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| 218 460 'Conny' leads classmate 218 341, unique in DB IC livery into Niebull with the 10:53 Westerland (Sylt) - Stuttgart during a rare patch of sunshine. 01/07/24 |
Introduction:
With some time available off work and a few things that various of us wanted to tick off the list in Germany this seemed the perfect basis for an early summer trip. The plan was originally to avoid flying but unfortunately due to leaving the booking too late the prefered option of taking the overnight boat from Harwich was full, and Eurostar wasn't looking much better. The original itinerary was however kept, flying via Amsterdam and still giving an afternoon in the Netherlands on the way out before picking up trains for the rest of the trip north to Westerland (for 218's). A ride on the new generation Nightjet Sleeper would take us down to Bavaria to pick up a hire car allowing us to target the class 232/233 'Ludmillas' which still work some of the diesel hauled lines west of Nuremburg (and which I still don't have a sunny picture of within Germany) as well as more 218's working the new RE2 service from Hof to Munich. Return travel would then be by way of the German high-speed network depositing us back into London by Eurostar.
Travelling at this time of year sees long days with plenty of potential for photography- however the weather forecast was already suggesting it had other ideas.
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| 245 215 catches the evening light as it departs Sylt onto the Hindenburgdam towards Hamburg. 30/06/24 |
Saturday 29th June:
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| Koplopper near Barneveld Noord. 29/06/24 |
It was an early start for the 07:25 flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam which, as seems to be usual for all European flights, was late. Extensive queues at immigration at Schipol airport further ate into our limited time in the Netherlands meaning we missed the loco-hauled InterCity Direct train that we had hoped to be on. With reduced frequency IC Directs due to engineering works, and the next one being a new ICNG unit it was a slightly annoying start.
I had a location near Tilburg in mind to catch some of the outgoing NS 186 hauled InterCity Direct trains (having discovered that most of the line we wanted had been fenced since my last visit) but we only got as far as S'Hergotenbosch before turning back, realising the weather was looking better further north-west and without the time to try both our locations. This may have ultimately proved to be a mistake as it resulted in wasting more time travelling only to discover that the planned shot near Barneveld Noord was overgrown. A backup location was found and some 193's captured on German Inter City trains together with some Koploppers, however the spot wasn't massively inspiring and we had yet to see a freight train anywhere in the country.
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| 193 936 passes on the mainline at Barneveld Noord. The NS Vectron locos replaced the 'broken nose' 1700's at the end of 2023 and are themselves a stop-gap on the route until DB's new Talgo-built ICE-L sets take over, eventually with their own Talgo locomotives. 29/06/24 |
Having not seen anything particularly interesting moving, we were at least able to view the line up of ex-NS 1600's now in private use at Amersfoort where we picked up supplies for our next train, the IC onwards and over the border to Osnabrück. Since last travelling this route DB have implemented compulsory reservations during the warmer months, and also removed the buffet cars. Perhaps catering will return in a few years time when the ICE-L Talgo sets replace the traditional coaches on this route?
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146 118, one of a number of push-pull sets seen
on the high level at Osnabruck. 29/06/24 |
Our first proper German delay was encountered at Osnabrück where our onward connection to Hamburg was already showing as an hour late. The sunshine we had seen in the Netherlands was also slowly giving way to cloud cover which would be with us for most of the remainder of the trip. A visit to the station bar passed the time before we boarded the Swiss EuroCity stock to finally head north, enjoying our planned evening meal in the restaurant car. I am sure I read that these trains are due to finish this year, replaced by yet more ICE's and the loss of another loco hauled option.
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| The rain has just begun to fall as 101 005 stands at Hamburg Altona. 29/06/24 |
A little time was clawed back by leaving the train at Hamburg Harburg, where we were staying, rather than heading into the city to come back again. It had now begun to rain and after a long day all of us were tired and could have done without being woken up overnight by thunderstorms...
Sunday 30th June:
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| 247 909 'Anne' powers one of the 'Autozug Sylt' shuttles onto the island. A pair of these virtually silent diesel Vectrons operate virtually all of the RDC operated shuttles. 30/06/24 |
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Dull times at Hamburg Harburg- 198 037 and 049 work
through with an ore train. 30/06/24 |
I had hoped to spend some time this morning photographing the freight at Hamburg Harburg before the sun(!) came round, but the weather very much had other ideas. There was really no point getting up super early to stand in the rain, but I did manage a stint of an hour or so while the others, who were even less inspired by the weather, got up. Fortunately the rain did at least stop but as is often the case I did not attract a lot of freight activity here, certainly not for the first half hour. Things did then pick up but nothing particularly exciting was seen before it was time to pick up where we left the night before with DB 101 power into Hamburg and further north via the diesel line to Westerland.
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| Rabbit arrivals - 218 497 arrives with an IC as 218 397 and 379 shunt an empty auto train. 30/06/24 |
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PRESS 218 056 attaches to our train at Itzehoe.
30/06/24 |
Traction was changed at Itzehoe with blue 'Press' 418 056 (or is it 454?) taking over the train for the diesel leg. These trains split at Niebull with several coaches running through, DMU hauled to Dagbull Mole- however the information was not clear as to which portion was which. Our coach was showing 'Westerland' on the screens, and nobody had told us anything different, so I was slightly surprised to find myself being shunted while the others were photographing the loco (they were surprised too as their luggage was all still on the train!). It wasn't a huge issue to disembark over at the Niebull NEG station, but we had missed the rest of the train departing for Niebull. That left us with around an hour here to watch proceedings and wait for the next 218 hauled IC (the light wasn't going to be great for our photos anyway) which pulled in behind 218 497 in it's weird steam loco / DB IC mixed livery.
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| The better end of 218 497 approaches the Hindenburgdam at Morsum, almost catching some brightness. 30/07/24 |
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218 479 arrives at Niebull while RDC's
MaK DE2700's stands aside. 30/06/24 |
Finally arriving at Westerland we had a short time to discover that the luggage lockers to store our bags did not exist, before immediately back-tracking to Morsum and beginning the walk to the Hindenburgdam for our planned photography, complete with bags. This was a slightly frustrating afternoon, with extensive cloud cover. A long awaited 'big gap' eventually appeared after most of the interesting trains had passed and lasted just long enough for not a single westbound train to appear! We did however have more luck with 218's on car trains than my previous visit with two pairs of 218's and two 245's seen in action.
Having stuck it out and waited for the sun arrival back into Westerland was later than we had originally planned but there was just time to set foot on the beach between dropping off our bags and dinner, followed by a couple of enjoyable beers even if the establishment was a little smokey.
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| 245 005 crosses from the dam on to Sylt with an RE6 service bound for Westerland. DB now operate the regional services, mostly with the stock inherited from the previous operator, NOB. 30/06/24 |
Monday 1st July:
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| 218 397 + 379 approach Klanxbull from the south with a Sylt Shuttle. 01/07/24 |
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| 245 025 at Westerland on IC work. 01/07/24 |
The weather had dawned better than expected (the expectation was dull and wet all day) so plans to head to Klanxbull were re-established. First however there was time to ride a couple more IC's and take a short trip to Dagbull Mole. 245 025 was on the first departure, taken to Niebull, with the pair of rabbits, 218 341 in IC white and 218 480 'Conny' on the next. There was just time in between the two to take the 628 unit to Dagbull Mole, to then return less than 10 minutes later having attached to the InterCity coaches that would go forward behind the 218's. By getting off at the NEG station we were still able to see the pair role in and by some sort of miracle in a patch of sunlight. After the shunting the 218 pair was picked up from Niebull and taken to Hausum where there should have been a short connection into the second northbound IC- but this is Germany and things wouldn't be that simple. The second IC we had intended to catch was cancelled, but as fortune would happen the first was just rolling in almost an hour late, so it was 218 497 again to take us back to Niebull for a local train to Klanxbull.
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| Crossing from the NEG line at Niebull. 01/07/24 |
Klanxbull almost provide some great shots, but we were not in place for a pair of 218's on cars, and the sun vanished just moments before a 218 hauled IC headed south (the late return of our earlier train). Things weren't looking to improve dramatically and anyway, we had to be on the next regional train if we wanted dinner before our next move, the overnight sleeper to Munich or Nuremburg. We still hadn't decided.
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| 245 202 passes the Klanxbull distant beneath threatening skies bound for Sylt. 01/07/24 |
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Grubby 1016 015 waits departure from Hamburg Altona with
a new generation OBB nightjet to Innsbruck/Vienna. 01/07/24 |
An excellent sit down meal of Currywurst close to the station set us up well for what was ahead, NJ 40491 from Hamburg to Vienna / Innsbruck. This train is formed of the new Siemens NightJet stock and we were booked into three of the mini-cabins. It is fair to say these had a mixed reaction from the group! While well designed, functional and private there was the disadvantage that there was nowhere for us to enjoy a drink, or plan our next day as a group. While the cabins were not uncomfortable in their own right, they are by their nature not spacious and can feel a bit claustrophobic. On the whole I found them to be good, but anyone of a larger build or travelling in a group might not find them the best option. The ride was notably smooth.
Tuesday 2nd July:
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| 193 934 has re-tractioned the sleeper at Nuremburg in the early hours having arrived with the portion from Amsterdam. 02/07/24 |
We committed overnight to alighting from the sleeper at the ungodly hour of 04:30 at Nuremburg. Going on to Munich and travelling back as planned would eat into the morning considerably, and it was looking as though the first few hours of the day were giving the highest likelihood of any sunshine for the remainder of the trip!
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102 004 waits with the days first Nuremburg -
Munich express. 02/07/2024 |
There was plenty of time (but not so many places open) to grab breakfast and also photograph some of the outgoing traction here; DB 111's and the fairly new (and reportedly unreliable) Skoda 102's. The car hire opened at 0600 but we still didn't manage to be the first in line. Issues with the car which insisted it had an engine fault delayed our departure, but before long we were on the road on the hunt for Ludmilla's which work many of the freight trains on the non-electrified lines east of Nuremburg towards Marktedwitz and Cheb. Armed with some train times all we now needed was them to run.
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| A pair of 612 tilting DMU's round the corner at Eschenbach while waiting for Ludmillas. Another addition to my gallery of DB 612 images that turned out better than my actual target. 02/07/24 |
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| 218 419 has departed Marktedwitz for Hof and is seen at Obertholau. 02/07/24 |
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| The hideous 214 443 arrives at Marktedwzitz. |
As hoped the sun did come out and gave us a sizeable opportunity to get the shot we wanted- but alas, no Ludmilla. I had read that these trains may well run early, so a little while after it was due we moved location for the next pair which should run mid-morning. This time it was Neuhaus and der Pegnitz where we waited, but again, no Ludmillas. After a full morning of waiting it was time to give up and get some lunch, the weather had given up by now also.
After a quick bakery stop picking up a 'very nice' onion based pizza amongst other things we headed to Wiesau to make the best of a poor afternoon by having a ride on the trains. With a two hourly service passing north of Marktedwitz and then with a long layover at Hof there wasn't a lot of capacity for a short move, so we settled on taking 418 433 north to Marktedwitz where we had a short wait for 418 443 in its rather garish [I hate it] tourist livery for the return trip.
Two locos in the book it was time to get back to the serious business of dull weather railway photography and a couple of spots were found around the town of Oberthölau to shoot the next pair of 218 hauled RE2's.
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| 218 403 crosses the viaduct at Obertholau working a Munich bound RE2. 02/07/24 |
It was now time to wait and see if the evening Ludmilla would turn up - we planed to stake it out at Marktedwitz and then get down the line ahead if we could. On arrival a train was already present with the unmistakable shape of a red 232/233 at the front of a long rake of auto-carriers. We wasted no time gettting back in the car to get to a spot ahead of it, but the train was never seen again. After around 2 hours in deteriorating light we called time- back to Nuremburg for dinner and a well needed proper sleep!
Wednesday 3rd July:
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| 233 112 at Ruckersdorf. 03/07/24 |
We woke to a rather wet day, but got up and headed out on the Ludmilla hunt in the hire car anyway as there was some slight promise in the weather forecast- each day had tended not to have quite such bad weather as had been anticipated. In order to be well ahead of the morning train (and to avoid standing in the rain with no shelter) we stopped off at Rückersdorf. Reminiscent of UK infrastructure the tracks through the station were totally overgrown and of course it was this location where after only a short wait 233 112 turned up with a nice mixed freight train, in the rain, and on the overgrown back road. So these trains do at least exist!
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| More tilty 612's at Esehcenbach. 03/07/24 |
The rain soon eased so we headed to our usual morning spot at Eschenbach to see if any of the other morning trains might turn up. They did not, not even the return of the one we had seen. Not wishing to waste the whole day, and with the weather forecast for the afternoon looking increasingly gloomy it was back to N
üremburg for a visit to the DB Railway Museum. Perhaps not the best use of our time with the hire car but the weather didn't matter here and the museum was very enjoyable. The current temporary exhibition on train toilets even gave me the opportunity to pick up a souvenir in the shape of a 'Sapon' soap grater which will one day take pride of place in the bathroom!
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| EP5 21534 inside the DB museum at Nuremburg. |
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| 111 153 arrives at Roth. 03.07.24 |
After the museum it still wasn't quite time to head out for dinner so a quick fill in move was devised to net in 111 153 on a Treuchtlingen vice turn. Then time for a bit of tourism taking in the Zeppelinfeld grandstand (of Nazi party fame) and Kongresshalle as the weather became increasingly wet. After a freshen up we walked through the town, seeing a lot more of it than usually happens on these trips, and settled on a nice spot next to the city gates for a few beers sheltering under an umbrella before a nice meal.
Thursday 4th July:
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| A heavily graffitied 2722 arrives at Brussels Noord with a peak hour working. 04/07/24 |
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| Wet Wurzburg tram interchange. 03/07/24 |
We had still not got our Ludmilla shot, so out it was again to Eschenbach even earlier than before to make sure we were in position should our train run early again. It didn't and today the weather did not improve upon the weather forecast. With the rain showing no signs of abating and no confidence that any of our sought after Ludmillas' would turn up the only sensible thing to do was to give up on this lost cause.
We were heading home today via Brussels and the Eurostar and since the weather looked better further west it was decided to explore the option of leaving Germany early. The problem with this however was the compulsory reservation rule that DB have put on international trains. I didn't manage to get to the front of the queue at the very fancy travel center at Nüremburg Hbf to attempt to change our booking, and looking online it appeared the earlier train was full anyway. Still, there was no point staying where we were so delayed ICE's were taken to get us on our way, pausing at Würzberg (where a private Ludmilla was sat just to taunt us) and then onto Cologne.
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A Voith Maxima and a Ludmilla working for SGL
are stabled at the old Wurzburg roundhouse. 04/07/24 |
We had realised that the early Frankfurt - Brussels ICE, in typical German style had been altered to start at Cologne and by this point I really wanted to be on it. Both to get out of Germany and because I didn't have a good feeling about the 90 minute connection from our booked train onto the last Eurostar.
I needn't have worried too much as the ICE was not busy (presumably a lot of its passengers were still in Frankfurt!?) and there was only slightly more interest in checking our tickets than there was in opening the BoardRestaurant which remained shut for the duration- were the catering staff in Frankfurt as well?
The weather had certainly improved as we headed towards home and by Brussels the weather was mostly sunny. Our new target here was to seek out some of the remaining SNCB 2700's which are now very much on borrowed time. We only saw a couple of the locos in our time at Brussels Noord, and the condition of them was really quite shocking- the locos were daubed with graffiti over most of their paintwork.
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| 1877 pauses at Brussels Noord during the evening peak. 04/07/24 |
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2802 works an NS High-Speed service away from
Brussels Noord 04/07/24 |
I have said before that while there is a lot of loco hauled activity here, managing to be in the right place to photograph, or ride it with so many platforms is quite an art, and one I have not mastered! It was at least nice to see a few trains in sunshine, including what are now some quite vintage Belgian EMU's.
Coming full circle the other stock we were able to catch here were the Dutch 186 'Traxx' locos working the Inter City Direct trains to and from Amsterdam- the ones we failed to see on day one! It was perhaps a fitting end to the trip to get a photo of one of these sets, which I doubt I will see again, before heading into the depths of Brussels Midi for a waffle and an uneventful Eurostar journey home.
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| 186 001 leads an NS High Speed loco-hauled set into Brussels Midi. These trains are soon to be replaced by InterCity Next Generation units, finally resolving the fiasco of the vailed 'Fyra' V250's. 04/07/24 |
Conclusions:
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| 245 023 rolls onto Sylt at Morsum. 30/06/24 |
Unfortunately this was a very challenging trip at times with adversities seeming to appear from every angle right from booking through to the trains actually turning up. Of course, there was little we could do about the weather except grumble about the disappointing photography.
The almost total lack of 'Ludmilla' DB 232/233 action on the lines west of Nuremburg was both disappointing and surprising. There is now a page dedicated to these workings on the 'Czeck Spreadsheet'- which enabled me to get some details of the workings, and also confirm that these trains did, at least sometimes run. Maybe we were just unlucky with the days we were lineside, or could the trains have been diverted to run via Weiden rather than the Kirchenlaibach route for some reason? Either way unless I can find some much better info (and please, if you have any I'd love to hear it!) I think it rather unlikely I will attempt these trains again, especially with new traction soon set to replace them.
I can however always be tempted back by the 218's, and would like to have a better go at photographing the RE2 operation which we ultimately barely touched. There are some nice spots to view the trains (weather permitting of course) but it really could have done with a base a bit further east.
Having now visited the island of Sylt three times I probably don't need to return anytime soon- but it is such a nice part of the world, and with the semaphores around Niebull and Klanxbull I certainly wouldn't rule it out.
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