A change of scenery from Japan.

[kvp]

 

Wow, a passenger service pulled by a BR234 Ludmilla in photo DSC02152.JPG?! They are freight locos, so that must have been only for the diverted trains because of the track work then.

They are used for passenger trains on many unelectrified lines, even in Hungary. Ludmillas are operated by GySEV, while a similar soviet type also from the Luhansk factory, the Sergei is operated by MAV. In the winter the unmodernised variants without head end power even carry dedicated generator cars for train heating.

http://iho.hu/img/120806_ludmilla/CIMG0428.JPG

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7751417002_6cf52c5c0a_b.jpg

http://www2.chem.elte.hu/gigant_club/pic/hu/diesel/m62/m62223vl.jpg

 

In europe, most locomotives are in general use, so you can see almost every type with every kind of train. Sometimes this includes push-pull long distance trains propelled by electric shunters: http://www2.chem.elte.hu/gigant_club/pic/hu/electric/v46/v46_szem.jpg

[Densha]

But that's not Germany where they are not in passenger services normally nowadays so far I know. That said, still interesting to see those pics!

[kvp]

They are not freight locomotives:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4114/4904563595_9d7c60215d_b.jpg

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4117/4904562883_6019dc4c66_b.jpg

and many people don't know about the still running br103-s either.

 

Aktuell befinden sich noch zwei Lokomotiven der Baureihe 234 (234 242 und 234 278) im Einsatz bei DB Fernverkehr in Berlin. Seit dem Fahrplanwechsel 2009/2010 ist eine 234 planmäßig vor den Nachtzug-Leerparks zwischen Berlin Lichtenberg und Berlin Warschauer Straße eingesetzt. Die zweite 234 ist eine feste 186-Reserve in Rummelsburg und kommt vor dem Berlin-Warschau-Express zum Einsatz.

[Densha]

Well yes, but those are photos from long ago. Both look like they were taken in the '90s and that first pic is in the Netherlands btw.

So far I know they are mainly used to haul heavy freight trains by DB Schenker, but that citation indeed mentions DB Fernverkehr as well. So they are used only very rarely for passenger trains.

 

I remember seeing a BR103 in Cologne a few years back, since then I've known they are still in service.

[westfalen]

Wow, a passenger service pulled by a BR234 Ludmilla in photo DSC02152.JPG?! They are freight locos, so that must have been only for the diverted trains because of the track work then.

Germany is full of surprises, even though I'd been there before and we did some research before we went on what we might see we were still never sure what the headlights in the distance would turn out to be.

 

The Ludmilla was pulling a diverted IC train including the dead class 101 electric loco on the other end.  We saw quite a few Ludmillas that afternoon on diverted passenger and freight trains, they must have drafted them in from everywhere to handle the traffic.

 

We saw them in freight service all over Germany but this was the only time we saw them on passenger trains.

[westfalen]

The morning we were due to travel from Rostock to Hamburg coincided with the start of the DB train drivers strike.  When the station staff at Rostock Hbf were unable to say for certain which, if any, trains would be running in the skeleton service the next day I booked three seats on a bus to be certain we would get there.  We weren't going to miss Miniature Wunderland.

 

The deserted station forecourt from the hotel window the next morning confirmed our fears that there were no long distance trains leaving Rostock that morning.  When we arrived at Hamburg and went to the station there were not that many people there either with only private operator Metronom and a few scattered DB trains running.

 

Even though DB was theoretically on strike within ten minutes of crossing the street to the tracks from our hotel in Harburg we saw two freights, a light engine and a Metronom train going to Cuxhaven.

 

We filled in the evening by riding Metronom south to Eschede, though the site of the ICE crash of a few years ago and the associated memorial were a bit further than we felt like walking.

 

The next day was probably the highlight of the trip, Miniatur Wunderland.  Suffice to say it is well worth the 12 Euro admission price (as was the extra 15 for the behind the scenes tour), we arrived as they opened at 9 am and were litterally the last out the door when they closed to the public at 7 pm.  I was walking around videoing and taking photos when I looked at my watch and realised they were closing in 30 minutes and I still had a whole layout to see.  I took two hours of video and 500 photos so rather than try and pick out a few to post I'll show some of the behind the scenes tour looking at the layouts from the other side.

 

I think this photo is a good example of the thousands of small details spread over the huge layout, you really have to take your time and look.

 

[Densha]

I don't know the exact details of the strike, but I only see DB Schenker (=freight) and private operators on those photos so I guess only DB Bahn that was on strike. Here's more info on the DB group: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bahn

[westfalen]

I don't know the exact details of the strike, but I only see DB Schenker (=freight) and private operators on those photos so I guess only DB Bahn that was on strike. Here's more info on the DB group: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bahn

We assumed DB freight drivers were on strike because the English language news reports specifically mentioned it and were talking about the lost revenue and disruption to industry it would cause.  It's possible some trains were operated by non union management personel or crews working back to their home depots.  There seemed like about 25% of DB passenger services running although those were usually very late and often made up of different consists than shown in the timetable. On the Saturday morning I caught an IC train from Harburg to Bremen that ended up running over an hour late after sitting at Harburg station for 30 min and with most of the seats empty (only one or two others in the first class cars besides me).

[Densha]

Yeah you're right, I now remember they were indeed. It's probably as you say then that not all staff was striking but only a part of the staff.

 

On another note, trains in the Netherlands are more often made up of different consists than they should than not. But maybe Germany is more strict in this usually...

[westfalen]

A few times we found the first class cars at the opposite end of the platform from the location marked on the platform timetable board, after a couple of walks through trains to get to our intended cars we started looking at the digital train arrival indicators instead as they gave more real time information.  I guess it comes from having so many dead end stations and trains often changing direction several times enroute.

[westfalen]

On the Saturday following our visit to Miniatur Wunderland I had planned to head north to Westerland to get some video of the motor car shuttles to the island of Sylt.  Nord Ostsee Bahn were running from Hamburg Altona to Westerland but the DB operated motor car shuttles were an unknown as was my planned return via Kiel and a few cross country branch lines, so I stuck with Metronom which we knew were running a normal timetable and made a visit to Bremen (where I hadn't been before) in the morning and joined one of my friends at Lüneburg in the afternoon for some train watching there until it got dark.  We had planned to spend a bit of time at the big freight yard at Maschen, hence the reason for staying in Harburg, but with the strike on we weren't sure how much activity we would see there.

 

A variety of locos were parked near Harburg station in the morning.

 

Bremen has an impressive station with trams outside, one of many candidates for an extended visit on future trips to Germany.

 

A few of the trains that passed through Lüneburg while we were there. Some are a bit blurred, they are stills taken with my video camera while videoing.

 

For the aviation fans I took some video of a plane passing overhead in a quiet moment between trains and only noticed what it was when I looked at the video back at the hotel that night.

[JR 500系]

Amazing photos West! Thank you very much for sharing! I like the ICE train photo the best!

[Densha]

I still find it strange seeing old SBB locos in the whole of Germany nowadays. There are even old ÖBB locos refitted with German safety systems that go into the border stations in the Netherlands. Really strange to see.

[railsquid]

Some PKP and CKD locos make it to Berlin sometimes, IIRC the Warszawa Express is PKP-hauld.

[Densha]

Yeah but those are usually modern Taurus or Traxx locos right? I'm talking about older national types that were rebuilt/refit so that they could run in other countries as well, or at least I think they were.

[railsquid]

Whoops, I meant to write CSD, or more appropriately CD... Anyway I was thinking of scenes like this: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/20545621, which might be a couple of years out of date (and why that's a CD loco pulling that train I don't know...)

[westfalen]

We headed south from Hamburg to Bochum to spend a couple of days exploring the Ruhr area (nowhere near enough time).

 

The strike had been called off a day early at midnight but the timetable wasn't fully back to normal yet so we took a slightly roundabout route via Bremen and Minden taking local trains.

 

I visited Bremen the day before so I stayed on the platform watching the bags while my two friends went off to photograph trams outside.  I got another shot of an ICE train, they are a bit like Shinkansen, you can't resist them, and a last Metronom because I just like the colours.  Many visits to Japan drew me to a vending machine and I found out Wurlitzer don't just make organs.

 

We had lunch at the fancy looking station at Minden (Anyone from southeast Queensland will probably understand our mission to visit Minden and Marburg) where I had to have my photo taken next to the Nordrhein-Westfalen coat of arms on the class 146 of our train to Bochum.

 

After we checked into our hotel we were going to retrace our steps to Dortmund for dinner but a football match there changed our mind and we kept going west, getting a shots of a Thalys departing Essen for Paris and Duisburg's gloomy looking station at night.  We ended up at Düsseldorf and got some video of trams there before returning to Bochum.

 

A lot of German stations have these identical coin operated HO layouts, this one is a Düsseldorf. They have been there for years, I remember seeing them in 2008.

Edited December 20, 2014 by westfalen

[bikkuri bahn]

Looking forward to the reports of your southern Germany and Swiss adventures.  I leave for Europe in a little over a week.

[westfalen]

Looking forward to the reports of your southern Germany and Swiss adventures.  I leave for Europe in a little over a week.

I'll step up the pace a bit.

[westfalen]

The weather forecast for the 10th Nov was rain so I decided to spend the day riding trams and duly headed off in the direction of Krefeld to work my way back east by tram, however by the time I reached Duisburg the sun was shining so I went back to plan 'A' for a bit of freight action.

 

I had the chance for a bit of train watching at Köln Messe/Deutz while I was changing trains because a diesel railcar broke down after leaving the platform and gave me an extra 30 minutes there.

 

I continued to Porz hoping I might see some freight passing but after another half hour of mainly suburban passenger trains I caught a tram back towards Köln and a 15 minute walk to the level crossing at the northern end of Gremberg freight yard.

 

Gremberg turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip, in the 3 1/2 hours I spent there I literally lost count of the number of freight trains I saw.

[Darklighter]

...where I had to have my photo taken next to the Nordrhein-Westfalen coat of arms on the class 146 of our train to Bochum.

You look a little bit like Uli Hoeneß in that picture. 

[westfalen]

You look a little bit like Uli Hoeneß in that picture. 

Never heard of him until now, but I do have german ancestry.  My family came to Australia just before WW1 from Westfalen where the family name was Kathagen, because Germans were not that popular here at the time they dropped the N and made it Kathage so it wouldn't sound so German.

[Densha]

Funny seeing that you have been in Düsseldorf and saw the Märklin layout there last month as well. I was there on 27 November for the first time and also took a picture of it:

 

[westfalen]

The next day did bring rain so I went for my tram ride.  I started out at Uerdingen on the Krefeld system at 10:15 am and finished up at Heven Dorf near Witten at 9:25 pm, according to the GPS 8hr 13min actual travelling time to cover a distance of 151.5 km.  Except for a short route in Düsseldorf that looked interesting in the tram atlas and a couple of short sections to make transfers easier I didn't cover any trackage twice.

 

The trains that morning were full of university students in costumes going to some festival in Cologne.

 

I travelled by tram through Krefeld to Grundend.

 

Where I changed to the light rail line towards Düsseldorf and did a loop around the western suburbs before riding the route 708 to Hamm to check out the wye used to turn trams at the terminus.

 

I caught the light rail from Düsseldorf north through Duisburg to Meiderich then tram around a long loop via different route back through Duisburg and Mülheim to Essen.  From there it was northeast to Gelsenkirchen and Buer Rathaus before heading south through Bochum and Witten to Heven Dorf.

 

This guy with his dog were waiting at the underground light rail station in Düsseldorf, the dog was right on the edge of the platform and didn't even flinch when the tram came in.

 

Out in the suburbs of Duisburg.  Caught a Krupp diesel shunter through the fence.

 

It was starting to get dark by Mülheim but I got one final shot of the end of my tram odyssey at Heven Dorf.  Germany truly is heaven for tram fans. (Or at least that's what I thought until we got to Milan.)

Edited December 21, 2014 by westfalen

[westfalen]

Our original plans after the Ruhr were to travel south to Offenburg and after spending the night there head for Triberg in the Black Forest, however when I double checked train times before we left home the DB online timetable insisted we travel by bus from Offenburg to Hausach, it turned out that section of the Schwartzwaldbahn was closed for trackwork.  We enacted plan B, the first stage of which saw us leave Bochum by a variety of secondary main lines and cross country branches via Kreutzal, Erndtebrück and Marburg to Karlsruhe.

 

The semaphore signals at Kreutzal were being replaced with colour light signals and we saw a KSW diesel loco on a freight do a bit of shunting on its way through.  There was an interesting 'tower of suitcases' outside the station. We then caught a railcar to Erndtebrück and another from there to Marburg where we saw the HLB Flirt.

 

After lunch at Marburg we arrived in Karlsruhe in time for some train watching and more tram rides.  I had planned on overnighting in Offenburg because I had been to Karlsruhe in 2010 but it is an interesting place to visit.

Edited December 25, 2014 by westfalen