A Couple of Hours at Rotterdam Centraal

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Judging by some of the comments on here, there is a good deal of interest in NS trains, not least the ICM Koploper sets.

 

In view of this, I though it might be quite good to share a few pictures I took at Rotterdam Centraal last Easter. It was a Saturday, and fairly quiet, however a good variety was to be seen in the short time I was there...

[grumbeast]

Great shots!

 

I vacationed in Holland in 2004 and travelled on most of the trains you show!  I really enjoyed the Koplopers and liked the look of the hondekops even if they were in a terrible state!

[Bernard]

Claude - Great and interesting photos. We get so concentrated on the Japanese trains that it's interesting to see trains from different parts of the world. The double deckers remind me of the Sunrise Express.

[ToniBabelony]

Ahh, yes. The Mat '64, Plan V/T or "Stoptrein" (Stopping Train) as they are called. Easy to mix up with the much older Mat '54 or "Hondekop" (Dog Head), but they have some differences. In the attachment from left to right: Mat '54 (Hondekop), Mat '64 (Stoptrein), Plan Y (Sprinter) and Plan Z (Hondekop). The Hondekop has disappeared, but a few have been preserved in running condition. Koplopers are now being revised with better engines, better electrics and interiors (which are very neat), but lose the function of walk-through front-ends. So the name Koploper (Head-walker) doesn't apply any more.

 

Funny thing is that the Koplopers were designed after the 583, 485, 489, 381, 183 and 189 Series in Japan. Could it be that they are derrived from that design? I don't know... Probably not, as there were designs like these before on Dutch rail. Here an example of the Plan D rebuilt coach to a Koploper-style cab-unit: http://www.nicospilt.com/rest/RvdR19860926_2-2412.JPG (or go here: http://www.nicospilt.com/Benelux.htm )

 

Anyways, Rotterdam Central is maybe one of the best cities to spot a great variety of trains. A broad spectrum of freight trains and almost all Dutch National Railway EMU pass there. Only diesel trains and passenger trains from private companies don't pass through. Maybe in the subway one can spot some 'Randstad-Rail' trains (a new company connecting Rotterdam and The Hague by Light-Rail), but that's all. Most private companies run on the countryside and mostly with DMU in the form of GTW, DM'90 (Buffel, Buffalo) and Lint 41/H types. Veolia, Arriva and Connexxion operate EMU in the form of GTW and PROTOS EMU. Sometimes an old Mat '64 is used by Connexxion to replace broken PROTOS units on the 'Valleilijn' (Valley Line).

[disturbman]

I allways had a soft spot for those dutch EMUs. The first time I visited the country, the Koploper really impressed me with his high cab.

 

Anyway, in those pics from Rotterdam Centraal we can spot the temporary replacement Fyra service. Quite an unusual catch, an AGV (or some sort of ETR600) with that livery would have been sooo striking. To bad NS and SNCB decided to award the contract to Ansaldo-Breda. I'm still not sure I like the shoe design of the new V250 train set.

[westfalen]

I spent an hour or so between trains there last year, it's on my growing list of places to visit again.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

As the last set seemed to go down quite well, I have here another group. Againt most of these are taken the same day. The exceptions are the last two...

The first one of these was taken the day before at Rotterdam, the locomotive was actually reversing onto the train in this shot. The second was taken from a train at, I think, Leiden.

[quinntopia]

Thanks for sharing Claude! The Netherlands is one of my favorite places to visit, and the trains are a big reason! When I first discovered Japanese trains (beyond the well-known Shinkansens) I was surprised at the similarities of the Koploper to many of the JP trains as well.    Thanks for sharing the photo of the Class 66...these things seem to be all over Europe now!  I don't mind so much, as they have a very unique look that I find appealing (I just got the ACTS model by Kato, which is very nice, but seems a bit small...do they look 'short' compared to other locomotives in real life?).

[scott]

the ICM Koploper sets.

 

Robyn was reading over my shoulder and said "Co-plopper?!??" 

 

[edit] I have been requested to point out that she was yanking my chain.

 

[edit 2] This has led from "co-plopper" to "solo plopper" to "[Jabba babble] Solo plopper" to Ploppo the Hutt to "The Plop Hut" (which reminded me of a real porta-potty company called "p.l.o.p-jon") in a very short amount of time.

 

I now return you to your regularly-scheduled thread, which I am actually very interested in, believe it or not.