Peter's Railway Album http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/ 21 rows en-gb 60 Mariembourg Steam Festival, Belgium - 23rd September 2006 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c1105389.html Some 20 years on I was privileged to be able to visit the steam festival held this year. The preservation movement on the continent is not as extensive as in the United Kingdom but what there is is normally of high quality. The steam festival at Mariembourg is held each September. The line runs from the junction with the SNCB Charleroi to Couvin service right to the French border at Treignes. It was once part of a through international route but this part of Belgium has become something of a quiet backwater in more recent years. The station buildings at Treignes survive and show how in former times both French and Belgian customs had offices in this remote location. The area is not just for railfans, as there is much of interest to find in this virtually forgotten corner of the world. Locally the Trappist monks of the Chimay monastery continue to brew their potent beers, and the fans at this years festival were able to enjoy this golden brew at both ends of the line. Sunday 8 October 2006: Some 20 years on I was privileged to be able to visit the steam festival held this year. The preservation movement on the continent is not as extensive as in the United Kingdom but what there is is normally of high quality. The steam festival at Mariembourg is held each September. The line runs from the junction with the SNCB Charleroi to Couvin service right to the French border at Treignes. It was once part of a through international route but this part of Belgium has become something of a quiet backwater in more recent years. The station buildings at Treignes survive and show how in former times both French and Belgian customs had offices in this remote location. The area is not just for railfans, as there is much of interest to find in this virtually forgotten corner of the world. Locally the Trappist monks of the Chimay monastery continue to brew their potent beers, and the fans at this years festival were able to enjoy this golden brew at both ends of the line.

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sun Oct 8 2006 Railways in Belgium http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c850332.html The Belgian Railways are one one of the most intensely operated networks in the whole of western Europe. This relatively small country enjoys a level of service which in many ways is comparable to that offered on the former BR Southern Region. The great majority of the network is electrified, and the relatively short distances mean that commuting to Brussels is practical from most parts of the country. The Belgian Railways have always appeared to suffer from under-investment, particularly in station facilities which often seem quite drab and dowdy by the standards of other countries. In spite of this a highly efficient and punctual service is operated. Recent years have seen new rolling stock replace most of the traditional two car units which provided much of the service for many years. Antwerpen Central station has also been extesively remodelled and refurbished whilst retaining the traditional structure. Nowadays the scene is even more interesting with German ICE and Thalys sets running through to Brussels and both TGV and Eurostar through services from Paris and London. Saturday 4 February 2006: The Belgian Railways are one one of the most intensely operated networks in the whole of western Europe. This relatively small country enjoys a level of service which in many ways is comparable to that offered on the former BR Southern Region. The great majority of the network is electrified, and the relatively short distances mean that commuting to Brussels is practical from most parts of the country. The Belgian Railways have always appeared to suffer from under-investment, particularly in station facilities which often seem quite drab and dowdy by the standards of other countries. In spite of this a highly efficient and punctual service is operated. Recent years have seen new rolling stock replace most of the traditional two car units which provided much of the service for many years. Antwerpen Central station has also been extesively remodelled and refurbished whilst retaining the traditional structure. Nowadays the scene is even more interesting with German ICE and Thalys sets running through to Brussels and both TGV and Eurostar through services from Paris and London.

The The newest stock on Belgian Railways in the 1980s were the 2-car A train formed of several 2-car Bruxelles Quartier Leopold is in the heart of the banking and government office district and in peak hours the station is teaming with passengers heading to and from their offices. After the rush the station assumed an almost rural atmosphere. AM55 unit 509 heads in inbound train on 18 May 1989 In spite of their somewhat dated appearance the AM66 class two car units were still relatively modern vehicles back in 1989. They were used in multiple sets on working such as Antwerpen-Brussels-Charleroi. Unit 622 is at the rear of a typical formation at Schaarbeek on 19 May 1989 44 of these 4-car units were built between 1974 and 1979 and were often found on secondary main line workings such as this example, 812, seen at Oostende on 21 May 1989 forming a working to Antwerpen via Gent and St.Niklaas Class 12 are dual voltage (3000 V dc/25 KV ac) locos originally designed for the Antwerpen-Mouscron-Lille services. This is 1206 at Schaarbeek on 19 May 1989 The class 22 electrics were a mixed traffic design first built in 1954. 2231 stands at Knokke on the coast with a train formed of Netherlands Railways stock which was almost certainly some sort of special working on 20 May 1989 This view shows class 25 dual voltage loco 2554 at Amsterdam Centraal on 11 April 1977 at the head of a train from Brussels. These locos had been built in 1960/61 and modified to dual voltage to work on the Netherlands Railways 1500 V dc system in 1973 I chose to take a circuitous route to travel from Brussel to Oostende taking a train which ran as far as Gent via Zottegem, Oudenaarde and Kortrijk. During a wait for time at Kortrijk I got this shot of class 27 electric 2736 at the head of the train on the occasion of my one and only visit to this town on 20 May 1989 Another class 27 seen at the buffer stops at Oostende on 21 May 1989 was 2738 with a train formed of M4 stock which had most likely originated at Cologne and formed the main east-west service via Liège and Brussels. With the ending of regular passenger shipping services from Dover, Oostende has lost much of its importance in recent years and services are now much reduced. In the 1980s it was possible to walk off the Jetfoil service straight onto a waiting train and be on the way to Brussels within 15 minutes Seen at Mariembourg on 27 September 1986 was this preserved three car diesel multiple unit, formerly Belgian Railways 4006 dating from 1957 and therefore contemporary with first generation dmus on BR Class 51 diesels were mostly used on freight work but they also had some peak hour passenger duties on trains from Brussels to De Panne and Ronse. 5102 was heading towards the city with empty coaching stock at Schaarbeek on 19 May 1989 Belgian Railways class 55 diesel locos were based at Liège and used on the then non-electrified routes in the Ardennes region. 5511 in blue livery is seen entering Trois-Ponts with a train formed of Luxembourg Railways stock on a Liège to Luxembourg working on 5 August 1995 A freight with class 63 diesel lcoc 6330 in charge storms northbound through Vilvoorde on 20 May 1989 Part of the inetrior of the beautifully restored and cleaned main station building at Antwerpen Centraal on 6 December 2003 The Vennbahn was another of Belgium's preserved lines in the south east of the country which actually crossed into Germany. Former German loco 50-3666 awaits departure tender first from Trois-Ponts on 5 August 1995 with a steam special. Operations on the Vennbahn have since been abandoned

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sat Feb 4 2006 Railways in Germany - Diesel and Electric Traction http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c808936.html These are my first offerings from some of my recent trips. When I travel in Germany these days I am usually in one of two areas, either around the Rhein-Ruhr conurbation or in the Vogtland region of Saxony. The first pictures in this collection reflect that pattern. I have never systematically photographed German railways, either seeking out particular locations or types of rolling stock, certainly not since the end of steam. Rather I have taken an opportunistic view and taken photos of the locations where I happened to be, in many cases chasing my particular hobby objective which is trams. In earlier years we spent a lot of time in southern Germany, either as part of our holiday or in transit to Austria or other countries. This enabled me to visit a variety of locations. I have chosen to index the images according to the railway administrations which have existed pre and post unification. Images taken during the era of the separate Deutsche Bundesbahn in the west and Deutsche Reichsbahn in the east are indexed DB and DR respectively. This distinction continued until the two administrations were merged to form DBAG in the mid-nineties and I have used this reference for images taken since then. Thursday 29 December 2005: These are my first offerings from some of my recent trips. When I travel in Germany these days I am usually in one of two areas, either around the Rhein-Ruhr conurbation or in the Vogtland region of Saxony. The first pictures in this collection reflect that pattern. I have never systematically photographed German railways, either seeking out particular locations or types of rolling stock, certainly not since the end of steam. Rather I have taken an opportunistic view and taken photos of the locations where I happened to be, in many cases chasing my particular hobby objective which is trams. In earlier years we spent a lot of time in southern Germany, either as part of our holiday or in transit to Austria or other countries. This enabled me to visit a variety of locations. I have chosen to index the images according to the railway administrations which have existed pre and post unification. Images taken during the era of the separate Deutsche Bundesbahn in the west and Deutsche Reichsbahn in the east are indexed DB and DR respectively. This distinction continued until the two administrations were merged to form DBAG in the mid-nineties and I have used this reference for images taken since then.

DB purchased 384 class E10 locos for express passenger work between 1956 and 1969. The survivors now find use on secondary services and in this view 110-365 is propelling a regional stopping service from Mönchengladbach to Münster out of Krefeld on 6 December 2005 Another member of class 110, in this case 110-396 enters Krefeld on 6 December 2005 with a stopping service for Mönchengladbach One of the newest designs for the former DR administration are class 112 built from 1990 onwards, and into the new unified regime by LEW Hennigsdorf. They are now found throughout Germany and this example, 112-155 was spotted at Mönchengladbach working on a regional express service on 14 June 2005 The old DB turquoise livery took several years to disappear, and this shot shows 140-705 at Mainz on 18 August 1998 operating one of the the newly introduced double deck sets in push-pull mode. The new DB logo looked slightly out of place when applied to this livery scheme The majority of S-Bahn services in the Rhein-Ruhr conurbation are formed of three coach push-pull sets semi-permanently coupled to a former DR class 143 electric loco. This is 143-214 seen at Dortmund on 14 June 2005 This former DR loco, 143-350 was looking extremely smart in the new DBAG livery when seen at Bingen on 18 August 1998 operating a stopping service on the west bank of the Rhein This class 143 was on its home territory. 143-610 is waiting to depart from Nordhausen with a push-pull train of modern double deck stock for Halle (Saale) on 12 June 2003 The former DR class 143 make regular appearances at Mönchengladbach being the main motive power for the S-Bahn service to Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Hagen and Witten, a journey of over 2 hours in fairly basic accommodation, but still the quickest way to get from one end to the other. 143-833 had just arrived at Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof on 18 August 2003 An example of the latest generation of electric locos now operated by DBAG is 146-024 seen at Düsseldorf Flughafen on 20 August 2003 propelling a regional express service formed of modern double deck stock In 2000 Inter-city services on the Saxon main line from Dresden to Hof, thence to Nürnberg, were loco hauled, and in this view former DR 219-121 is at the head of a eastbound train at Plauen Oberer Bahnhof on 7 August 2000. Class 219 were built at the 23rd August loco works in Romania in the period 1976 to 1985, but were subsequently rebuilt with Mercedes power plants This the first of three views of the scenic Elstertalbahn in Saxony, which runs between Gera and Plauen Unterer Bahnhof, with Romanian built 219-159 still wearing DR livery pausing at Barthmühle on 4 August 1996. The first coach is a former DB vehicle in turquoise and cream, whilst the remainder of the train appears to be made up of ex-DR stock in green and ivory livery This view of the same train was taken as it passes over the road crossing as it leaves the station, and shows the unusual side profile of these locomotives In the third of these three shots the train is accelerating away along the banks of the fast flowing Elster river, and will shortly pass under the famous Elstertal viaduct which carries the Saxon main line from Plauen east to Reichenbach, Zwickau, Chemnitz and Dresden The survivors of DBAG's class 232 find plenty of work throughout the network on both freight and some passenger duties. They were built between 1973 and 1982 by the Voroshilovgrad Loco Works in the Soviet Union for the Reichsbahn administration in the DDR. 232-189 was at the head of an InterCity working from Nürnberg to Dresden at Plauen on 11 December 2005. Their use on these trains has been brought about by the continued unavailability of the tilting dmu's built for the steeply graded and curved Saxon main line DBAG have purchased 192 of these Adtranz Regio Swinger tilting diesel multiple units for use on medium to long distance services. 612-534 was seen at Hof on 7 August 2000 having just arrived with a working from Leipzig. Units of this type were repainted into ICE livery for use on the Nürnberg to Dresden service but this service has since reverted to loco haulage DBAG's 642-068 is a Siemens Desiro unit seen at Nordhausen on 12 June 2003 on a local working to Erfurt The Siemens Desiro units are spread far and wide and have replaced loco hauled trains on many regional services. This unit was at Magdeburg on 10 June 2004 with a service destined for Thale in the Harz region The new double deck stock appears in several images in this collection. For the sake of completion this is the driving end of one of these sets seen at Bingen on 18 August 1998. The motive power at the other end was a former DR class 143 electric This was my last ever shot of a class 103, taken at Lichtenfels on 13 August 1992, where the loco had just taken over a train which had arrived from Hof via the famous Schiefe Ebene route The indisputed stars of the show for virtually three decades were the class 103 locos used the length and breadth of the country on top link inter-city and international trains. Four prototypes were built in 1965 and these were followed by a further 145 production locos from 1970 onwards. 103-131 enters Karlsruhe on 30 March 1978 on one of its normal duties Another member of the fine class 103, this one is 103-152 seen at Krefeld on 12 August 1978 DB's class 104 consisted of only six members out of a class of 23 locomotives built between 1933 and 1936 with the unusual 1Co1 wheel arrangement. It was surprising that such a small class survived so long but here is the evidence with 104-019 at Rheine on 12 April 1977 Still is the old blue express passenger livery, 110-334 approached Braubach with a stopping service along the east bank of the Rhein on 15 August 1977 The class E18 locos of the 1Do1wheel arrangement were built from 1935 onwards for express passenger work on the expanding electrified network. 41 of the 45 built became part of the DB fleet in the west, and all were still in service well into the 1970s. This example, 118-036, was at Passau on the Austrian border at the head of a stopping train to Munich on 14 August 1979 Although primarily freight locomotives, many class 140s were also equipped for operation on push-pull passenger services. This is 140-649 ssen at Forchheim (Oberfranken) on 5 August 1992 with a local train from Bamberg to Nürnberg Another view of 140-649 at Forchheim (Oberfranken) on 5 August 1992. The turquoise and cream livery suited the lines of these early DB electrics, as it broke up the rather slab sided design of these machines Over 800 locos of the DB class 140 were built for freight work over a period stretching from 1950 to 1973. They operated in pairs on the heaviest trains such as this iron ore train seen passing through Trier with 140-854 at the head on 31 March 1978 There were not many locos left in the old all green livery by 1992, but 141-220 was spotted at Lichtenfels on 13 August 1992 backing onto a train for Sonneburg in Thüringen via a route which had re-opened post reunification A local train formed of so-called Silverfish unpainted coaches enters Karsruhe on 30 March 1978 with 141-338 in charge The loco on the left hints that another DB livery change is imminent, but 141-373 looks smart in this view taken at Nürnberg on 7 August 1992 Another small class which enjoyed a long service life was class 144.5, and 8 locomotives built in 1933/34 enjoyed an Alpine existence based at Freilassing in southern Bavaria, where they were used on the line to Berchtesgaden. This is 144-504 seen at this location on 26 August 1977 DB purchased 25 dual voltage locos for the electrification of the Mosel main line in 1974 following successful operation of 5 prototypes. This is 181-217 at Trier on 14 August 1977. This locos worked into the Saarland and across the frontier onto the SNCF system The first heavy freight locomotives on conventional three axle bogies appeared as class E93 in 1933. The design was developed into the class E94 which appeared in 1940 and of which a total of 173 were built including 27 after the end of the war. This fine example, 194-192, was at Bebra on 13 April 1979 The turntable at Bebra depot was equipped with overhead wires resulting in this spiders web above the tracks. 194-192 was being stabled on 13 April 1979. The sign on the turntable is a warning to personnel that the entrance doors to the roundhouse do not have sufficient room for personnel to pass through when a loco is entering or leaving the shed 194-192 is about to move off into the shed at Bebra on 13 April 1979. In steam days Bebra was something of a Mecca for railfans as the inter-zonal trains were hauled as far as Bebra by the superb Reichsbahn class 01-5 Pacifics complete with East German crew. The locos returned almost immediately to their homeland as in those days visits to the west by citizens of the DDR were very strictly controlled This is exactly the sort of work for which the 211 class light diesels were built, though by the 1990s such operation was beginning to look more and more costly. 211-030 is at Ebermannstadt, the terminus of the branch from Forchheim (Oberfranken) on 3 August 1992, with the branch train formed of silver fish coaches The class V100 light diesels were developed for secondary duties on branch and main lines. 364 were built in total, and 211-318 had been repainted into the new turquoise livery of the 1970s when I found it stabled at Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg on 20 August 1978 The class 212 centre cab diesel-hydraulics eventually numbered over 300 machines, a more powerful development of the class 211, and used on secondary passenger and freight over the non-electrified network. 212-079 enters Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg on 20 August 1978 At the head of a service which nowadays would almost certainly be operated by a diesel multiple unit, 215-021 stands at Krefeld with a local train on 12 August 1978 The V160 family comprised a number of different variants. Class 216 were approximately equivalent in power output to a UK type 3. Nine prototypes were followed by a production run of 214. One of the last to be delivered was 214-221 seen at Bebra on 13 April 1979 Another view of 216-221 seen manoevring by the depot at Bebra on 13 April 1979 This fairly ordinary photograph of 218-012-3 at the head of an E-train on 31 July 1992 is historic, because the location is Gutenfürst on the line between Hof and Plauen. This was formerly the frontier station between the two German states prior to reunification and all trains would be stopped here while the DDR Grenzpolizei and Customs carried out thorough checks and completed visa formalities for all passengers. Photography of this sensitive location was strictly prohibited in DDR days, but by 1992 the whole area was deserted with the exception of one member of DR staff who greeted us with a cheery wave! Taken from exactly the same spot as the previous image but panning round ninety degrees the train passes through the former customs post. In DDR days such locations were often the western visitor's first encounter with the state apparatus, and passing through the frontier was always a stressful experience, even if all your paperwork was in order. By 1992, there was much interworking between DB and DR locos although for the time being the two administrations remained separate This is Ludwigschorgast on the line between Lichtenfels and Hof which included the famous Schiefe Ebene climb north of Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg. 218-209 passes with a train which may well be an inter-zonal working on 20 August 1978. Since reunification trains from Lichtenfels now take a more direct route through Saalfeld to Leipzig and Berlin, and this line has lost its status as a main line Two class 218 locos stabled at Bamberg on 11 August 1992. 218-216 nearest the camera has acquired turquoise livery but the one behind has retained the original red livery By the late 1970s many of the more powerful class 218 class were beginning to receive the new livery which suited them rather better than some other classes. 218-481 hurries through Ludwigschorgast from the opposte direction to the previous picture on 20 August 1978 DB's famous class V200 diesel hydraulics were the model for the BR Warship class. Some still survive having returned to Germany for private owner use. This is 220-032 seen heading south on the Emsland line at Lingen with an express from Norddeich Mole on 11 August 1976 Another V200 seen at Rheine on 10 August 1976 was 220-071 still wearing the traditional and attractive red livery. These locos had replaced class 012 three cylinder Pacifics the previous year and though in those days the fans shunned these machines, I expect that nowadays the traction enthusiasts would drool at the prospect of a trip behind one of these fine machines Somehow the new DB livery of turquoise and beige did not quite suit the lines of the V200. One of the first to appear in the new scheme was 221-180 seen at Rheine on 12 April 1977 on freight duties which the previous year would almost certainly have been the preserve of a class 042 or 043 steam locomotive German railways have always made use of Kleinloks, small shunting locomotives used in local goods depots to move wagons about. Both railway administrations built up quite large fleets. This is 332-210, one of a fleet of over 300 built by a number of companies between 1959 and 1966, seen at Forchheim (Oberfranken) on 5 August 1992. Since then the closure of many local frieght depots has considerably reduced the fleet of these useful machines

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Thu Dec 29 2005 Railways in Sweden - 1983 and 1987 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c780927.html My travels in the 1980s took me to Sweden on three occasions, and I became very fond of the country, and would love to have the opportunity to go back and explore further. My travels were confined to the south of the country, based on a triangle formed by Gothenburg in the west, the capital city Stockholm in the east and Helsingborg in the south. I would love to explore the far north, but that is only really practical in the summer and I'm not sure whether I could cope with the mosquitoes at that time of the year. Sweden is a very big but quite sparsely populated country, and the distances travelled by long distance trains are some of the longest in Europe. On the electrified main lines all traffic appeared to be handled by the powerful Rc class of multi-purpose locomotive, but variety in the form of both electric and diesel multiple units were also to be found. Since these images were taken Sweden has caught the privatisation bug. Special mention must be made of the Roslagsbana in Stockholm. In 1983 I knew little about the line, but with a morning free to explore I alighted from the T-Bana at Stockholm East to see what I might find. I was delighted to find a narrow gauge electrified system on which no two trains appeared to be alike. Some trains were loco hauled, others formed of motor cars pulling normal coaches and other trains were made up as genuine multipled units. There were also some marvellous wooden bodied vehicles which must have dated from the earliest days of electrification. This apparently random collection of rolling stock, some of it looking as though it dated back to year 1, was providing an off-peak service of 6 departures an hour to different parts of the network, and appeared to operating perfectly efficiently. SL as the operator appeared to be embarassed by this line as they hardly mentioned it in their presentations to us. I rode on the Roslagsbana partway in 1987 using my complimentary SL pass. To be honest I was pleased to find it was still open, as SL had been threatening to close it for several years. Since then I believe the line has finally been modernised. Thursday 1 December 2005: My travels in the 1980s took me to Sweden on three occasions, and I became very fond of the country, and would love to have the opportunity to go back and explore further. My travels were confined to the south of the country, based on a triangle formed by Gothenburg in the west, the capital city Stockholm in the east and Helsingborg in the south. I would love to explore the far north, but that is only really practical in the summer and I'm not sure whether I could cope with the mosquitoes at that time of the year. Sweden is a very big but quite sparsely populated country, and the distances travelled by long distance trains are some of the longest in Europe. On the electrified main lines all traffic appeared to be handled by the powerful Rc class of multi-purpose locomotive, but variety in the form of both electric and diesel multiple units were also to be found. Since these images were taken Sweden has caught the privatisation bug. Special mention must be made of the Roslagsbana in Stockholm. In 1983 I knew little about the line, but with a morning free to explore I alighted from the T-Bana at Stockholm East to see what I might find. I was delighted to find a narrow gauge electrified system on which no two trains appeared to be alike. Some trains were loco hauled, others formed of motor cars pulling normal coaches and other trains were made up as genuine multipled units. There were also some marvellous wooden bodied vehicles which must have dated from the earliest days of electrification. This apparently random collection of rolling stock, some of it looking as though it dated back to year 1, was providing an off-peak service of 6 departures an hour to different parts of the network, and appeared to operating perfectly efficiently. SL as the operator appeared to be embarassed by this line as they hardly mentioned it in their presentations to us. I rode on the Roslagsbana partway in 1987 using my complimentary SL pass. To be honest I was pleased to find it was still open, as SL had been threatening to close it for several years. Since then I believe the line has finally been modernised.

I spotted this interesting battery loco at the SL depot at AGA on the island of Lidingö, but know little of its origin or date of construction This was the sight which greeted the traveller arriving at Stockholm East from the T-Bana nearby. The departure board is a mechanical display showing an intensive service to various destinations. The main line runs to Karsta with short workings while a branch runs east from a junction at Roslags Näsby to the coast at Österskär The largest single batch of vehicles were a batch of 11 railcars built by ASEA between 1946 and 1949. This set is approaching the city terminus at Stockholm East on 8 October 1983 Some of the newest rolling stock were the X9P multiple units, 4 of which were built with numbers between 57 and 60 in 1962. This set was approaching Stockholm East on 8 October 1983 Roslagsbana services were formed of a combination of genuine electric multiple units, motor railcars pulling conventional trailers, or locomotive hauled trains. This is one of two class BbP locos built by ASEA in 1942 at the head of a train at Stockholm East on 24 August 1987. The lack of fleet number on the end makes exact identification difficult This railcar is believed to be one of the X3p class with wooden bodies built in 1934. The vehicle was stabled at Lindholmen on 24 August 1987 and may have been employed on works duties Another view of the X3P class railcar at Lindholmen. This was a quiet and pleasant location typical of much of the area around Stockholm in those days One of the two 1942 built electric locos, 3251 or 3252 approaches Lindholmen with a southbound train for Stockholm East on 24 August 1987 This loco can be identified as 3255, one of two built by ASEA as class BdP in 1946. Operation was very traditional at Stockholm East with locos either running round their trains, or spare locos being attached to the back of incoming trains to speed turn round at busy times, much as used to happen at London Euston in the days before push-pull operation and Pendolinos By process of elimination this is 3254 of the 1946 batch as the two locos were in adjacent platforms on 24 August 1987 at the same time, and 3255 had its number painted prominently on the northern end (but not on the southern end!) One of the 1946-49 batch of motor coaches brings a train of steel bodied trailers into Stockholm East on 24 August 1987 One of the few railcars displaying a prominent fleet number was 52, of the 1946-49 batch which formed the largest group of vehicles on the Roslagsbana. Stockholm East seemed to be constantly busy, with either trains arriving, departing, or shunting movements being carried out. In spite of the antiquity of the rolling stock and the operating methods it all seemed to be carried out with great efficiency, if rather manpower intensive. With six departures each hour even in the off-peak it needed to be efficient The loco on the right is 3255 and by process of elimination that on the left is the identical 3254, which were the two BdP class bult by ASEA in 1946. Some modernisation work had been started to improve station facilities indicating that by this stage SL had made a decision to retain and modernise this important commuter link The nearest vehicle is known to be X2P class 33 built in 1919. In company with other wooden bodied stock it was stabled at Stockholm East on 24 August 1987, but would no doubt see service in the evening peak Finally, this is a closer shot of ASEA built BdP class loco 3255 seen awaiting departure from Stockholm East on 24 August 1987 The Salzjöbana is a physically separate line serving communities along the archipelago south east of the city. The line is electrified with overhead collection in contrast to the T-Bana which is third rail supply. Otherwise the rolling stock is similar. This view was actually taking from the top deck of the Viking Line super ferry The rather unprepossessing terminal of the Salzjobana is at Slussen, opposite the ferry terminals and underaneath a concrete edifice which reminds me of Summerland in the Isle of Man. 2896 is a C11 class car built in 1976. The flared skirts were to eliminate the gap at the platform edge, as these were in effect standard T-Bana bodies, which were built to a narrower profile Stockholm replaced its urban tramway with a metro system known as the T-Bana. Much of the system is built above ground level, and in this view C12 class car 1044 heads a train into Alvik, where there is cross platform interchange onto the Nockeby tramway line, one of only two to survive the closure of the main system The historic old town known as Gamla Stan is in the right background as C10 class T-Bana car 2583 heads a fomation across the Riddarfjärden towards Slussen station. The bridge in the background carries the main line to the south from Stockholm Central

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Thu Dec 1 2005 Railways in Ireland http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c774179.html I have not visited Ireland half as often as I should, so this collection is quite small. It is based on a handful of images taken on a short visit in early 1968, followed by an even shorter visit made in 1994. On both occasions I was able to visit the railway workshops at Inchicore in the western suburbs of Dublin. In the Republic, CIE had replaced steam traction earlier than in Britain but in the North of Ireland in 1968, a few of the famous "Jeep" 2-6-4T locos of obviously Derby design could still be found on construction trains during the building of the M1 motorway. Apart from the electrified DART suburban service most trains in 1994 on what had by then become Iarnrod Eireann were loco hauled. However a new class of Japanese built diesel multiple units were just coming into service, based of the Sprinter concept but rather different in appearance and equipment. Looking back over these images encourages me to go back and make another visit. Friday 25 November 2005: I have not visited Ireland half as often as I should, so this collection is quite small. It is based on a handful of images taken on a short visit in early 1968, followed by an even shorter visit made in 1994. On both occasions I was able to visit the railway workshops at Inchicore in the western suburbs of Dublin. In the Republic, CIE had replaced steam traction earlier than in Britain but in the North of Ireland in 1968, a few of the famous "Jeep" 2-6-4T locos of obviously Derby design could still be found on construction trains during the building of the M1 motorway. Apart from the electrified DART suburban service most trains in 1994 on what had by then become Iarnrod Eireann were loco hauled. However a new class of Japanese built diesel multiple units were just coming into service, based of the Sprinter concept but rather different in appearance and equipment. Looking back over these images encourages me to go back and make another visit.

The last trains on the County Donegal Railway ran in 1959, but for many years two locomotives and a variety of rolling stock were stored in the open at Strabane having been bought by an American purchaser who had planned to build a private railway back in the USA. After almost ten years it seems remarkable that so much was still intact but this was how it looked on 24 April 1968 Another view of the graveyard at Strabane on 24 April 1968. By this stage the broad gauge line which had formerly provided a direct link between Derry and Dublin had also been closed and replaced by a jointly operated coach service involving CIE and Ulsterbus In 1968 CIE locos were indicated by class letters. B173 is one a batch of 37 General Motors Bo-Bo diesels dating from 1962 seen here within the confines of Inchicore Works on 20 April 1968 One of the oldest diesel classes on CIE was the C class dating from 1959. They were built in England by Metropolitan Vickers and originally ran with 550 hp Crossley engines, in which condition green liveried C223 was seen at Tralee on 22 April 1968 CIE built a variety of diesel shunters using German parts, and three examples were seen at Inchicore works with G614 nearest the camera on 20 April 1968 By 1994 the oldest diesel locomotives on what had by then become Iarnrod Eireann were the 001 class, originally built in the 1950s with Crossley engines but rebuilt in 1968 with 1325 hp General Motors power units to become the most powerful locos on the system for a while. 003 of the batch was at Inchicore on 20 May 1994, by which time some of these locos had been withdrawn Another view of 003 at Inchicore on 20 May 1994 This example of the 001 class, 054 seen at Inchicore on 20 May 1994, is one of six in the class with uprated General Motors engines developing 1650 hp, together with rewound traction motors permitting the maximum speed to be raised from 75 mph to 80 mph The 072 class introduced in 1976 brought a step change in power on offer. 18 locos of 2450 hp were introduced to the heaviest trains. 075 awaits departure from Dublin Connolly on 20 May 1994 with what is probably a service for Belfast The direct service from Waterford to Dublin involves a reversal at Kilkenny where the line runs into the stub terminal. General Motors Co-Co 077 runs past its train of BR built air-conditioned mark 11d stock whilst in charge of the evening service from Waterford back to the capital on 21 May 1994 Another view of 077 having run round and coming forward to be recoupled to its train at Kilkenny on 21 May 1994. We were travelling on this train back to Dublin and dared not linger too long on the footbridge as the station work her was performed quite smartly A pair of 071 class Co-Co diesels approach Dublin Heuston past the castellated walls of Inchicore works with a passenger working from the south of the country on 20 May 1994 Another of the 071 class, 084, seen at Dublin Heuston on 20 May 1994 about to depart with a train for the south The line from Dublin to Rosslare includes this interesting stretch where the train runs right alongside Wexford harbour. 129 is at the head of the train Another view taken from the train as 129 skirts Wexford harbour on 21 May 1994 with a train from Dublin to Rosslare General Motors Bo-Bo diesel 129 dating from 1961 on arrival at Rosslare with its train from the capital on 21 May 1994 The 121 class were the first General Motors diesels bought by CIE in 1961. They had cabs at one end only and were equipped with 950 hp engines. They were often used on services to Rosslare, where there is a facility to turn the engine on a triangle, and this was where I got this shot of 129 on 21 May 1994 121 class GM diesel 132 was undergoing repair at Inchicore on 20 May 1994 An example of the 141 class on General Motors Bo-Bo types dating from 1962 was 145 seen manoevring at Dublin Heuston on 20 May 1994 The 141 class consisted of 37 locos, basically similar to the 121 class but with cabs at both ends. They were delivered from 1962 onwards. 146 was undergoing general repair at Inchicore on 20 May 1994 Another view of 146 at Inchicore on 20 May 1994 Twelve more locos of 1100 hp were delivered by General Motors in 1966 and formed the 181 class. 185 is seen departing from Dublin Heuston on 20 May 1994 In 1993-4 Irish Rail took delivery of 17 railcars which had been built in Japan by the Tokyu Car Corporation of Yokohama. They were formed into 8 two-car sets with one spare car. In 1994 they were being trialled on a veriety of secondary services and the first pair 2602 and 2601 are seen approaching Dublin Heuston on 20 May 1994 The following day the same set had found its way south to Waterford where I got this shot. The 2600 class are clearly based on the Sprinter concept, but the bodies have the small windows characteristic of Japanese rolling stock. They have Cummins engines with hydraulic transmissions using a Niigata three stage gearbox This pair of new railcars, 2609 and 2610, appeared to be still awaiting entry to service in this view at Inchicore on 20 May 1994 The final two cars of the series, discounting the spare, were 2615 and 2616, seen here at Dublin Connolly on 20 May 1994 The main reason for taking this image of Mark 11d coach on the traverser at Inchicore on 20 May 1994 was that at the time it was believed to be the Presidential coach. However this proved to be an error, though coach 5406 had indeed been the Presidential vehicle until 1984, but had swapped numbers with coach 5408. There were 11 vehicles in two batches of BR Mk 11d restaurant cars built in 1972 and 1977 BR built Mk 11d restaurant car 5406 at Inchicore on 20 May 1994. By this date most of the main services were made up of air-conditioned stock of this type, but older stock of Cravens/CIE build could still be found on peak hour services Northern Ireland Railways retained steam traction for some years after CIE, and several of the Derby built 2-6-4T locos were used on motorway construction trains to the north of Belfast. Number 50 was spotted by Belfast Lough at Whitewell on 20 April 1968 A closer view of NIR's 2-6-4T number 50 shows clealry the LMS/Derby features of these long lived engines. They were basically a smaller boilered version of the LMS standard 2-6-4T but featured the double stepped running plate which reappeared on the BR standard 2-6-4T in the 1950s Larne station on 25 April 1968 with a diesel multiple unit awaiting departure for Belfast This little piece of railway heritage had survived the ravages of time, close to the border between Strabane and Lifford and spotted on 24 April 1968. The Strabane and Letterkenny Railway formed part of the County Donegal Railways joint committee. The last trains ran in 1969 but the CDR continued as a bus operator until 1971 when it was absorbed into CIE

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Fri Nov 25 2005 Railways in Denmark - 1983 and 1987 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c769117.html I made a total of three visits to Denmark in the 1980s, the first in 1983 and then two further visits in 1987. These were not hobby trips but rather official business where there was some free time which allowed me to get out and explore. I was surprised to find that even in the Greater Copenhagen area, the state railways DSB had by no means a monopoly and in this collection are images of three separate private lines, all operating within the integrated ticket system of HT, the equivalent of the PTE for the area. Denmark's Railways and the whole of the public transport system in the 1980s at least provided a model of efficiency and excellent service which the UK has tried to copy but has never quite reached the equivalent level. Sunday 20 November 2005: I made a total of three visits to Denmark in the 1980s, the first in 1983 and then two further visits in 1987. These were not hobby trips but rather official business where there was some free time which allowed me to get out and explore. I was surprised to find that even in the Greater Copenhagen area, the state railways DSB had by no means a monopoly and in this collection are images of three separate private lines, all operating within the integrated ticket system of HT, the equivalent of the PTE for the area. Denmark's Railways and the whole of the public transport system in the 1980s at least provided a model of efficiency and excellent service which the UK has tried to copy but has never quite reached the equivalent level.

I was intrigued by the presence of this Czechoslovak State Railways couchette car parked in a siding at Helsingor on 20 August 1987. It was being used as a mobile hotel doing a tour of western Europe but I can only surmise that conditions must have been somewhat cramped. In those days citizens of Eastern European countries had severe restrictions placed on travel to the west, and could not access thre currency necessary to pay for hotels. The handwritten itinerary posted in one of the windows of the CSD couchette car indicated that it had originated in Bratislava, now of course the capital of the Slovak Republic. The itinerary shows the various destinations and indicates the trains to which the car was attached on its journey through Europe On my first visit to Denmark in 1983 I spotted this MY class diesel, 1012, at Ballerup on a local train. This class was built by Nohab in Sweden, with General Motors engines. Similar locos also operated in Luxemburg and Hungary and were great favourites with the traction fans By 1987 most of the surviving MY class had been repainted in the new livery. This one is 1122 seen at Esbjerg on 1 October 1987 Looking very smart in its new outfit, MY class 1128 takes the afternoon sun at Koge, south of Kobenhavn, on 20 August 1987 The MZ class of diesels numbered 61 locos built by Nohab between 1967 and 1974 as successors to the MY type. They became redundant with the spread of electrification and the use of Inter-city multiple units. 1407 was backing on to its train at Arhus on 30 September 1987 A few moments later MZ class 1407 is under way under a brief cloud of exhaust fumes as it heads south in the evening sunlight at Arhus on 30 September 1987 Another Nohab MZ class 1444 at the north end of Arhus station on 30 September 1987 A slightly different angle on MZ 1444 at Arhus on 30 September 1987. These locos have been much sought after on the second hand market generated by the opening of access to the European rail network. Some have been reported as exported to Australia! This view of the station at Korsor on 21 August 1987 was taken from the Store Belt ferry. I was travelling on a Lyntog unit from Kobenhavn to Esbjerg which in those days required the use of the train ferry. ME class 1517 is in the background to this shot There were 37 locos of the ME class built by Henschel in 1980/81, and many of these were to be found operating out of Kobenhavn on main lines on the island of Sjaelland. 1529 pauses at Koge with a southbound express on 20 August 1987 West of Kobenhavn is the main line to Roskilde and the mainland which is 1987 was reached by train ferries. ME class 1534 pauses at Hoje Tastrup with a westbound express on 20 August 1987. In the background is the modernistic structure which was the transport interchange constructed very expensively at this location Helsingor, which is the Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet, lies at the far north of the island of Sjaelland directly opposite the Swedish city of Helsingborg. In the 1980s there were frequent connections by ferry many of which carried international trains. It is also the northern terminal of north-south inter city trains via Kobenhavn, and this view shows EA class 3005, one of DSB's first electric locos built in 1984 ready to depart with a southbound express on 20 August 1987 DSB shunter 374 propels some very distinctive Swedish rolling stock onto the ferry at Helsingor for the short crossing to Helsingborg The limit of the Greater Kobenhavn county area to the south is at Koge, so my travel pass generously provided by our hosts HT did not permit me to travel any further. MH class diesel-hydraulic shunter was using a passing loop at this busy location on 20 August 1987 A closer view of ME class 406 at Koge on 20 August 1987. These locos were built by Frichs between 1960 and 1965 The DSB fleet included these MR class diesel hydraulic multiple units used on secondary lines in Jylland. 4078 was at Arhus on 30 September 1987 The famous MA class Lyntog units were used on services from Kobenhavn to Jylland via the Store Belt ferry. This is half unit 462 seen on arrival at Esbjerg on 21 August 1987 The Lyntog units ran coupled back to back out of Kobenhavn rather like a British HST with a power unit at each end. The formation included driving trailers. On arrival at Korsor the units were split and then driven onto the ferry where they were parked side by side. On arrival at Nyborg the units would be recoupled for the next stage as far as Fredericia where the train split again to different destinations. All this was achieved with minimum of fuss and the average traveller was barely aware of the processes involved in this fascinating operation. Although extremely confortable these units had limited facilities as meals and refreshments were available in the extensive catering facilities provided by the DSB run ferry service By my own admission this is no classic shot, but the sudden appearance of this steam locomotive, DSB 826, at Arhus on a weekday, 30 September 1987 caught me completely unawares, and I was the wrong side of the low evening sun. I can only assume this may have been a positioning trip for a special to be run at the weekend BR started to run down sleeper services in the 1980s and had some relatively newly built mark 111 sleepers surplus to requirements. DSB aquired some of these modern vehicles, and this one was spotted on the west coast at Esbjerg coupled to a standard DSB sleeper. The difference in loading guage profiles is immediately obvious

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sun Nov 20 2005 British Rail - Diesels and Electrics from 1967 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c736719.html These are my first offerings covering an era of British railway operations that has now passed into history. Some of the early images from 1967 and 1968 are beginning to fade now, but I hope the rarity value will make up for the quality in some respects. Back in 1967 and 1968 most enthusiasts were concentrating on the end of steam. However some diesel classes started to disappear at around this time after what seemed to be very short lives. Of course what was happening was that a major restructuring of the rail industry was taking place and much of the work for which the early diesel classes had been built had started to disappear. It was also true that some of the early classes had been disappointing from both a reliabilty and performance point of view. The investment in the Sprinter generation in the 1980s accelerated this process so that the era of the marvellous class 37-4 on the West Highland and North of Scotland lines was a brief one. This collection covers the period from late 1967 until about 1995 when privatisation took hold followed by major structural changes. Sunday 23 October 2005: These are my first offerings covering an era of British railway operations that has now passed into history. Some of the early images from 1967 and 1968 are beginning to fade now, but I hope the rarity value will make up for the quality in some respects. Back in 1967 and 1968 most enthusiasts were concentrating on the end of steam. However some diesel classes started to disappear at around this time after what seemed to be very short lives. Of course what was happening was that a major restructuring of the rail industry was taking place and much of the work for which the early diesel classes had been built had started to disappear. It was also true that some of the early classes had been disappointing from both a reliabilty and performance point of view. The investment in the Sprinter generation in the 1980s accelerated this process so that the era of the marvellous class 37-4 on the West Highland and North of Scotland lines was a brief one. This collection covers the period from late 1967 until about 1995 when privatisation took hold followed by major structural changes.

This 0-4-0 shunter was one of a batch of 20 170 bhp diesel hydraulics purchased by BR from the Yorkshire Engine Company of Sheffield in 1960. D2861 was used as the shed pilot at Blackpool North loco depot on 18 February 1968, a duty which 10 years earlier was normally assigned to a former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 0-6-0 tender locomotive Knottingley traction maintenance depot provided motive power for coal trains to and from, amongst others, Ferrybridge power station seen in the distant background. Such a gathering of motive power consisting in the main of class 56 locos with 08-782 in the foreground was assembled during the Christmas holiday period on 27 December 1986 A small batch of the BR standard diesel shunters were geared for a higher maximum speed and designated class 09. For most of their early lives they lived on the Southern Region but started to migrate around 1990. 09-015 was at bescot repainted in departmental grey livery on 8 October 1991 The last surviving member of a small class built by Park Royal Vehicles was this vehicle 53355, which formed a hybrid unit with another surprising survivor of the Cravens built 105 class. The unit was based in the Manchester area, and was spotted here in the bay platforms at Victoria on 26 April 1986 This class 100 set had survived intact in departmental use as a track recording unit for the Rail Testing Centre. The unit was looking very smart in this view at Lincoln Central on 2 September 1986 Most of the dmu sets used in East Anglia were made up of a motor car plus driving trailer. This example of a 101 class unit built by Metro-Cammell had also received Network South East livery and was stabled at Cambridge on 17 September 1988 The Metro-Cammell class 101 diesel multiple units were amongst the most numerous as well as the longest surviving of the first generation dmus. However by 1985 spotting a This 101 class unit has the driving trailer in the foreground in this view at Ely on 16 September 1988 The final flourish of the Metro-Cammell built class 101s was in the North West and North Wales. The final survivors were allocated to Longsight in Manchester but could be found on Regional Rail services over a wide area. carrying unit number 101-683 this three car set was entering Blenau Ffestiniog on 31 May 1995 Another shot of three car set 101-683 taekn at Blenau Ffestiniog on 31 May 1995 awaiting departure on a Conway Valley service to Llandudno Even in the late 1980s Scarborough station still had several platform faces. In the pre-Sprinter and Pacer era two class 101 units are on each side of the nearest platform but a class 142 Pacer unit has crept in to the image on the right Two coupled class 101 units form a train to Middlesbrough at Whitby on 9 August 1988 One of the very earliest class 104 units was allocated to Glasgow Eastfield and painted in a maroon and white livery for the Scottish Tourist Board. The unit comprised twin motor cars 53424 and 53434 and was caught on camera at Oban being spruced up on 17 April 1987 The Birmingham Rail Carriage & Wagon built class 104 units were mostly associated with the north west of England but in the run up to electrification of the Ayr line, a variety of units found their way up north to help out the resident class 107s normally associated with this line. Vehicle 53505 heads a three car set at Ayr on 22 August 1986 Another example of a hybrid dmu set was this pairing of class 104 and class 108 cars at Blenau Ffestiniog on 1 September 1989 Norwich Crown Point depot hung on to the last surviving Cravens built class 105 unit, and repainted it in original green livery. The unit was waiting departure from Norwich with a service for Great Yarmouth on 16 September 1988 Class 107 was a small class of three car units built at Derby Works on the shorter 57' underframe, and these units worked for their whole lives in Scotland. Unit 107-045 was in Strathclyde livery when seen at Edinburgh Waverley on 6 August 1991 There were several batches of so-called Derby lightweight units which became class 108. This unidentified set were seen at Heysham Harbour on 2 May 1991 The later class 108 vehicles featured the roof mounted headcode box. This two car set in Network South East livery was approaching Ridgmont on the Bletchley to Bedford service on 17 May 1990 The precursor of the BR class 08 diesel shunter was the LMS/English Electric loco which went into production in 1945. One of the survivors in 1967 was BR 12091, built in 1950, and allocated to Newton Heath, where I got this shot on 10 December 1967. The loco is still wearing BR green livery, underneath the grime, and carries the original BR lion astride the wheel totem The Calder Valley sets built by the Birmingham Rail Carriage and Wagon Company with powerful Rolls Royce engines in 1961 were a considerable improvement on the normal dmus used on many local services, though in later years the centre cars were withdrawn reducing the units to two car sets. The class became 110 under the TOPs scheme, and motor composite 51842 leads this formation at Leeds on 13 April 1985 The first second series dmus were a batch of 63' long units for the Eastern Region built by BR at Derby in 1956. Through most of their lives they were known as Derby Heavyweights and they became class 114 under the TOPs scheme. They outlived some newer units by some years until replaced mostly by class 150 and class 156 Sprinters in the late 1980s A batch of four car outer suburban sets allocated to services operating out of Marylebone became class 115 under the TOPs scheme. They operated as far north as Banbury where I got this shot of a set leaving for London 25 April 1990. The vehicle nearest the camera is 51671, and the trailer composite in the formation is still in BR blue and grey whilst the rest of the set is in Network South East livery. These units did not have much longer to run and were replaced shortly afterwards by class 165 Chiltern Turbo units The very last diesel multiple unit in all blue was this class 116 Derby Suburban unit which had migrated to the Manchester area. The leading vehicle is 53920, and the set is standing at platform 14 of Manchester Victoria on 31 October 1987 This three car class 117 unit had been repainted in GWR livery by Tyseley depot and was at Shrewsbury on 27 May 1987. Class 117 were built by the Pressed Steel Company but were similar to the earlier Derby built class 116 Tyseley based class 117 unit, with vehicle 51415 nearest the camera is just leaving Ledbury on a Hereford to Birmingham working on 19 May 1988 Swindon Works built several batches of 3-car units on 63' frames for use on cross country services across the Western Region. Some of these later worked in the Manchester area and could be found on local Trans-Pennine services and on such services as Manchester to Blackpool. Car 51588 at the head of a three car formation is an unusual motor second seen at Manchester Victoria on 13 April 1985 Some of the 120 class Swindon built three car cross country units also found their way onto the Ayr line, and here we see two of these units in front of the fine station building at Ayr on 22 August 1986. The unit on the left includes a Metro-Cammell class 101 centre trailer The Western Region commissioned some single unit railcars for branch line work, and they were built by Pressed Steel and Gloucester Rail Carriage and Wagon Works. Some later moved to the London Midland Region and this one, a Gloucester built example, was working the Stockport to Stalybridge shuttle on 11 July 1985. I was travelling to a transport seminar in Leeds at the time and travelled on this line to make connection to a Trans-Pennine service to complete my journey The Swindon built Trans-Pennine diesel multiple units introduced to the Liverpool-Manchester_Leeds-Hull services in 1960 brought the diesel multiple unit concept into a new league. Originally composed as 6-car sets with four motored vehicles, by 1967 they had mostly been reduced to 5-cars with the loss of the buffet car. This example was approaching Manchester Exchange on 16 December 1967, formed of vehicles some of which were still in the original green livery and some having been repainted in BR corporate blue and white The BR designed Paxman engined 650 bhp diesel hydraulics were built from 1964 onwards for the Western Region, but as they were built the work for which they were designed was evaporating. After a short service life many were sold on for industrial use. D9530 and a sister engine were spotted at Newport Ebbw Junction on 21 January 1968 The last of the first generation dmus were built to a traditional design in 1963, and it was 20 years before BR took delivery of any new vehicles. The first of the new generation were a very different proposition being basically Leyland National bus bodies mounted on a two axle wagon frame. The kindest thing to say about these units is that they were cheap and cheerful. The whole batch were allocated to Neville Hill and worked on PTE sponsored services, hence the livery. This set was seen at Leeds on 13 April 1985 . Most of these units have now been sold to Iranian Railways This is the same unit as in the previous picture but seen some four and half years later, by which time it had been repainted in the Metro Red livery. It was spotted at York on 27 December 1989 awaiting its next trip to Leeds via Harrogate The prototype class 150 Sprinter unit was built as a three car unit first entering service in 1984. On 18 May 1985 the unit was being used on the West Midlands cross-city line, and was seen leaving Birmingham New Street. Unlike many prototype vehicles this unit survives and is still in regular use in the Centro area This view is included not so much for the Sprinter unit but to show the well preserved station at Stirling on 13 June 1989, with 150-252 about to depart on a working to Edinburgh The principal traffic on the railways of the South Wales valleys used to be coal, in steam days hauled by 0-6-2T locos of both GWR and pre-Grouping origin. Nowadays the surviving lines serve as commuter lines to Cardiff. Sprinter unit 150-268 approaches Porth on a Treherbert to Barry Island service on 28 December 1993 The lower quadrant signal is a survival from the steam age as Sprinter 150-273 leaves Porth to make its way up the Rhondda Fach to Treherbert on 28 December 1993 Metro-Cammell also built a prototype Sprinter unit which looked very different compared to the Derby built units. Unit 151-004 spent some time on the Matlock line before finally falling out of use. The unit was seen at Derby on 15 April 1988 Leyland Bus also built a batch of two car 23 metre Sprinter units, but apart from a small batch at the end of the order funded by West Yorkshire PTE all were subsequently converted to single units with a second cab. 155-317 is seen in its original form at Hereford on 19 May 1988, when these units were allocated to the Cardiff to North West services via the Marches line The last 7 units of class 155 built by Leyland Bus were allocated to PTE sponsored services in West Yorkshire. They were the only membersof the class not to be converted to single units. 155-347 was at Preston on a Leeds-Blackpool working on 5 April 1991 In a reversal of the Beeching closures passenger services have been restored to some lines especially in or close to conurbations, where the PTEs have played a role in developing rail services. One such has been my local line from Walsall to Cannock, Hednesford and Rugeley. The inaugural train carrying the great and the good arrived at Hednesford on 7 April 1989 in the form of Super Sprinter 156-427. Normal services began the following day operated by first generation dmus. Services have since been extended through Rugeley to Stafford and also direct to Birmingham New Street The first of the Strathclyde liveried Super Sprinters was 156-501 seen when brand new at Glasgow Queen Street on 13 June 1989 Scotrail's allocation of the new all alluminium class 158 units included this example, 158-729 seen at Dunblane on 3 August 1991 10 additional units including 158-903 seen here at Manchester Victoria on 12 April 1991 were allocated to PTE services in West Yorkshire and painted in their red and ivory livery. The area behind the train on the left is being cleared ready for reconstruction as part of Metrolink In the mid-1980s coupled pairs of class 20s were a common sight around Bescot. This is 20-094 and 20-190 passing through the station on 23 February 1985. The elevated section of the M6 motorway is just off picture to the right The class 20s normally operated in pairs and were associated for most of their lives with coal traffic. This pair led by 20-104 in Railfreight gray livery were bringing a merry-go-round coal train through Nottingham on 26 June 1990 Compared to the vast fleet of electric multiple units the Southern Region's fleet of diesel electric multiple units for use on non-electrified lines was quite small. Nevertheless they were long lived and could be seen in London on the Victoria to Uckfield services. This is unit 207-005 emerging from the storage sidings at Clapham Junction on 16 May 1990 before taking up an evening peak service from Victoria The Sulzer engined type 2 Bo-Bos built by BR and sub-contractors eventually numbered 477 locos, and the series eventually became classes 24 and 25. Withdrawals started in the mid-1970s as the work for which they had been designed ran down. This example, preserved by the East Lancashire Railway, has been restored to original condition as D5054 and was on display at the Bescot open day on 6 May 1990 By 1984 the BR built Sulzer engined class 25 Bo-Bo types were already a threatened species. The reality was that much of the work for which they had been built had disappeeared. 25-080 heads a van train formed of full brakes at Manchester Victoria on 24 April 1984 A few class 25s could still be spotted around Bescot in the mid-1980s. 25-213 was stabled for the weekend on 2 March 1985

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sun Oct 23 2005 Railways in the Bernese Oberland http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c726862.html Switzerland has a deserved reputation for its railways and their efficiency. The Swiss love their railways, and in arguably the most prosperous country in Europe with high levels of car ownership they still use the railways enthusiastically. The Bernese Oberland lies to the south of the lakeside resort of Interlaken. From here the metre guage Bernese Oberland Bahn (BOB) strikes south as far as Zweilütschinen, where the line divides, one arm heading north to Grindelwald and the other arm continuing to Lauterbrunnen. There are rack sections on both lines. From both terminal stations the 800 mm guage Wengernalpbahn (WAB) climbs up into the high mountains on gradients as steep as 1 in 4 (25%). High in the mountains is the junction at Kleine Scheidegg from which you can take the Jungfraubahn into the icy world of the glaciers at Jungfraujoch, 11,333 ft above sea level. The village of Wengen which lies on the WAB line from Lauterbrunnen has no road access and relies entirely on the WAB for all its supplies. On the other side of the valley the village of Mürren is in the same position and can only be reached by way of a funicular and tramway which runs along the plateau. The final line in this collection is the Schynige Platte Railway, which at the time of my visit in 1984 was the most traditional of this group of lines with tiny electric locomotives pushing trains of lightweight trailers up the 1 in 4 grade. It would be philistine to visit this area just for the railways, interesting though they are. The scenery is breathtaking, and the panorama which opens up as the WAB train from Lauterbrunnen rounds the corner between Wengen and Wengernalp, when suddenly the three giants of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau are seen at close quarters is almost overwhelming. Almost as spectacular is the level of traffic on all these lines. Such is the volume on the WAB that trains often run in convoys of 3 and 4 all within sight of one another! The mountains are full of walkers on a fine day, and the railways provide an ideal way of getting to the high ground and returning by a different route. Saturday 15 October 2005: Switzerland has a deserved reputation for its railways and their efficiency. The Swiss love their railways, and in arguably the most prosperous country in Europe with high levels of car ownership they still use the railways enthusiastically. The Bernese Oberland lies to the south of the lakeside resort of Interlaken. From here the metre guage Bernese Oberland Bahn (BOB) strikes south as far as Zweil_tschinen, where the line divides, one arm heading north to Grindelwald and the other arm continuing to Lauterbrunnen. There are rack sections on both lines. From both terminal stations the 800 mm guage Wengernalpbahn (WAB) climbs up into the high mountains on gradients as steep as 1 in 4 (25%). High in the mountains is the junction at Kleine Scheidegg from which you can take the Jungfraubahn into the icy world of the glaciers at Jungfraujoch, 11,333 ft above sea level. The village of Wengen which lies on the WAB line from Lauterbrunnen has no road access and relies entirely on the WAB for all its supplies. On the other side of the valley the village of M_rren is in the same position and can only be reached by way of a funicular and tramway which runs along the plateau. The final line in this collection is the Schynige Platte Railway, which at the time of my visit in 1984 was the most traditional of this group of lines with tiny electric locomotives pushing trains of lightweight trailers up the 1 in 4 grade. It would be philistine to visit this area just for the railways, interesting though they are. The scenery is breathtaking, and the panorama which opens up as the WAB train from Lauterbrunnen rounds the corner between Wengen and Wengernalp, when suddenly the three giants of the Eiger, the M_nch and the Jungfrau are seen at close quarters is almost overwhelming. Almost as spectacular is the level of traffic on all these lines. Such is the volume on the WAB that trains often run in convoys of 3 and 4 all within sight of one another! The mountains are full of walkers on a fine day, and the railways provide an ideal way of getting to the high ground and returning by a different route.

Many of the Swiss moutain railways originally ran using rack equipped locomotives propelling control trailers up the grades. The Bernese Oberland Railway used this method until the powerful railcars were introduced from about 1949 onwards. Several of the locomotives had been retained to be used as shunters as there was still appreciable freight working and stock movement in the 1980s. This is BOB 24 at Lauterbrunnen on 6 July 1984 One of the BOB's powerful rack equipped railcars, 306, runs round its train at Lauterbrunnen on 6 July 1984. The BOB and the associated lines carry very heavy traffic and an intense clockface service is operated between Interlaken and both Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald to the levels of punctuality and efficiency which are expected of all Swiss railways This is the other terminus of the BOB at Grindelwald, a pretty Alpine resort with the high mountains towering behind. 308 was departing for Interlaken on 7 July 1984 BOB 309 with its train at Grindelwald on 7 July 1984, with the usual activity at this busy location. The Wengernalpbahn platforms are just to the right of this picture The Jungfraubahn is amongst the top five railway attractions in the world. The base station is high in the mountains at Kleine Scheidegg, a location which can only be reached on foot or by using the Wengernalpbahn lines from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald. The line has retained one of the original locomotive plus trailer sets in full working order and this view was taken by the depot on 7 July 1984 The Jungfraubahn's historic set is seen here just above Kleine Scheidegg at the start of the climb into the icy world of the glaciers, more than 11,000 feet above sea level! Regular service on the Jungfraubahn was provided by these powerful rack equipped railcar sets, and this example was loading for its next trip to the glacier on 7 July 1984. The hotels in the background come into their own in the winter for the ski season, but the summer provides opportunities for walkers in the clear mountain air. All these hotels have to be supplied by rail as there is no road access at this point This is the main station building at Kleine Scheidegg with the tracks of the Jungfraubahn in the foreground. The Wengernalpbahn tracks are behind the building with the line from Lauterbrunnen entering from the left, and that from Grindelwald from the right Under the north face of the Eiger mountain, the Jungfraubahn starts its long climb up the summit of the line which is in a tunnel at Jungfraujoch. From here visitors can walk out to view an icy panarama of the high Alps to the south Another view of a Jungfraubahn railcar set at the start of the climb just above Kleine Scheidegg. As the snows retreat from these slopes in the early summer, the surrounding areas spring to life and the ground is covered with tiny alpine wild flowers High on a plateau on the south side of the Lauterbrunnen valley lies another community whose only access to the outside world is by rail. The short Murrenbahn connects the village of Murren with the funicular which brings travellers and all supplies from the valley below, and forms a connection with BOB mainline from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken The Schynige Platte Bahn was the most traditional of the BOB group of railways in the 1980s and operation was still provided by tiny rack locomotives propelling two lightweight trailers. Some of the rolling stock had been cascaded from the Wengernalpbahn. Traffic was heavy especially on a Sunday morning, for like many of these lines, there are opportunties to walk in the high mountains and connect by means of cable car lines to one of the other railways in the group and return by a different route. This is the view at the terminus on 8 July 1984 Spectacular mountain scenery can be viewed from the summit of the Schynige Platte line as depicted here in this view of a train led by control trailer 15 approaching the top station on 8 July 1984 A view of the same train entering the summit station. From this point walkers disperse along the many mountain paths with opportunities to return by an alternative route using cable car lines into the surrounding valleys. The Swiss take transport integration very seriously to include the high mountain paths as well as the more usual urban networks The Wengernalpbahn was built to provide access into the high mountains, and thence by means of the Jungfraubahn into the glaciers. This is the scene at Grindelwald on 7 July 1984 with a WAB train headed by motor railcar 101 ready to depart for Kleine Scheidegg. The train will reverse at Grindelwald Gründ, and 101 will then propel the train up the rack section for the rest of its journey This is Kleine Scheidegg station taken from the WAB side with the tracks in the foreground being the line from Lauterbrunnen. The north face of the Eiger completes the picture I was really surprised at the level of activity all the time at Lauterbrunnen but then I realised that here all the supplies for the villlage of Wengen must be assembled and propelled up the hill. One of the line's original locomotives is engaged in assembling the next train with deliveries for the village on 6 July 1984 Sometimes freight can be propelled up the hill on the front of a passenger train. This was the scene at Lauterbrunnen on 6 July 1984 shows again the intense activity required to supply the high mountain settlements which are only reachable by rail A load of fresh produce is ready to be taken up the hill to supply the hotels, guest house and shops in the village of Wengen high above This is the first of several images taken at Wengen station on 8 July 1984. There are two trains in this picture which have come down from Kleine Scheidegg in convoy. The facilities at Wengen are extensive because not only are there short working passenger trains turning back as well as through trains to and from Lauterbrunnen, but the station is the only supply route for a substantial resort village A WAB railcar set at Wengen on 6 July 1984 with the station building in the background. Wengen station is also a busy location with constant toing and froing of trains in both directions. Wengen station is a wooden structure in Swiss chalet style. The freight depot can be seen to the left with vans being unloaded. There are no motor vehicles in Wengen. Passengers with luggage are met by battery powered carts to take them to their hotels. Similar trolleys are used to collect supplies for the shops and hotels. To walk around the streets of Wengen free from the danger, noise and fumes of motor traffic is almost a vision of paradise! This image at Wengen was taken from the window of the train going up to Kleine Scheidegg on 6 July 1984, and shows two trains which have just come down from the same location. All the BOB group of railways retained traditional liveries in the 1980s but the rolling stock was maintained in immaculate condition

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sat Oct 15 2005 Railways on the Island of Mallorca http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c725335.html I was in my 54th year before I set foot on the island of Mallorca. I was always put off by visions of fish and chips and lager louts, and it has to be said that some of the island resorts do indeed cater for this market. However the greater part of the island is delightful and surprisingly unspoilt, though traffic congestion is becoming an ever increasing problem. Of the island's two railway systems, the electric interurban from Palma to Soller is the most interesting from the enthusiast point of view. It starts its journey in a period piece of a station and then travels along the streets like an urban tram, before striking out across open countryside. At Bunyola there is a passing loop and then the train climbs through the mountain range which separates Soller from the rest of the island. After cutting through the mountain in a long tunnel it descends in a series of sharp curves to terminate in what must be one of the prettiest railway stations in the world in Soller town. Here connections are made with the tramway to complete the journey to the port of Soller. In contrast the SFM line is there to provide much needed reliable public transport for the island's inhabitants. The present system is the rump of a much more extensive network which was severely pruned in the 1970s, leaving just one line from Palma to the town of Inca in the centre of the island. Since 2000 the line beyond Inca to Sa Pobla has reopened and further reopenings now provide a link to Manacor in the east. There are also plans to reopen from Sa Pobla to the north coast at Alcudia. The SFM provides an intensive service which is well used throughout the day, and provides an ideal opprtunity to hear the island language, which is a version of the Catalan language spoken in Barcelona and Valencia. Thursday 13 October 2005: I was in my 54th year before I set foot on the island of Mallorca. I was always put off by visions of fish and chips and lager louts, and it has to be said that some of the island resorts do indeed cater for this market. However the greater part of the island is delightful and surprisingly unspoilt, though traffic congestion is becoming an ever increasing problem. Of the island's two railway systems, the electric interurban from Palma to Soller is the most interesting from the enthusiast point of view. It starts its journey in a period piece of a station and then travels along the streets like an urban tram, before striking out across open countryside. At Bunyola there is a passing loop and then the train climbs through the mountain range which separates Soller from the rest of the island. After cutting through the mountain in a long tunnel it descends in a series of sharp curves to terminate in what must be one of the prettiest railway stations in the world in Soller town. Here connections are made with the tramway to complete the journey to the port of Soller. In contrast the SFM line is there to provide much needed reliable public transport for the island's inhabitants. The present system is the rump of a much more extensive network which was severely pruned in the 1970s, leaving just one line from Palma to the town of Inca in the centre of the island. Since 2000 the line beyond Inca to Sa Pobla has reopened and further reopenings now provide a link to Manacor in the east. There are also plans to reopen from Sa Pobla to the north coast at Alcudia. The SFM provides an intensive service which is well used throughout the day, and provides an ideal opprtunity to hear the island language, which is a version of the Catalan language spoken in Barcelona and Valencia.

This view of the depot at Soller town taken on 18 April 2006 shows the very attractive location of the main operating centre of the Soller Railway This is the view in the opposite direction yaken from roughly the same spot as the previous image. One of the line's four motor coaches is lurking in the carriage shed Motor coach no. 2 at the head of train for Palma at Soller town on 18 April 2006 Taken from a little further back to the previous image one of the ex-Lisbon tramway cars creeps into the picture as car 2 makes ready to depart on 18 April 2006 Those who wish to witness the sight of the Soller railway in the streets of Palma will need to be quick, because just a few yards away to the right of this picture work is proceeding on the tunnels and major interchange which will accommodate both this line and the SFM diesel line on an underground route into Palma Palma station is highly traditional, but what will happen to this layout and buildings in what is a high value property area remains to be seen when the line is diverted into the new underground interchange Motor coach 2 of the Soller Railway is seen here running round its train at Palma on a very grey 20 April 2006 Another view showing the yard at Palma with car 2 backing on to its train on 20 April 2006 Seen from the modern footbridge which crosses the tracks at the north end of Palma station SFM railcar 61-01 heads a four car set making its final approaches to the terminus on a journey from Inca on 17 April 2001. The layout here has been severely rationalised since steam days, and surplus land given over to housing and also a receational area. The building on the left is a former railway installation, but one can only imagine that it never looked as white as that when steam trains ran here! This is the same train as the previous image, with railcar 61-04 bringing up the rear of the train. Palma is now a simple platform which can hold two trains, but the extent of the former layout can be seen in the background. The terminus of the Soller Railway is on the other side of the road to the right of this picture This was the northern terminus at Sa Pobla in 2001, with railcar 61-07 waiting to depart for Palma. All the stations on the SFM have been reconstructed with high platforms providing level access into the railcars. SFM railcar 61-07 again at Sa Pobla seen from the other side of the line Later in the day I caught 61-07 yet again approaching the buffer stops at Palma having worked in from Inca Looking north from Sa Pobla the route of the former line to Alcudia can be clearly traced ahead. It must have been interesting to ride through this small town behind a steam locomotive, but if all the plans come to fruition, trains will run again to Alcudia in the future Five years on from my previous visit to Palma I found that the SFM station had been relocated to a temporary site much further from the Placa de Espana to facilitate the construction work on the new underground transport interchange which will be to the left of this image. Railcar 61.19 awaits departure from the cramped platforms on 20 April 2006 This zoomed shot from the same location as the previous image shows just how cramped the temporary site is. The platforms will just accommodate a four car coupled set. The building in the background is a survivor from the steam era and now serves as part of the bus terminal which is on the other side A third shot from the same location of the temporary terminus at Palma shows the narrow platform on the left. With a 15 minute service during the day it must be absolute chaos if they get a train fail in this location! This hoarding by the temporary station in Palma announces the construction of the underground transport interchange. This development is by no means popular and banners hanging from many residential buildings carried objections to the construction which has resulted in the loss of a pleasant landscaped park area on part of the trackbed of the former railway alignment, with the SFM railway on a simplified layout incorporated The SFM railcars now carry the TIB red and yellow livery which is also carried by many of the island's private buses. This is 61.08 at Palma on 20 April 2006 All trains now carry the TIB logo which is also to be seen on many of the island's buses. There is increasing co-ordination between bus and rail services in the island, even with bus services in the hands of small private operators. If this can be achieved on this small island why is it so difficult in the United Kingdom? This is the scene from roughly the same spot as my image of SFM railcar 61-04 taken in April 2001. The station has gone and work is well advanced on the construction of the new underground interchange SFM railcar 61-42 heads a four car set entering Inca on 21 April 2006 on a working to Manacor The original building at Inca has been kept and is well maintained, and staffed. The overall roof is new, and is there more to protect waiting passengers from the sun rather than to provide shelter from the rain The reopening of the line through the centre of the island to Manacor has taken place since my previous visit, and it was interesting to ride the line on 21 April 2006. This is railcar 61-42 on arrival at Manacor 61-42 again taken from the opposite angle showing the renovated station building in the background The station building at Manacor has been beautifully restored and is a credit to everyone involved. As well as SFM staff, there is a small bar with tables outside, and spotless toilet facilities which would be a credit to a five star hotel! Another view of the station building at Manacor. Many of the stations on the new extensions are staffed, and there is a noticeable lack of graffiti and vandalism compared to the unstaffed stations closer to Palma SFM railcar 61-22 arrives at Manacor on 21 April 2006. If all the plans of the island government are realised the line will be extended further from here to Altea, and in doing do will provide links to many of the east coast resorts I found it quite odd to find modern track equipment on a narrow guage railway, but these vehicles were based at Empalme on 21 April 2006, suggesting that more improvements and extensions are on the cards The word Another view of the neat layout at Empalme on 21 April 2006. The station also carries the name Enllas which is the Catalan equivalent for junction I had to risk a few insect bites in the undergrowth to get this closer shot of the VIAS track machine at Empalme/Enllas on 21 April 2006 The VIAS track maintenance company also use this diesel loco and hopper wagons, which are normally based at Empalme/Enllas. The SFM mainatains a very high standard of track, and the railcars run at speeds which are comparable to standard or broad gauge lines on the mainland, even though the SFM netwrok is built to metre gauge This is Sa Pobla taken from the car park, which provides an adequate amount of free parking for rail users. Other stations along the line have also been developed with park and ride facilities. The famous Soller Railway links the island capital at Palma with the reosrt and port of Soller on the north west coast. To reach Soller the train tunnels through a mountain range. On the final approaches to Palma the railway takes to the street like an urban tram, and runs through a neighbourhood which is typical of most Spanish cities of comparable size consisting of apartment blocks and parked cars The mid-point of the line is the town of Bunyola which lies on the south side of the mountain range. Trains can cross at this point. Rolling stock consists of 4 powerful railcars built for the electrification of the line in 1929, which pull trains of bogie trailers. The scheduled service is not that frequent but extras are run for charter specials The station in Soller twon is a most attractive location, and motor railcar 3 is seen here at the head of a train ready to depart for Palma on 18 April 2001 Railcar 3 again seen in much the same spot the previous year. The Soller Railway stock is kept in immuclate external condition, these 75 year old railcars looking as good now as they did when first built The facilities at Soller are quite extensive, and include the associated tramway which provides the connection to the port and resort. Both lines are self contained and in recent years the company have embarked on the new construction of trailers for both the tramway and railway Motor coach 4 at Soller on 18 April 2001. The tracks in the foreground are those of the tramway down to the port The extensive canopy of mature trees at the station provides much needed shade for waiting passengers and makes this a most agreeable location. Motor coach 4 awaits departure for Palma on 25 April 2000 Two of the line's motor railcars, 4 and 3 seen side by side at Soller on 18 April 2001 The station at Palma is a very traditional structure and is well maintained, but the facilities are barely able to cope with the demand at departure and arrival times. There are plans to construct a new joint terminal in Palma both both the Soller line, and the SFM which currently has its terminus across the road to the left of the building This reminder that once the Soller railway also handled goods traffic could still be seen in the staton yard at Palma on 17 April 2001 Seen amongst the light and shade at Soller on 25 April 2000 were this interesting draisine and a tank wagon probably used for weedkilling purposes

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Thu Oct 13 2005 Railways in Austria - The Achenseebahn http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c720484.html As if having one narrow gauge railway is not normally enough to make a small town like Jenbach in the Tirol of great interest, the place actually has two! On the north side of the main line station is the terminus of the rack operated Achenseebahn, which climbs up through the woods into an area of lush mountain meadows to serve the ski resort at Maurach and then continues along the final flat valley floor to the lakeside at Seespitz. From here you may continue your jouney to the main lakeside resort at Pertisau by boat. The line has three identical engines built for the opening of the line in 1889. The lower part of the line is a rack and pinion railway on the Riggenbach system. Watching these engines on the move is quite disconcerting as parts of the outside motion seem to operate in the opposite direction to what you might normally expect of a locomotive operating on adhesion only. It is of course a tourist railway pure and simple but none the less to be enjoyed as an example of 19th century engineering at its very best. Sunday 9 October 2005: As if having one narrow gauge railway is not normally enough to make a small town like Jenbach in the Tirol of great interest, the place actually has two! On the north side of the main line station is the terminus of the rack operated Achenseebahn, which climbs up through the woods into an area of lush mountain meadows to serve the ski resort at Maurach and then continues along the final flat valley floor to the lakeside at Seespitz. From here you may continue your jouney to the main lakeside resort at Pertisau by boat. The line has three identical engines built for the opening of the line in 1889. The lower part of the line is a rack and pinion railway on the Riggenbach system. Watching these engines on the move is quite disconcerting as parts of the outside motion seem to operate in the opposite direction to what you might normally expect of a locomotive operating on adhesion only. It is of course a tourist railway pure and simple but none the less to be enjoyed as an example of 19th century engineering at its very best.

Locomotive number 1 is the first of three surviving engines from the original batch of 4 delivered for the opening of the line in 1889. It is seen here at the very limit of the line at the lower terminus at Jenbach on 31 August 1968. Jenbach again taken a few metres further up the line with locomotive number 2 running round its train on 13 August 1970. The motor coach in the background is a nice period piece as well, and would grace a museum collection today A close up of the wheels and motion of locomotive number 3. The upper wheel is linked to pinion cogs which engage the rack between the rails on both the ascent and descent. This wheel and its motion revolve in the opposite direction to the rail wheels which is most disconcerting when seen for the first time. The Achenseebahn engines were all built at Floridsdorf, Vienna in 1889, and operate on the Riggenbach rack system. Cabside detail of loco number 3 The lakeside terminus is at Seespitz, where the train connects with the boat services on the lake. Integration is nothing new! Loco 3 simmers in the summer sun awaiting the next arrival of trippers off the boat. Taken from across the road at Seespitz, the background of lake and mountains is breathtaking, and up here you are 900 metres above sea level and the air is much fresher than down in the Inn valley with its traffic and motorway pollution. The lake may look very tempting on a warm day, but would-be bathers are warned that this lake is fed by glaciers high in the mountains and the water is always bitterly cold This view of loco 3 at Seespitz clearly shows the inclined boiler arrangement. When climbing the rack section the boiler is level Yet another shot taken at Seespitz on 22 August 1978 showing loco 3 and train waiting for the next boat connection from Pertisau It was early morning when I got this shot of loco 3 with a single coach taken on the upper section near Maurach. The final part of the line runs along the flat valley floor formed by retreating glaciers, but it is worth remembering that at this point we are 900 metres above sea level Loco number 3 reaches the top of the rack section at Eben with a two coach train on 24 August 1978 There is a passing loop at Eben where loco 3 has detached itself from the lower end of the train and will run round the train to pull it in normal fashion for the final part of the journey along the high valley to Seespitz

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sun Oct 9 2005 ÖBB - Austrian Federal Railways http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c710700.html My first offerings from the national railway system of Austria cover the surviving pockets of steam operation, both standard and narrow gauge which kept running into the 1970s. Most of the first images in this collection feature the Steyrtalbahn, a delightful narrow guage line which linked Garsten on the main line south from Linz to the village of Mölln. This line could be reached quite easily whilst holidaying in the Salzkammergut. Gmund in Lower Austria is a border town which was also a centre for the Waldviertelbahn narrow guage network with its unusual Engerth type locomotoives. Gmund also had an allocation of class 93 standard guage 2-8-2T locos, and from across the border came a Czech 556 class 2-10-0 with its solitary two axle coach. I have also included some images taken on the Vordernberg-Eisenerz standard guage rack line. My latest additions to this collection feature so-called "modern Traction" but this expression needs to be used with reservation as some of the electric locos in use in the 1970s were on some cases over 50 years old! Saturday 1 October 2005: My first offerings from the national railway system of Austria cover the surviving pockets of steam operation, both standard and narrow gauge which kept running into the 1970s. Most of the first images in this collection feature the Steyrtalbahn, a delightful narrow guage line which linked Garsten on the main line south from Linz to the village of M_lln. This line could be reached quite easily whilst holidaying in the Salzkammergut. Gmund in Lower Austria is a border town which was also a centre for the Waldviertelbahn narrow guage network with its unusual Engerth type locomotoives. Gmund also had an allocation of class 93 standard guage 2-8-2T locos, and from across the border came a Czech 556 class 2-10-0 with its solitary two axle coach. I have also included some images taken on the Vordernberg-Eisenerz standard guage rack line. My latest additions to this collection feature so-called "modern Traction" but this expression needs to be used with reservation as some of the electric locos in use in the 1970s were on some cases over 50 years old!

In the era of the Cold War, Gmund in Lower Austria was a border station between the western world and eastern Europe. Nowadays both Austria and the Czech Republic are members of the European Union. Back in the seventies a solitary Czechoslovak State Railways train would trundle occasionally across the border from Ceské Velenice with a lightweight train of two four wheeled coaches carrying more border guards than passengers like as not. Immaculate post war 2-10-0 556-0506 waits at Gmund for connections from Vienna before making its short journey back home on 19 August 1976 Austrian Railways inherited a number of former Deutsche Reichsbahn E18 class 1Do1 electric locomotives, and 1018-101 was built by AEG in Berlin in 1939. The lcoc was still going strong and had been repainted in the new red livery when seen at Attnang-Puchheim at the head of a local train on 24 August 1977. Compare this image to that of DB 118-036 to be found in the collection covering diesel and electric traction in Germany The 1020 class were a Deutsche Reichsbahn design for heavy freight work which first appeared as class E94 in 1940. 47 of the class were operated by the ÖBB including 3 built as late as 1954. This one, 1020-14, was built by Krauss-Maffei in 1944, and was seen at Innsbrück on 5 September 1968. Both the Austrian 1020 class and the identical DB class 194 had long service lives on both systems lasting well into the 1970s and beyond The 1042-5 class were the top link locos on the system in the 1970s. The first examples appeared in 1968 and delivery proceeded right into the 1970s. 1042-643 had paused at Attnang-Puchheim on 24 August 1977 with an international train composed of DB stock The 1042-5 class were also the principal motive power on the Semmering route south from Vienna. 1042-666 makes a brief pause at Semmering on 22 August 1976 with an express northbound to the capital city The 1044 class appeared in the late 1970s as successors to the 1042 class, and started to appear on longer distance and international work towards the end of the decade. This is one of the first to appear, 1044-04, seen at Jenbach on the Inn valley main line on 24 August 1978 This broadside view of 1045-08 seen at Attnang-Puchheim on 24 August 1977 emphasises the The electric shunting locos used at a number of locations on station pilot duties were also veterans in every sense of the word. 1061-01 was the first of a class on 5 built in 1926 all of which were still in use 50 years later. On 27 August 1976 it had received the new red livery and was employed on its regular duty at Innsbrück Another view of 1061-01 seen at Innsbrück on 27 August 1976 The 1080 class were amongst the oldest surviving first generation electric locos. They were rod drive ten coupled locos with three motors dating from 1924/25. 1080-13 was on a trip freight at Garsten south of Linz on 24 August 1977 Another member of the rod drive 1080 class was 1080-19 seen at Attnang-Puchheim on 24 August 1977 The 1110 class comprised 30 locos built between 1956 and 1961 with the Co-Co wheel arrangement. All were rebuilt and renumbered in the 1110-500 series in the 1970s. 1110-502 was at Jenbach on a westbound freight on 22 August 1978 The 1141 class were a smaller medium power version of the 1110 class and 30 were built between 1955 and 1957. By the mid-1990s Austrian Railways had introduced a seven digit fleet number scheme with the additional edp control digit added. 1141-025 was at Attnang-Puchheim on 11 August 1994, with a train of bogie coaches which by then had been reapinted into the much brighter red and white livery 1141-19 was seen at Garsten heading south on the line from Linz to Hieflau on 18 August 1976 Passenger trains on the Attnang-Puchheim to Stainach-Irnding line were mainly in the hands of the venerable 1045 and 1145 class dating from 1927 to 1931. This is 1145-02 at Gmunden on 18 August 1976 The venerable 1145 class survived to be repainted into the new red livery, as witnessed by this view of 1145-08 seen at Attnang-Puchheim on 24 August 1977 in the bay platform preparing to depart with a local train for Bad Ischl and Stainach-Irnding Some of the 1145 class also worked around Innsbrück, including 1145-16 seen here south of the station on a rolling stock movement on 5 September 1968 The 1161 class were a slightly later development of the eight-coupled electric shunting loco. 1161-14 was still in the old green livery when seen at Innsbrück on 27 August 1976 Austria's 1089 and 1189 classes were perhaps less well known than similar locos in Switzerland, but they were remarkable survivors from the very first years of main line electrification. With their 1C+C1 wheel arrangement and primitive rod drive they were The 1245 were the last of the pre-war Bo-Bo locos for secondary duties but with their 1840 kw rating were considerably more powerful than their older cousins. 41 were built between 1934 and 1940, and 1245-523 seen at Selzthal on 17 August 1979 was one 20 built at Floridsdorf in 1938 The 1670 class were mostly to be seen in the west of the country, and in this view 1679-22 is approaching Bludenz in the Vorarlberg province on 25 August 1978 The 1670 class were designed for main line passenger work and had three bogies with the unusual 1A-Bo-A1 wheel arrangement. 1670-27, built in 1929 was piloting more modern Bo-Bo 1110-519 with a train formed of very mixed rolling stock approaching Innsbrück on 27 August 1976 Typical motive power on non-electrified routes were the diesel locomotives of class 2043 and 2143, broadly equivalent in power output to a British type 2. The locos had hydraulic transmission. 2043-045 departs Linz Urfahr on 11 August 1994 with a local train serving on of the detached brances north of the city Gmund was also the centre of the Waldviertelbahn narrow guage network which had two branches which meandered through the rolling countryside around the Czech border. Operation was mixed between steam and diesel, and in this case a train hauled by B-B diesel 2095-12 was being prepared for departure on 19 August 1976 The Steyrtalbahn is a delightful narrow gauge line which originally limked two mainline railheads at Garsten and Klaus, south of Linz in Upper Austria. Austrian Federal Railways were still the operator in the 1970s but eventually the line was closed in the early eighties but happily part is now run as a preserved line. Standard 0-6-2T 298-25 was at the coal stage at Garsten on 25 August 1977 298-25 caught again on camera by the awning of the station building at Garsten on 25 August 1977 I followed the train hauled by 0-6-2T 298-25 along the valley and was able to get this shot of the train approaching Aschach/Steyr on 25 August 1977 The same train entering Aschach/Steyr on 25 August 1977 passes cautiously over the road crossing at the east of the station The train finally comes to rest at Aschach/Steyr to await the eaatsbound working which it will pass at this point Journey's end, and 298-25 enters the pretty station at Molln on 25 August 1977 Another view taken at Molln on 25 August 1977 298-53 was engaged shunting the yard at Garsten on 18 August 1976 298-53 is ready to depart from Grunberg on 18 August 1976. The station master at this point would emerge from his office for each departure, in full ceremonial uniform complete with regalia, like an apparition from another age This shot was taken west of Grunberg where the line runs alongside the river Steyr from which the line takes its name. 298-53 makes progress on 18 August 1976 The border town of Gmund was also the starting pointof the Waldviertelbahn narrow guage network with lines to Gross Gerüngs and Heidenreichstein. It was a mixed steam and diesel operation, and the steam fleet was made up of long lived and unique 0-8+4 tender tank engines of the Engerth type, where the four wheel tender is articulated to the frame of the locomotive. 399-01 of the type was seen at Gmund ready to depart with a mixed passeneger and freight train on 19 August 1976 Engerth loco 399-01 seen again at Gmund. Passenger coaches featured open end balconies in time honoured tradition. Regular services by the ÖBB ceased some years ago but a museum operation has survived in what is quite a remote corner of the country I was surprised to come across 399-01 virtually 20 years later by which time it was looking much smarter and working steam specials out of Zell-am-See on the Pinzgauerbahn, which runs to Krimml. The loco is seen here taking a pause at Fürth-Kaprun on a morning journey up the line Steam specials on the Pinzgauerbahn ran as far as Uttendorf on 1996, where a long break was taken while the loco took water from the local mains supply. This view was also taken on 8 August 1996 The 4030 class electric multiple units were associated for several years with services around Vienna, but were later cascaded onto provincial work. 4030-302 was heading west at Brück on the line between Bischofshofen and Wörgl on 8 August 1996 The 5047 class introduced a new generation of diesel railcars onto secondary services, replacing loco hauled trains. 5047-065 is at Linz Urfahr on 11 August 1994

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sat Oct 1 2005 Railways in Austria - Graz-Köflacher-Bahn 1972 and 1976 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c693102.html Austria's second city and the capital of the province of Styria lies on the main Sudbahn linking Vienna to the port of Trieste. In Imperial times when the line was built, all of this line lay within Austria, but post 1918 borders changed, and now the main line south beyond Spielfeld-Strass lies in present day Slovenia. A standard gauge line branches west from Graz and runs for some 40 kilometers. Originally built to serve coal mines around Köflach and Voitsberg, the line has developed and retained substantial passenger traffic. In the 1970s much of the extensive freight working was still steam hauled, and the loco roster had all been obtained second hand from the State Railway. The mainstay of the fleet were the 152 class utility or Kriegloks which had been built by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, but around Graz shed could be found survivors of the Austrian designed class 56 2-cylinder compound 2-8-0 locos dating from 1914-18, and rotting away amongst the junk was a class 30 two cylinder compound 2-6-2T dating from 1900. The depot in Graz needed a bit of finding at the end of a tram route, but visitors were welcome and could wander around freely as soon as the ususal insurance disclaimer had been signed. The GKB still has two steam locos on its books, one a veteran 0-6-0 built in 1860, and the other is 56-3115 which is illustrated in this collection. Friday 16 September 2005: Austria's second city and the capital of the province of Styria lies on the main Sudbahn linking Vienna to the port of Trieste. In Imperial times when the line was built, all of this line lay within Austria, but post 1918 borders changed, and now the main line south beyond Spielfeld-Strass lies in present day Slovenia. A standard gauge line branches west from Graz and runs for some 40 kilometers. Originally built to serve coal mines around K_flach and Voitsberg, the line has developed and retained substantial passenger traffic. In the 1970s much of the extensive freight working was still steam hauled, and the loco roster had all been obtained second hand from the State Railway. The mainstay of the fleet were the 152 class utility or Kriegloks which had been built by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, but around Graz shed could be found survivors of the Austrian designed class 56 2-cylinder compound 2-8-0 locos dating from 1914-18, and rotting away amongst the junk was a class 30 two cylinder compound 2-6-2T dating from 1900. The depot in Graz needed a bit of finding at the end of a tram route, but visitors were welcome and could wander around freely as soon as the ususal insurance disclaimer had been signed. The GKB still has two steam locos on its books, one a veteran 0-6-0 built in 1860, and the other is 56-3115 which is illustrated in this collection.

Active steam on the GKB in 1976 consisted mainly of the surviving class 152 light 2-10-0 locos which had been acquired from the state railway system. These were the survivors of an enormous class of utility or Kriegloks built by the Deutsche Reichsbahn during the second world war and which saw use in virtually every occupied country as well as in Germany. 152-1365 was being prepared for its next duty at Graz on 23 August 1976 The tub tender of GKB 2-10-0 number 152-309 has been fitted with a cab for the use of the guard on fitted freight trains, and in this shot the guard is occupying the cab as the loco heads tender first towards Graz at the Strassgang road crossing with a mixed freight on 22 August 1972 Austrian Railways classified its Kriegsloks as class 52 with plate frames or class 152 with bar frames. It was this latter type which survived on the GKB into the 1970s. 152-3109 seen at Graz on 23 August 1976 had been built in Germany in 1943 by the Jung loco works This view of 152-3109 shows the tub tender which was the mark of the Kriegslok design. In Germany many of these tenders were re-used and coupled to class 50 or in some cases class 38 locos when the original class 52s were scrapped. The class 52 had a relatively short life in Germany but became a standard class in Austria surviving until the end of steam operation in the 1970s A general view of the yard at Graz showing 152-3109 again together with some of the diesel power which was then beginning to infiltrate onto the line Front end detail of 152-3109 at Graz on 23 August 1976. The class 52/152 were directly derived from the class 50 light 2-10-0 locos, but built to utility standards. With thier light axle loading they could be used on virtually any line throughout Europe. The area immediately around Graz consists of a flat wide valley surrounded by mountains. 2-10-0 152-469 lays a smokescreen across the landscape in this view showing the train heading out of Graz on 22 August 1972 It always pays to explore round back of obscure buildings at loco depots. Graz was no exception and I found this survivor of a class 30 2-6-2T dumped amidst the junk on 23 August 1976. These were two cylinder compound locos built for the state railways in 1900, this being the survivor of two examples subsequently sold to the GKB This example of a former Austrian State railways class 56 2-8-0 was intact and appeared to be coaled up ready for further service in this view taken at Graz depot on 23 August 1976. These locos were built between 1914 and 1918 and were two cylinder compound locos, this particular example having received a spark arrester chimney. This loco has been preserved on the railway This example of class 56, 56-3249 was dumped out of use at Graz on 23 August 1976 and would see no further use. In the background can be seen the remains of one of GKB's three class 50s, 50-685, which had lost its boiler, but the frames, wheels, motion and large Wagner smoke deflectors were still in place Another dumped class 56, 56-3297, at Graz on 23 August 1976. The class 56's were not pretty machines, but the long survival of these first world war veterans into the 1970s is a tribute to sound basic design

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Fri Sep 16 2005 Railways in Austria - Zillertalbahn 1968 to 1984 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c635997.html The first narrow gauge line I ever saw on the Continent was the Zillertalbahn in the Austrian Tirol. That was back in 1968, I have been back to the area several times since then. My wife and I actually spent our honeymoon in Mayrhofen, which in those days was a fairly sleepy village. In one sense the Zillertalbahn has benefitted from increasing car traffic because such is the level of traffic these days that congestion on the valley road means that the railway is the fastest way to get about. That was not the case back in 1968 when the improved road had just opened and many feared this would bring about the closure of the railway. The line has always been privately operated, and as well as steam traction on some trains the line is mainly diesel worked with substantial freight flows some of which are illustrated in these views. All the surviving steam locos are different, and include both simple and compound versions of the classic Austrian narrow gage 0-6-2T type produced by Krauss of Linz. By the time of my last visit in 1984 modern railcars were being introduced on the main passenger services with steam still operating on designated tourist trips each day. If you like your trains in spectacular scenery this is the place to go. Long may it continue to serve both the tourists and the people of the valley. Sunday 31 July 2005: The first narrow gauge line I ever saw on the Continent was the Zillertalbahn in the Austrian Tirol. That was back in 1968, I have been back to the area several times since then. My wife and I actually spent our honeymoon in Mayrhofen, which in those days was a fairly sleepy village. In one sense the Zillertalbahn has benefitted from increasing car traffic because such is the level of traffic these days that congestion on the valley road means that the railway is the fastest way to get about. That was not the case back in 1968 when the improved road had just opened and many feared this would bring about the closure of the railway. The line has always been privately operated, and as well as steam traction on some trains the line is mainly diesel worked with substantial freight flows some of which are illustrated in these views. All the surviving steam locos are different, and include both simple and compound versions of the classic Austrian narrow gage 0-6-2T type produced by Krauss of Linz. By the time of my last visit in 1984 modern railcars were being introduced on the main passenger services with steam still operating on designated tourist trips each day. If you like your trains in spectacular scenery this is the place to go. Long may it continue to serve both the tourists and the people of the valley.

The Zillertalbahn's oldest operation steam locomotive is 2-cylinder simple 0-6-2T number 2, built to a standard design in 1900 by Krauss of Linz. Carrying the name Another view of 0-6-2T number 2 at jenbach on 28 August 1976 This front end shot of number 2 emphasises the impact of the spark arrester chimney fitted to this engine At the southern end of the line number 2 is seen at Mayrhofen on 28 August 1976 Number 2 is ready to dpeart from Mayrhofen on 28 August 1976 This was my very first shot taken at Mayrhofen on 31 August 1968. The engine is compound 0-6-2T number 3, named From another angle this is number 3 again at Mayrhofen on 31 August 1968 with the old station building still in use. Construction work in the background is a foretaste of the rapid development that would expand this village over the next decade, and two years later the Zillertalbahn had built and opened a brand new bus/rail interchange at this point This was quite literally the end of the line at Mayrhofen in 1968, with number 3 having pulled forward and detached a van. To the left is a standard gauge mineral hopper on a Rollwagen In 1970 the regular steam locomotive in use was number 5 Number 5 again in the valley just to the north of Mayrhofen on 18 August 1970 at work on the morning tourist train. The valley is quite wide and flat, and the long train presents no problems for this locomotive, but the mountains on both sides of the valley are steep and offer spectacular views. Number 5 seen at Mayrhofen on 18 August 1970 is edging forward before coupling onto its train for the journey backdown the valley to Jenbach Steam blowing off at the safety valves and number 5 is ready for departure from mayrhofen on 18 August 1970 The ZB's number 6 is a dinky 0-4-0T built by Krauss Maffei in Munich in 1916, and which in the 1970s was used for so-called hobby driver trips along the southern end of the line. This view was taken at Mayrhofen on 28 August 1976 Number 2 again with its lightweight train of two coaches at Mayrhofen on 28 Augsut 1976 This is the Zillertalbahn at work with one of the two powerful diesels bult new for the line by Orenstein and Koppel in 1967 pulling two standard gauge wagons on Rollwagen back to Jenbach. This was a relatively light load for these powerful locomotives This is much more like a realistic load for D8, one of the the two 1967 built diesels, seen here at Mayrhofen on 18 August 1970, with a train of cement hoppers on Rollwagen ready to make the trip back to the main line at Jenbach and then onto the main ÖBB system Railcar set VT1 had a complicated history. The two outer cars are Duewag built tramcars which originally operated on a DB owned line. They were sold to the RTM in Rotterdam, who had the centre generator van built in 1963. Upon closure of that line the car moved to the Zillertalbahn in 1966, and was in regular use for a number of years until the new railcars arrived on the line in 1984. This view was taken just north of Mayrhofen on 12 August 1970 VT1 again in the wide and flat valley just north of Mayrhofen on 12 August 1970. Whilst useful at off-peak times the limited capacity of this unit could be an embarassment if it were to meet a sudden large influx of customers at either Jenbach or Mayrhofen, and tourist traffic can be notoriously unpredictable in volume By 1974 the livery applied to VT1 had been changed to all-over red, as seen in this shot taken at Jenbach on 21 August 1974. It is understood that this unit has now gone back to the Netherlands for preservation Railcar VT2 had been built by Talbot of Aachen back in 1954, and ran on the ZB for a number of years. Here it is seen at Mayrhofen with the new bus/rail interchange on 16 August 1970 coupled to two bogie trailers

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sun Jul 31 2005 Steam in Germany - Nossen 1979 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c627888.html It would be perfectly understandable for anyone browsing this gallery to ask where on earth is Nossen? It seems hard to imagine that deep in the rolling countryside west of Dresden could be found this obscure junction with a full scale locomotive depot. Nossen lies on the secondary route which links Leipzig and Dresden via Doebeln. The direct mainline route was already an electrified route in DDR days. Passenger services were limited so freight must have been the prime reason for its existence. North from Nossen a branch struck across country to Riesa where it joined the mainline route. Nossen had once been a much more important rail centre with a standard guage line south to join the Saxon main line at Freiberg and it also had a narrow guage link to the once extensive network radiating from Freital and Oschatz. The last narrow guage trains ran from Nossen in 1972, but fragments of narrow guage track could be traced and a former box van was still there in reasonable condition. The end was not far off by the time I visited in the spring of 1979. Only two engines were observed in steam, one of which departed tender first with a rake of 6-wheeled rebuilt coaches on a local train. Another unidentified loco was in use as a stationary boiler, a fate common at many depots in those days. All the images in this collection were taken on the same date, 18 April 1979. The ambience and layout had changed little from the days of the Saxon State Railways, and there were one or two surprises in the form of some unusual stored engines on sidings around the depot. I have never had any cause to go back to Nossen since the end of steam, but I would imagine that very little now remains of the once extensive facilities which existed in steam days. Sunday 24 July 2005: It would be perfectly understandable for anyone browsing this gallery to ask where on earth is Nossen? It seems hard to imagine that deep in the rolling countryside west of Dresden could be found this obscure junction with a full scale locomotive depot. Nossen lies on the secondary route which links Leipzig and Dresden via Doebeln. The direct mainline route was already an electrified route in DDR days. Passenger services were limited so freight must have been the prime reason for its existence. North from Nossen a branch struck across country to Riesa where it joined the mainline route. Nossen had once been a much more important rail centre with a standard guage line south to join the Saxon main line at Freiberg and it also had a narrow guage link to the once extensive network radiating from Freital and Oschatz. The last narrow guage trains ran from Nossen in 1972, but fragments of narrow guage track could be traced and a former box van was still there in reasonable condition. The end was not far off by the time I visited in the spring of 1979. Only two engines were observed in steam, one of which departed tender first with a rake of 6-wheeled rebuilt coaches on a local train. Another unidentified loco was in use as a stationary boiler, a fate common at many depots in those days. All the images in this collection were taken on the same date, 18 April 1979. The ambience and layout had changed little from the days of the Saxon State Railways, and there were one or two surprises in the form of some unusual stored engines on sidings around the depot. I have never had any cause to go back to Nossen since the end of steam, but I would imagine that very little now remains of the once extensive facilities which existed in steam days.

This may well have been only the second class 50 built, 50-1002, the Viewed from the station platform, this shows the clutter associated with a steam depot, and is also a general indication that the end could not be far off. An unidentified loco serves as a stationary boiler whilst 50-3554 in the middle distance is in steam This view of 50-3554 and the roundhouse area was opened up when sister loco 50-3581-1 moved away The first of a number of views of light 2-10-0 50-3581 which manoevred off the depot and into the station in order to take a passenger train tender first in a westerly direction Another view of 50-3581 as it prepares to move across into the station area with the typical roundhouse as background The light 2-10-0 drifts slowly across to join the running lines, surrounded by manual semaphore signalling and all the clutter of the steam railway. Modellers would have drooled at the layout, with everything characteristic of the steam railway of pre-First World War set out and still operational The light 2-10-0 has been coupled onto its train and awaits departure time. The train consisted of 4 6-wheel rebuilt coaches, a paltry load indeed for a powerful engine, but these lcocomotives were true mixed-traffic engines and could be used on anything from branch line passenger work to heavy long distance fast freight services My final shot of 50-3581 was taken from the road bridge at the west end of the station and shows the loco departing tender first with its lightweight train of 4 six-wheel coaches By 1979 even the modern 50-35 class rebuilt light 2-10-0s were becoming surplus to requirements and this unidentified example had been stored at Nossen, although fully accessible. These days rolling stock left unattended like this would be covered in graffitti within hours but such things were unheard of in the GDR in 1979 There were a number of stored engines lying about on different parts of the layout including this unrebuilt class 50 light 2-10-0, which, judging by the cut-back footplating was one of those built during the early days of the war, before the introduction of the austerity class 52. The tender also looks to be of postwar GDR construction. A second stored class 50 in largely original condition was also present but this one had received a Giesl oblong ejector at some point in its career. DR carried out modificiations such as this on a number of engines, which did not happen on DB in the west Perhaps the biggest surprise was lurking round the back of the depot in the form on this Prussian G12 three cylinder 2-10-0 which became DR 58-1042. It was intact apart from coupling rods and motion and may well have been set aside as a preservation project Another Prussian veteran stored at Nossen was this T14 class 2-8-2T, a type built for freight working from about 1914 onwards. These became DR class 93, and this one may also have been set aside for preservation This narrow guage box van survived on a short length of track, a reminder that once Nossen had also been connected to the extensive 750 mm gauge network linked to Freital and Oschatz. Narrow guage trains had ceased to run in 1972, but this van had escaped the attentions of the scrapman and graffiti artists were an unknown species in the GDR in 1979

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sun Jul 24 2005 Steam in Germany - The Harz Mountains 1978 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c608325.html In the summer of 1978 we spent a few days of our summer holiday in the Harz Mountains near Wernigerode. This gave an opportunity to visit the two, at that time, separate narrow gauge lines, both steam operated, in the area. The area itself is quite delightful, and includes the world heritage site at Quedlinburg, which had been beautifully and sympathetically restored in DDR times. Other towns in the area such as Wernigerode itself and Halberstadt have well preserved historical centres with many old half-timbered houses. It was a popular tourist area, but its proximity to the then western border made some parts of the area out of bounds to western visitors. For example the branch of the Nordhausen to Wernigerode Harzquerbahn line which ran to Schierke lay entirely within the Grenzzone, and could only be visited by those with special permits. The Grenzpolizei were much in evidence, and I watched the procedure at Drei Annen Hohne as permit checks were made on all the passengers, the technique used being to place the very large German Shepherd dog (what else?) at the far end of the car while the armed officer checked everyone's papers. Those days are thankfully in the past, and the two narrow gauge lines are also linked and in private ownership. At the south end of the line a further link has been made with the Nordhausen urban tramway, and dual mode trams now run a regular interval service as far as Ilfeld. There was also some standard gauge steam activity in the area as well, and some examples can be found in this collection as well. Friday 8 July 2005: In the summer of 1978 we spent a few days of our summer holiday in the Harz Mountains near Wernigerode. This gave an opportunity to visit the two, at that time, separate narrow gauge lines, both steam operated, in the area. The area itself is quite delightful, and includes the world heritage site at Quedlinburg, which had been beautifully and sympathetically restored in DDR times. Other towns in the area such as Wernigerode itself and Halberstadt have well preserved historical centres with many old half-timbered houses. It was a popular tourist area, but its proximity to the then western border made some parts of the area out of bounds to western visitors. For example the branch of the Nordhausen to Wernigerode Harzquerbahn line which ran to Schierke lay entirely within the Grenzzone, and could only be visited by those with special permits. The Grenzpolizei were much in evidence, and I watched the procedure at Drei Annen Hohne as permit checks were made on all the passengers, the technique used being to place the very large German Shepherd dog (what else?) at the far end of the car while the armed officer checked everyone's papers. Those days are thankfully in the past, and the two narrow gauge lines are also linked and in private ownership. At the south end of the line a further link has been made with the Nordhausen urban tramway, and dual mode trams now run a regular interval service as far as Ilfeld. There was also some standard gauge steam activity in the area as well, and some examples can be found in this collection as well.

Although the Harz area is best known for narrow gauge steam, in the mid-1970s there was still plenty of steam around on the standard gauge as well. This is rebuilt light 2-10-0 50-3586-0 seen at Wernigerode on 15 August 1978 Halberstadt to the north of the area was a centre of some steam activity in the 1970s, mostly rebuilt class 50 light 2-10-0s. 50-3662-9 was spotted in the immediate aftermath of a thunderstorm on 16 August 1978 A very smart 50-3707-2 waits departure time from Halberstadt om 16 August 1978 with a Personenzug formed of typical DR rebuilt coaches This is another view of 50-3707-2 at Halberstadt on 16 August 1978. The Reichsbahn offered a security of employment and some status within the community and there was an obvious pride in the job in spite of the difficulties and shortages which seemed to be endemic under the planned economy. Turnouts like this were not uncommon even to the very end of steam operation We took a trip on the Harzquerbahn from Wernigerode as far as Drei-Annen-Hohne where the branch to Schierke and Brocken branches off to the west. We had just left the train pulled by 99-0235-4 on the left as 99-0245-3 entered the passing loop from the opposite direction at Drei-Annen-Hohne on 15 August 1978 The train which had brought us up to Drei-Annen-Hohne was in fact bound for Schierke in what was then the barrier zone, an area five kilometres back from the western frontier into which you could only travel with special permission. This line was off-limits to western visitors at that time. The train had a long wait at this point while the frontier police carried out detailed checks on all passengers travelling beyond this point. 2-10-2T 99-0235-4 again at the head of the train. With inspection completed by the Grenzpolizei, 99-0235-4 departs Drei-Annen-Hohne on the final leg of its journey to Schierke in the frontier zone on 15 August 1978 We returned to Wernigerode later that afternoon on the same train, with 99-0235-4 this time bunker first, entering Drei-Annen-Hohne on 15 August 1978. I rode all the way back to Wernigerode on the open platform of the front coach on the train, an unforgettable experience on my 32nd birthday! Back at Wernigerode the mighty 2-10-2T has been uncoupled and is running round its train. This group of locomotives were a new build under DR in the 1950s based on an pre-war design. There is very little similarity between these metre gauge giants and the typical image of the narrow gauge line I spotted 99-0245-3 later in the day on the outskirts of Wernigerode pulling the next train up into the mountains. This picture was taken from the front platform of our own train heading in the opposite direction A little further east but in the same general area, is the Selketalbahn linking Gernrode with Harzgerode and Strassberg, which in 1978 at least was physically separate from the Harzquerbahn, a former link having fallen into disuse. The loco stock was very different from the main system, consisting in the main of Mallett type engines from the original line. The oldest was 99-5901-6 which carried a green livery, seen here approaching Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 with a train bound for Strassberg The newest and largest of the Malletts was 99-5906-5 which was painted in normal DR black, seen taking water at Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 A knowledge of the timetable was repaid at Alexisbad by the appearance of three trains within a short space of time, followed by some remarkable re-marshalling which would do justice to any model railway layout. 99-5906-5 has arrived with a train for Harzgerode on 16 August 1978. Coaches off both this and the Strassberg train will be detached and added to another train which arrived a few mintes later heading back to Gernrode Mallett 99-5906-5 has been detached from its train and will assist in the juggling of rolloing stock before being recoupled to the remainder of its train bound for Harzgerode on 16 August 1978 Perhaps the most interesting locomotive on the Selketalbahn was this superheated 2-6-2T which had been built by Krupp in 1939 as a prototype aimed at modernising the motive power on many metre guage lines. It resembled contemporary standard gauge DR locomotives of its era, but the outbreak of war brought an end to any further production. After operating on the Harzquerbahn from 1949 to 1971 it was transferred to Gernrode, and was seen here as 99-6001-4 at Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 99-6001-4 again this time also occupied in reshuffling some of the coaches at Alexisbad on 16 August 1978 99-6001-4 eventually took a combined train down to Harzgerode and a car chase ensued enabling me to get this shot of the train crossing the road at Magdesprueng on 16 August 1978 Approaching the end of its journey, 99-6001-4 drifts into Gernrode on 16 August 1978 Jouney's end, and the chunky 2-6-2T simmers on a muggy summers day with a thunder storm brewing ahead. The Harzer Schmalspurbahn who are the current operators of this line have proposed an extension of the metre gauge line from here to the historic city of Quedlinburg to replace the current standard gauge line Most of the mighty 2-10-2T locos on the Harzquerbahn had been converted to oil firing, but in the 1970's oil price rises had an impact on the GDR as well as all the western economies, and a start was made to reconvert the locos back to coal firing. This is not a particularly good image but it shows newly converted loco 99-7242-3 at Wernigerode Westentor on 15 August 1978. Oil fired locos were indicated by a Alexisbad station was the junction of the two branches with the shorter line to Harzgerode and the longer branch to Strassberg. The latter line has now been reconnected to the main system further west. The station was and is a delightful throwback to a more gentle age, and back in 1978 presented an image not always associated with the east, but proving that all was not grey and uninteresting in the old DDR Alexisbad became a hive of activity for a short period every few hours as up and down trains met and were remarshalled. After departure the place would go back to sleep for another few hours. This view includes the two Malletts, 99-5901-6 and 99-5906-5 on 16 August 1978

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Fri Jul 8 2005 Steam in Germany - Saalfeld 1977 and 1979 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c596428.html Most enthusiasts were aware of the extensive steam operations behind the former Iron Curtain, but few were brave enough to risk the many hazards involved in attempting photography. At one stage pointing a camera at a steam locomotive could lead to instant arrest, and probably loss of both film and camera. The official line in the German Democratic Republic was that photography was allowed wherever the public had normal access. This somewhat imprecise ruling could lead to problems, then suddenly in the mid-1970s the GDR authorities took a much more benign approach, which was fortunate because there was little steam left anywhere in western Europe by that stage. Who knows, perhaps the authorities realised that rail fans would flock in in their thousands and rail fans would spend much needed hard currency. The Reichsbahn authorities drew the line at solo depot visits, and this was only possible by unravelling the bureaucracy, which needed time and patience, and really you needed to be in an organised trip to crack this one. The Mecca of them all was Saalfeld, deep in Thueringen, with its loco depot and a major junction for the lines to Arnstadt, Jena and Gera to the north, and Probstzella and Sonneberg to the south. At the end the allocation consisted of oil fired class 44 Jumbo 2-10-0 types plus the marvellous rebuilt 01 Pacifics. Working in from the south were the survivors of the Prussian designed class 95 2-10-2T types, and this collection also includes a solitary coal fired class 41 Mikado. The bridge at the north end of the station was the grandstand from which the whole display could be viewed, with movement on and off the shed, the yards, and the station itself. In 1979 I actually made trip to Jena behind one of the class 01 Pacifics, returning on a local train pulled by, of all things, a class 44! I have not been back to Saalfeld in recent years but I expect that like much of the German rail network, the layout has been severely rationalised, and that little remains to remind us of the glories of the past. Tuesday 28 June 2005: Most enthusiasts were aware of the extensive steam operations behind the former Iron Curtain, but few were brave enough to risk the many hazards involved in attempting photography. At one stage pointing a camera at a steam locomotive could lead to instant arrest, and probably loss of both film and camera. The official line in the German Democratic Republic was that photography was allowed wherever the public had normal access. This somewhat imprecise ruling could lead to problems, then suddenly in the mid-1970s the GDR authorities took a much more benign approach, which was fortunate because there was little steam left anywhere in western Europe by that stage. Who knows, perhaps the authorities realised that rail fans would flock in in their thousands and rail fans would spend much needed hard currency. The Reichsbahn authorities drew the line at solo depot visits, and this was only possible by unravelling the bureaucracy, which needed time and patience, and really you needed to be in an organised trip to crack this one. The Mecca of them all was Saalfeld, deep in Thueringen, with its loco depot and a major junction for the lines to Arnstadt, Jena and Gera to the north, and Probstzella and Sonneberg to the south. At the end the allocation consisted of oil fired class 44 Jumbo 2-10-0 types plus the marvellous rebuilt 01 Pacifics. Working in from the south were the survivors of the Prussian designed class 95 2-10-2T types, and this collection also includes a solitary coal fired class 41 Mikado. The bridge at the north end of the station was the grandstand from which the whole display could be viewed, with movement on and off the shed, the yards, and the station itself. In 1979 I actually made trip to Jena behind one of the class 01 Pacifics, returning on a local train pulled by, of all things, a class 44! I have not been back to Saalfeld in recent years but I expect that like much of the German rail network, the layout has been severely rationalised, and that little remains to remind us of the glories of the past.

The pride of Saalfeld were undoubtedly the rebuilt class 01.5 Pacifics. These engines had been rebuilt by the DR with new boilers and other features creating a very modern and efficient steam locomotive. The appearance was also quite altered from the original. The first of the class, 01-0501-5 seen here by the loco depot on 20 August 1977 Pacific 01-0508-0 is turned at Saalfeld on 20 August 1977. Movement on and off the turntable was controlled by a formidable Warterfrau whose word was law, and woe betide any driver who did not comply fully with her instructions Pacific 01-0521-3 awaits departure from Saalfeld with an Eilzug for Jena and Leipzig on 16 April 1979 One of my very first shots at Saalfeld is this one of Pacific 01-0522-1 making its way from the loco depot to the station amidst the clutter that was so much a part of the steam railway at that time 01-0522-1 again, backing down onto its train on 20 August 1977 01-0522-1 appeared to be ex-works when seen 0n 20 August 1977. With no money available for new construction the DR had no alternative but to resort to rebuilding the existing stock, but the result was truly magnificent class of engines that stand alongside the best in the world, both in terms of performance and appearance In time honoured tradition the fireman on 01-0522-1 does a last minute check before departure time from Saalfeld on 20 August 1977 Rebuilt Pacific 01-0529-6 comes off shed at Saalfeld and reverses towards the station prior to taking up its next working on a passenger train to Jena and Leipzig on 20 August 1977 Another shot of 01-0529-6 taken from the west end of the road bridge as the loco backs down towards the station prior to its next duty on 20 August 1977 A few minutes later 01-0529-6 accelerates its train away from Saalfeld on 20 August 1977. These superb engines became the last Pacifics in regular service in Europe Taken looking north the same train with 01-0529-6 in charge passes a DR class 118 diesel loco on 20 August 1977. In 1977 Saalfeld was still mainly steam, but the diesels had started to arrive and two years later would dominate the scene The loco at the centre of this picture is coal fired class 41 2-8-2 41-1025-0 which had appeared to be out of steam during the time I was observing from the bridge. A telephoto lens allowed me to get this shot which shows the amount of steam dotted around the depot yard as well on 20 August 1977 It was quite a surprise when 41-1025-0 suddenly moved onto the turntable under its own steam, but here is the evidence. These pre-war locos had been rebuilt with new welded boilers which incorporated pre-heaters in the smokebox, changing the appearance from the survivors of the same type in the west There were plenty of class 44 Jumbo 2-10-0s around Saalfeld, but the DR locos had retained the sloped plating at the front end and the smoke deflectors were mounted slightly higher than engines in the west. Here is oil-fired 44-0413-3 going on shed and seen from the road bridge on 20 August 1977 Another Jumbo seen from the road bridge was 44-0414-1 seen on the access tracks linking the main yard with the loco depot on 20 August 1977. Other than conversion to oil firing these engines were in largely original condition, a testament to the soundness of the original design which dated back to the 1920s, though the majority were built from the late 1930s onwards The DR class 95 2-10-2T was a Prussian design actually built in the early 1920's immediately after the formation of the new unified state system. The survivors hung on long enough to be converted to oil firing and operated around Saalfeld on a variety of duties including passenger work to Probtszella and Sonneburg. Here we see 95-0037-2 drifting into Saalfeld from the north with a mixed freight on 20 August 1977

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Tue Jun 28 2005 Steam in Germany - Saxon Narrow Guage http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c588997.html These are my first offerings covering a number of the narrow guage lines which have survived against all odds in Saxony. The topography of that part of Germany made railway building difficult, but there was a lot of industry and traffic potential, so the Saxon State Railways chose the narrow guage option to access some of the more difficult valleys. When wagonload freight traffic was still common many of these lines carried standard guage wagons on so-called Rollbock bogies to their final destination. Curvature and gradient were the restricting factors so loading guage was never a problem. The first images in this collection feature the museum line at Schoenheide, which is quite short but very picturesque. In DDR times the line served a brush factory which still exists and is in production, though products are now transported by road. The line had been closed completely and lifted but volunteers have restored a section which opertaes on some Sundays in the summer months. I am now working on some of my old images taken in the 1970s when many of these lines were active as part of the regular DR network. My first offerings will cover the Wolkenstein-Joehstadt and Cranzahl-Oberwiesenthal lines in the Iron Mountains south of Chemnitz as seen in the summer on 1978. I will follow these with some images taken on the Radebeul to Radeburg line taken in the spring of 1979. Fortunately the interest in these lines has been maintained and Saxony might now be viewed almost on a par with Wales for the amount of narrow gage steam that still can be found. Wednesday 22 June 2005: These are my first offerings covering a number of the narrow guage lines which have survived against all odds in Saxony. The topography of that part of Germany made railway building difficult, but there was a lot of industry and traffic potential, so the Saxon State Railways chose the narrow guage option to access some of the more difficult valleys. When wagonload freight traffic was still common many of these lines carried standard guage wagons on so-called Rollbock bogies to their final destination. Curvature and gradient were the restricting factors so loading guage was never a problem. The first images in this collection feature the museum line at Schoenheide, which is quite short but very picturesque. In DDR times the line served a brush factory which still exists and is in production, though products are now transported by road. The line had been closed completely and lifted but volunteers have restored a section which opertaes on some Sundays in the summer months. I am now working on some of my old images taken in the 1970s when many of these lines were active as part of the regular DR network. My first offerings will cover the Wolkenstein-Joehstadt and Cranzahl-Oberwiesenthal lines in the Iron Mountains south of Chemnitz as seen in the summer on 1978. I will follow these with some images taken on the Radebeul to Radeburg line taken in the spring of 1979. Fortunately the interest in these lines has been maintained and Saxony might now be viewed almost on a par with Wales for the amount of narrow gage steam that still can be found.

The Fichtelbergbahn in southern Saxony has survived intact into the present day though it is now in private ownership. In DDR days, standard 2-10-2T 99-1771-7 enters the loop at Hammerunterwiesenthal close by the Czech frontier, with a northbound train for Cranzahl on 18 August 1978. This was the point at which northbund and southbound trains crossed, and a few minutes later a sister engine would arrive from the opposite direction Another view of 2-10-2T 99.1771-7 at Hammerunterwiesenthal on 18 August 1978. These locos were built for the narrower guage 750 mm. lines in Saxony, and are rather smaller than the giants which operate the metre gauge Harzquerbahn further north. The southbound train was haued by another of the class, 99-1790-7 and is seen here leaving Hammerunterwiesenthal on the final leg of its journey on 18 August 1978. It is crossing the track which led down a few yards to the right to a small bridge which formed the border between the DDR and Czechoslovakia, marked by a simple sign indicating the state border This is 99-1790-7 with the southbound train about to cross the main Annaberg-Buchholz to Oberwiesenthal road on 18 August 1978. The hills in the background are actually in Czechoslovakia, and the actual border can just be discerned by a line of white signs along the tree line in the middle distance The Pressnitztalbahn which linked Wolkenstein with Jöhstadt, which lies close by the Czech border, survived until the late 1970s, and has enjoyed a revival over part of the line since re-unification. A lightly loaded passenger train hauled by rebuilt Saxon Meyer IVk class 99-1561-2 in open country just south of Niederschmiederberg on 18 August 1978 99-1561-2 crosses the river on one of several open bridges on 18 August 1978 There was a long pause at Niederschmiederberg to wait for the late running train from Wolkenstein, and 99-1561-2 waits alongside one of the factories which provided some traffic for the line on 18 June 1978 The pace of life seemed rather unhurried in this remote corner of the DDR, life seemingly going on much as it had for many decades before. The short journey on the narrow gauge could take upwards of an hour, but people had no real alternative with low levels of car ownership. 99-1561-2 simmers patiently at Niederschmiederberg on 18 August 1978 Niederschmiedeberg again on the Pressnitztalbahn with 99-1561-2 simmering gently awaiting departure time. This was August 1978 but in reality this scene could have been witnessed for most of the previous 80 years The layout at Jöhstadt was a modellers dream with a substantial station building, goods facilities and a two road engine shed. The engine shed still survives and is used by the museum operation, but the freight depot has gone and the station building is now cut off from the rest of the railway following construction of a housing complex when the line was closed by DR. Another of the Saxon IVk Meyer locomotives was in steam, 99-1582-8, on 18 August 1978 Another view of 99-1582-8 looking towards the station at Jöhstadt on 18 August 1978. The new housing block occupies the site of the freight shed seen in the background, obscuring the view to the station building which is a typical Saxon structure. Freight traffic had dwindled to virtually nothing by 1978, and the passenger traffic could not justify the retention of the line. A preservation group now operate over part of the line from Jöhstadt to Steinach and details of operating days can be found on the link in this website One of the best known lines in Saxony is the 17 kilometer link from Radebuel Ost to Radeburg. Post war DR built 2-10-2T 99-1781 enters Moritzburg heading for Radeburg on 18 April 1979 The line carried a great deal of regular traffic in the 1970s with 13 train pairs starting in the early morning and running until late evening. A healthy load of curtomers has left the train at the Moritzburg stop on 18 April 1979 The train headed by 99-1781 crosses the sett paved road at Berbisdorf en route to Radeburg on 18 April 1979. Sett paved roads were common even in rural areas in the DDR and are one of the features which often date pictures of locations such as this before and after reunification Postwar DR built 2-10-2T 99-1781 enters Radeburg at the end of its journey on 18 April 1979. The station building is a typical Saxon structure and indeed the GDR model railway industry produced an excellent plastic kit of the building in the 1970s which I had on my layout at the time. This was the only location where we encountered any hostility from DR staff, the official in the doorway insisting that we remain on the platform side, but not before I managed to grab this image of the incoming train. Needless to say in typical European fashion the passengers leaving the train immediately took the shortest route to their homes which in most cases involved crossing the tracks Spring comes later in Saxony if the evidence of the trees in this view of post war 2-10-2T 99-1781-6 is anything to go by. The loco was maoevring at the Radeburg terminus and was about to take water at the shed This view of 99-1781 at Radeburg emphasises the spacious nature of rail installations, both standard and narrow gauge, in this part of Europe. The area around Dresden is very flat and was severely affected by the serious flooding of the Elbe in the summer of 2002 There is a very neat engine shed at the Radeburg terminus in typical Saxon style, and 99-1781 takes water prior to making the return trip to the mian line junction on 18 April 1979 The modern 2-10-2T inches forward ready to recouple to its train for the journey back to Radebeul for connections to the main line. On the left can be seen a standard gauge wagon on a Rollbock transporter, a common feature on all these lines in the 1970s when considerable amounts of freight were moved by rail in a very traditional way in the GDR The big 2-10-2T back on its train and ready for its next trip bunker first back to the main line junction at Radebeul. This line also has a flat crossing wuth a Dresden tram route 4 so it is possible to ride back to the city by tram as an alternative to the main line train The Fichtelbergbahn from Cranzahl to Oberwiesenthal is now privately operated, and the new owners are investing in a new loco depot at the outer terminus. Standard 2-10-2T 99-773 was out of steam and receiving attention in this view on 14 June 2003 The loco in steam is 2-10-2T 99-786 which has just arrived with a train on 14 June 2003. 99-773 is in the background Another view of 99-773 at Oberwiesenthal on 14 June 2003, with the new depot taking shape in the background Having taken on water 99-786 has rejoined its train in Oberwiesenthal on 14 June 2003, and is ready for departure. Oberwiesenthal is a ski resort in the Iron Mountains south of Annaberg-Bucholz and another terminus close by the Czech frontier. The Fichtelberg at 1214 metres was the highest mountain in the GDR One of the lesser known lines was that from Grünstädtel to Oberrittersgrün right on the Czech frontier south of Aue-Schwarzenberg. The last trains ran in 1971 and the line was lifted but all the buildings and layout at the terminus were left in place as a possible museum project. This took a long time to come to fruition and on my visit in 1978 there was littie to be seen but the two road engine shed was well maintained, and in the 1970s at least vandals were unknown in the GDR By 2003 the museum has developed and a collection of historic rolling stock has been assembled. There are many artefacts from the Saxon narrow gauge network on display, and two of the oldest coaches have been restored and are displayed in the yard The museum also seems to have assembled a collection of narrow gauge diesel locomotives, including this example which presumably came from an industrial railway Looking back towards the station building from the engine shed this line of DR coaches houses an interesting display telling the story of the Saxon narrow gauge lines. The station building is another finely preserved example of a Saxon branch line terminis, totally in keeping with the prevailing style of the area This four wheeler has been restored as an example of a mail coach which once operated on the Saxon State Railways Inside on a coach of the preserved Pressnitztalbahn, but this interior is typical of the rolling stock which has operated on these narrow gauge lines during most of their existence. Simple wooden seating is provided, easy to keep clean of course, and heating was provided in the winter months by two stoves which probably burned brown coal, which was plentiful in eastern Germany, though of low calorific value Like all museum operations the rolling stock now used on the revived Pressnitztalbahn is kept immaculate, with rebuilt former Saxon Meyer locomotive 99-1564 and its train entering Jöhstadt on 14 June 2003. The terminus is now outside the loco shed as access to the former station area has been cut off by a housing develoment built since closure In the summer of 2003 the resident operational locomotive was rebuilt Saxon IVk class 99-1564, seen taking on water and coal outisde Jöhstadt shed on 14 June 99-1564 takes water at Steinach on 14 June 2003 outside the signal box which is a new structure. The Reichsbahn made an excellent job of extending the life of these engines in the 1960s, mainly by the fitting of of new welded boilers, some engines also receiving new frames. Many have survived and found their way onto a number of preserved lines, including those where previously they had been replaced by the more modern DR built 2-10-2T types of postwar construction This bunker end view of 99-1564 taken at Steinach shows the timber extensions to the coal bunker which was a feature of engines used on this line. Judging by the pristine condition this loco had not been long out of works, and certainly appeared to be in excelent condition both externally and mechanically The little 0-6-0T, 99-4511 on the left in this view at Jöhstadt on 14 June 2003, has an interesting history. Originally built in 1899 for a narrow guage line in the Berlin area it eventually found its way onto the Isle of Rügen on the Baltic coast. It was little used there and was moved to the works at Görlitz in 1964, and then re-emerged in 1965 as virtually a new locomotive, the only original feature probably being the number plate! It has been used on a number of 750 mm gauge lines and in 2003 was in residence on the Pressnitztalbahn in Saxony The neat little shed at Jöhstadt once again with guest loco 99-4511 and the resident Saxon IVk 99-1564 in steam on 14 June 2003 This is the view of the loco shed at Jöhstadt taken some 25 years after my first picture. The preservation group have tidied up the whole area considerably, and the building has been thoroughly cleaned and renovated, though clearly recognisable from earlier days The longest of the Saxon narrow gauge lines ran from Wilkau-Haslau near to Zwickau to Bad Carsfeld. The last remnant was closed down by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1979. Part of the line has been reactivated by a museum group, and here we see Saxon IVk Meyer locomotive 99-516 running round its train at Schönheide Mitte on 19 June 2005 99-516 again being coupled to its train at Schönheide Mitte on 19 June 2005 99-516 at Stützengrun, with the brush factory which is still in production on the left. Until 1977 this factory was served by rail using standard guage wagons on Rollbock transporters A close up of the cab end of 99-516. With their two bogies and four cylinders these were powerful locomotives for the narrow guage capable of negotiating very tight curves For the last few hundred metres the loco runs round the train and shunts the stock into a cutting to a halt known as Neulehn. 99-516 again in the cutting on 20 June 2005 Another view of 99-516 in the cutting at Neulehn. A link to the railway's website giving details of operating days and some of the history of this line (in German) can be found in the Links box on the front page of this site 99-516 being coaled up at Schönheide on 19 June 2005 99-516 retreats into the shed at Schönheide for a lunchtime break on 19 June 2005. These Meyer locomotives were operated on most of the Saxon narrow gauge lines, and formed a large class. Many were totally rebuilt and modernised by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the 1960s, though the appearance was very little changed

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Wed Jun 22 2005 Steam in Germany - Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg 1976/77 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c574473.html There were still some odd pockets of steam operation left in western Germany in 1976 and 1977 in addition to the Emsland main line. Two sheds in the Ruhr hung on until virtually the end. Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck had an allocation of coal fired class 044 three cylinder 2-10-0s, which were still finding some work around the pits and steel works which were still functioning in those days. Like Rheine visitors were welcomed, and all that was needed was to sign in at reception and pay a small insurance fee. Steam sheds in Germany never quite descended to the levels of decay which we had seen in the last days in Great Britain. Maintenance of both locomotives and plant was high right until the very end. This collection also includes a solitary image of class 051 light 2-10-0 taken at Duisburg-Wedau. This was my first real understanding of the German Friday, when everything shuts up at midday. The place was totally deserted and as I approached the turntable area I was waiting for the challenge from a member of the Bahnpolizei or some such but none ever came. I really cannot imagine that today we would be able to get the level of access we had in those days to take the kind of images offered here. Apart from the image at Duisburg all of this collection was taken perfectly legally with the full permission of the DB authorities. Great and happy days indeed! Saturday 11 June 2005: There were still some odd pockets of steam operation left in western Germany in 1976 and 1977 in addition to the Emsland main line. Two sheds in the Ruhr hung on until virtually the end. Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck had an allocation of coal fired class 044 three cylinder 2-10-0s, which were still finding some work around the pits and steel works which were still functioning in those days. Like Rheine visitors were welcomed, and all that was needed was to sign in at reception and pay a small insurance fee. Steam sheds in Germany never quite descended to the levels of decay which we had seen in the last days in Great Britain. Maintenance of both locomotives and plant was high right until the very end. This collection also includes a solitary image of class 051 light 2-10-0 taken at Duisburg-Wedau. This was my first real understanding of the German Friday, when everything shuts up at midday. The place was totally deserted and as I approached the turntable area I was waiting for the challenge from a member of the Bahnpolizei or some such but none ever came. I really cannot imagine that today we would be able to get the level of access we had in those days to take the kind of images offered here. Apart from the image at Duisburg all of this collection was taken perfectly legally with the full permission of the DB authorities. Great and happy days indeed!

I have included this shot because it is the only one I ever got of a class 044 which had not had the sloped footplating removed at the front end. 044-067 was believed to be withdrawn when seen at Gelsenkirchen Bismarck on 13 August 1976 044-177 was looking ex-works in this view at Gelsenkirchen Bismarck on 13 August 1976. These three cylinder 2-10-0s were known as Jumbos by the German fans, and justified their name, as they were well capable of hauling 2000 ton trains at speed over long distances Storm clouds are brewing up behind 044-377 on the turntable at Gelsenkirchen Bismarck on 15 April 1977 044-424 enters the coaling and fire-drop area at Gelsenkirchen Bismarck on 15 April 1977. The notices warn of the danger of the ash pit and forbid lcoc crew from attempoting to decend form the cab on that side Coaled up and fire dropped, 044-424 moved on to the turntable ready to be stabled at Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck on 15 April 1977 Jumbo 044-472 being serviced at Gelsenkirchen Bismarck on 13 August 1976 044-650 running light under the wires and seen from Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck on 15 April 1977 Two Jumbos including 044-754 stabled at Gelsenkirchen Bismarck on 13 August 1976 The first of the class 50 light 2-10-0s appeared towards the end of the 1930's and production continued with more than 2000 examples until the appearance of the austerity class 52 later on during the war years. 051-696 had been renumbered from 50-1696 in the 1968 scheme, and was seen here laid up at Duisburg-Wedau for the long German weekend on 13 August 1976 A study in front ends of two of the mighty 044 class at Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck on 13 August 1976

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Sat Jun 11 2005 Britain's Narrow Gauge Railways http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c572824.html With the end of steam on the main line in 1968, many of us turned our attention to the narrow guage lines, many of them in Wales of course. The original Welsh lines were all originally built as industrial railways, mostly linked to slate quarrying. Passenger services came as an afterthought, but increased in importance during the 1930s with the decline in the slate industry. The second world war killed off some lines and those that did survive were in a parlous condition. The growth of mass tourism and the preservation movement have saved what we have now, and indeed new lines have appeared like the Brecon Mountain. Like it or not, the ability of tourists to get to these lines in their cars will ensure their survival. All have thier own individuality which adds to the charm. Thursday 9 June 2005: With the end of steam on the main line in 1968, many of us turned our attention to the narrow guage lines, many of them in Wales of course. The original Welsh lines were all originally built as industrial railways, mostly linked to slate quarrying. Passenger services came as an afterthought, but increased in importance during the 1930s with the decline in the slate industry. The second world war killed off some lines and those that did survive were in a parlous condition. The growth of mass tourism and the preservation movement have saved what we have now, and indeed new lines have appeared like the Brecon Mountain. Like it or not, the ability of tourists to get to these lines in their cars will ensure their survival. All have thier own individuality which adds to the charm.

The Bala Lake Railway is a 60 cm gauge line built on the trackbed of part of the former standard guage Ruabon to Barmouth line. This view shows Hunslet loco The Beer Heights Light Railway is a 7.25 inch gauge line which runs in the grounds of Pecorama at Beer, near Seaton in Devon. For such a short 1 mile line, there is quite avariety of motive power, which includes this 0-4-2ST loco built in Coventry in 1979, and which is based on the Hunslet quarry locos built for many North Wales lines The Brecon Mountain Railway has been built on part of the trackbed of the former Brecon and Merthyr Railway. This German built loco carried the name Another view of the German locomotive at Pant on 16 September 1997. A local TV crew were filming at the location that day The Fairbourne railway has had mixed fortunes over the years, but in recent years it has been totally rebulit as a 12.5 inch gauge line. Motive power is now rpovided by four steam lococs, all of which are half-size replicas of orginals. The Fairbourne Railway was built as a 15 inch gauge line linking Fairbourne village with Penrhyn Point opposite Barmouth. In the 1970s motive power included this attqarctive 2-4-2 tender locomotive The ground frame at Porthmadog Harbour station frames Fairlie The Festiniog Railway built what was in effect a brand new double Fairlie locomotive which entered service in 1979. Blenau Ffestiniog was finally reached in 1982, and here we seen the second of the former Penrhyn lcocs, Festiniog's double Fairlie Double Fairlie The Festiniog Railway's most unusual engine is probably this American built 2-6-2T The first steam locos on the 60cm guage Festiniog Railway were the England 0-4-0ST types the first of which was bult in 1863. The operational survivor, much rebuilt over the years is One of the two former Penrhyn Quarry saddle tanks now operating on the Festiniog Railway seen at Dduallt on 22 June 1969. At that time the line had only just been extended to this point from Tan-y-Bwlch The Llanberis Lake line was built on te former trackbed of the Padarn Railway which was a 4 foot guage line which connected the slate quarries with Port Dinorwic on the coast. The new line was built to 60 cm gauge and used this former quarry engine

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Thu Jun 9 2005 Steam in Germany - Rheine to Emden 1976/77 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c569424.html The end of steam traction in the German Federal Republic came in 1977, and the last year saw it confined, like Great Britain, to the north west of the country. On the flat and straight main line from Rheine to Emden the DB ran a flow of iron ore trains from the north sea port across the plain to Rheine where the traction was changed. The iron ore originated in Sweden and was destined for the blast furnaces of the Mosel in Luxembourg. Trains of 3000 tons in bogie hopper wagons were powered by pairs of the mighty oil fired class 043 three cylinder 2-10-0 types, with the additional appearance of the equally impressive class 042 2-8-2 types as pilot locos on some trains. Unlike the final year in Britain these trains were run at speeds equal to modern day freight trains. The main depot on the line was at the southern end at Rheine which serviced the class 042 aand 043 types. In the last year for the payment of a nominal sum for insurance enthusiasts were welcome to come with their notebooks and cameras to record the final scenes. In spite of such apparent disregard for health and safety requirements no-one was ever killed or injured and no-one was required to wear high visibilty clothing or wear protective headgear. Happy days! I just missed the mighty three cylinder 012 class Pacifics on the passenger trains, but a picture of a preserved example can be found in this collection. By Easter 1977 there wasn't much left, but I had seen it the previous summer and it was marvellous! Monday 6 June 2005: The end of steam traction in the German Federal Republic came in 1977, and the last year saw it confined, like Great Britain, to the north west of the country. On the flat and straight main line from Rheine to Emden the DB ran a flow of iron ore trains from the north sea port across the plain to Rheine where the traction was changed. The iron ore originated in Sweden and was destined for the blast furnaces of the Mosel in Luxembourg. Trains of 3000 tons in bogie hopper wagons were powered by pairs of the mighty oil fired class 043 three cylinder 2-10-0 types, with the additional appearance of the equally impressive class 042 2-8-2 types as pilot locos on some trains. Unlike the final year in Britain these trains were run at speeds equal to modern day freight trains. The main depot on the line was at the southern end at Rheine which serviced the class 042 aand 043 types. In the last year for the payment of a nominal sum for insurance enthusiasts were welcome to come with their notebooks and cameras to record the final scenes. In spite of such apparent disregard for health and safety requirements no-one was ever killed or injured and no-one was required to wear high visibilty clothing or wear protective headgear. Happy days! I just missed the mighty three cylinder 012 class Pacifics on the passenger trains, but a picture of a preserved example can be found in this collection. By Easter 1977 there wasn't much left, but I had seen it the previous summer and it was marvellous!

The last of the 012 class oil-fired Pacifics was still stored at Rheine in the summer of 1976. This fine example had reverted to its pre-1968 number as 01-1081 and was awaiting movement to its new home in preservation on 10 August 1976 The 042 class Mikados were post war rebuilds of the Reichsbahn class 41 standard heavy mixed-traffic locos. The final examples at Rheine were all converted to oil firing, and two of the class with 042-018-2 on the left are seen on the turntable roads at Rheine on 10 August 1976 Oil fired 2-8-2 042-073-7 piloting an 043 class 2-10-0 with an iron ore train on 12 August 1976. The main line was single track at this point at Aschendorf 042-097-6 runs light through Rheine station on 10 August 1976 Mikado 042-241-0 was ot of use probably awaiting workshop attention at Rheine on 10 Augsut 1976 Steam superpower with Mikado 042-320-2 piloting a class 043 2-10-0 on an iron ore train heading south at Lehe on 11 August 1976 Another of the fine mixed traffic 2-8-2s, 042-356-6 is turned at Rheine on 10 August 1976 042-356-6 again leaving the turntable. The sign on the cabin exhorts drivers to drive slowly onto the turntable! DB still had considerable wagon load traffic in 1976, and each evening a duty assigned to a class 042 was the daily pick up goods in time honoured tradition. 042-364-0 prepares to leave Lingen for the south having sopent the best part of the previous hour sorting wagons at this location on 12 August 1976 This tender view of three cylinder 2-10-0 043-094-2 shows clearly the modifications made to the tneder to accommodate oil tanks in place of a coal bunker 043-094-2 appears to be in light steam in this view outside one of the maintenance sheds at Rheine, 10 August 1976 This pair of class 043 2-10-0s headed by 043-315-1 has just been detached from a southbound ore train from Emden, and was caught coming on shed for disposal on 10 August 1976 Another view of the same pair entering the depot area on the same date, with signal box and main line to the right OIl fired 2-10-0 043-315-1 being serviced at Rheine on 10 August 1976. The turnround time at depots for these oil fired engines was quite short, needing time to replenish water, sand and fuel only, before they were ready for another trip. By steam standards productivity was much higher than with comparative coal fired engines The same engine again, fuelled and ready to take water, will then be turned and is available for the next trip to the north on 10 Augsut 1976 Three cylinder 2-10-0 043-326-8 was operating solo on a southbound mineral train at Lehe on 11 August 1976 Shorter iron ore trains could behandled by a single 2-10-0 and here we see 043-361-9 storing through Lingen on 12 August 1976 The second loco of the pair in the previous image was 043-364-9, seen here on the ash pit area of the depot. In the last year Rheine had only oil fired locos on its allocation so there was no fire to drop. or ashes to be collected and disposed of though in earlier years the depot had also handled coal fired locomotives as well This is 043-364-9 seen again from the tender end on the disposal roads at Rheine on 10 August 1976. The engine is on what was once the ash pit or sump, but with oild firing this had become redundant. The overhead gantry is the oil fillers, and the sign in the foreground warns drivers of the danger of the ash sump and prohibits climbing out of the loco on that side The syncopated exhaust beat of this three cylinder 2-10-0 would be enjoyed by the enthusists on Rheine station as 043-381-3 accelerates through the station with an air-braked coal train on 10 August 1976 A pair of three cylinder 2-10-0s headed by 043-666-7 with 3000 tons of iron ore in tow race through Lingen (Ems) on 11 August 1976. This shot was taken from the footbridge at the level crossing at the north end of the station. This was steam superpower at its very best, and these mighty machines could match most modern traction for pulling power and speed on an operation like this This post war 0-10-0T had been preserved and plinthed at Lingen works, and was on display on 12 August 1976

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Mon Jun 6 2005 Steam in the North West - 1967 and 1968 http://petersrailwayalbum.fotopic.net/c569097.html The last year of steam on British Rail was my first year with a 35 mm camera taking colour slides. My early efforts are hardly masterpieces, and there have been many more before me and since who have made a far better job of recording steam locomotives on film. But here, for what they are worth, are the best of what I got in that final year. One by one steam was withdrawn from the various sheds until by the end there was little to see. The final year witnessed a rapid decline in maintenance both of locomotives and the premises from which they worked. Most of the images are taken around loco sheds, and looking at these now it is hard to imagine how people coped with the working conditions of those days. Yet people were proud to work on the railways,and a whole nostalgia industry has blossomed since those days. My memories of steam go back much further and I am glad I saw it when it was still glorious. With the exception of Carnforth most of the locations illustrated here are now rebuilt as industrial estates or housing schemes, and very little trsace is left of that glorious past. Monday 6 June 2005: The last year of steam on British Rail was my first year with a 35 mm camera taking colour slides. My early efforts are hardly masterpieces, and there have been many more before me and since who have made a far better job of recording steam locomotives on film. But here, for what they are worth, are the best of what I got in that final year. One by one steam was withdrawn from the various sheds until by the end there was little to see. The final year witnessed a rapid decline in maintenance both of locomotives and the premises from which they worked. Most of the images are taken around loco sheds, and looking at these now it is hard to imagine how people coped with the working conditions of those days. Yet people were proud to work on the railways,and a whole nostalgia industry has blossomed since those days. My memories of steam go back much further and I am glad I saw it when it was still glorious. With the exception of Carnforth most of the locations illustrated here are now rebuilt as industrial estates or housing schemes, and very little trsace is left of that glorious past.

This postwar Fairbairn class 4 2-6-4T survived to be preserved on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway in Cumbria. On 24 June 1968 it was stored at Carnforth awaiting transfer to its new home The Ivatt class 4 2-6-0s were considered to be a standard class and survived virtually until the end of steam working. This one, 43029, had been withdrawn by the date of this image taken at Lostock Hall on 29 December 1967 Another withdrawn 2-6-0 was 43088 also dumped at Lostock Hall on 29 December 1967 Black 5 44713 seen at Carnforth on 24 June 1968 with one of the few surviving standard class 4 4-6-0 types to be seen behind Newton Heath had been the largest shed on the old Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and had maintained an allocation of over 100 well into BR days. The few active survivors towards the end of steam working were mostly LMS Black 5 and class 8F 2-8-0s. Black 5 44758 was seen on 25 February 1968 Black 5 44858 at Lostock Hall on 29 December 1967, with a class 25 diesel alongside. The operation of steam and diesel traction from the same depot did not help the reliability of the new form of traction in the days of mixed operation Another view of 44858 at Lostock Hall on 29 December 1968 Black 5 44963 awaits departure from Heysham with the early morning Belfast Boat Express to Manchester on 26 April 1968, just as the sun was rising. There were two steam departures from Heysham in the morning, as the London connection was also steam hauled but only as far as Lancaster where diesel traction took over. The Manchester train was steam hauled throughout in both directions until virtually the end of steam working I was living in Withington for a short period in 1968 and on fine mornings would walk into the University, passing the former Fallowfield station on the way. The coal sidings at Fallowfield were still operational in 1968, so one morning I took my camera with me and got some shots of Black 5 45190 shunting the coal wagons on 21 March 1968 45190 again amid the disarray which was Fallowfield coal sidings on 21 March 1968. Such a high cost operation for the delivery of domestic coal could not survive long, and in truth these were the last days of some of the time honoured methods of distribution by rail of many daily products Black 5 45312 brings a freight through Knott Mill and Deansgate station. under the 1500 dc. catenary of the Manchester. South Junction and Altrincham Railway on 21 March 1968 Black 5 45342 was being prepared to work the 2055 Belfast Boat Express to Heysham on 10 December 1967. This photo was taken in the early afternoon, emphasising the non-productive time involved in steam operation Two Black Fives at Heysham in the early morning, preparing for departure with boat trains to Manchester and London on 26 April 1968 LMS Black 5 4-6-0 no. 45435 seen between Carleton and Layton on the line into Blackpool North on 26 March 1968 This was one of the last surviving Ivatt class 2 light 2-6-0 tender engines seen dumped at Newton Heath on 10 December 1967. These modern types were introduced after the second world war to replace many pre-grouping engines that had survived long past their sell-by date, but in reality were never produced in sufficient numbers to make the kind of impact that was required In the 1950s the Stanier 8F 2-8-0s were rarely seen at Blackpool, but by the end of steam the survivors could be seen at most north west sheds. 48033 was out of steam over the Christmas holiday at Blackpool North shed on Boxing Day, 1967 Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48062 at Carnforth on 24 June 1968, with one of the ill-fated Metro-Vick Co-Bo diesels in the background The line to Fleetwood was maintained to supply coal to Fleetwood power station, long after the passenger and fish trains had gone. Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48247 passes the site of Singleton station between Kirkham and Poulton-le-Fylde with a coal train on 28 March 1968. The LMS designed engines had replaced WD class 2-8-0s on these workings some 3 to 4 years previously Stanier 8F number 48551 with a loose coupled train of mineral wagons trundles through Widnes on the former LNWR deviation route via Widnes South on 9 April 1968 through a wasteland of decaying industrial buildings The LNER's answer to the Stanier Black 5 was the class B1 4-6-0 of which over 400 were built from 1942 onwards. One of the last survivors was 61306, seen here at Carnforth on 24 June 1968 awaiting transfer into preservation A handful of BR standard class 7 Britannia Pacifics survived into the last year, but only one remained active until the end. The nameplates of 70023 In some ways it was quite sad to see fine modern engines designed for main-line work being reduced to little more than station pilot duties in the final year, but such was the fate of standard class 5 73157 at Manchester Exchange on 8 December 1967 This BR Standard class 4 2-6-0 had had a relatively short life but by December 1967 it was withdrawn and dumped along with other members of the class at Springs Branch, Wigan Studies in light and shade were very much in vogue in the late 1960s, and I tried my hand with this shot of a Black 5 at Newton heath on 10 December 1967 This view of a collection of engines at Newton Heath on 25 February 1968 emphasises the grime which was associated with steam sheds More front ends peering out from the gloom of Newton Heath shed, 25 February 1968 For my final offering in this collection, another study in light and shade taken at Newton Heath on 25 February 1968

Published in Peter's Railway Album

]]> Mon Jun 6 2005