But the original word would have been the swedish “berg- och dalbana”.
So it’s litterally called a « mountain and valley track » ? That makes a lot of sense.
Yup!
Oh bother. We had a fight, but I'm right, so I have make up some way other than apology.