Afternoon all!

 

Weather today was (and still is - though I have a feeling there may yet be some thunderstorms at night) glorious and thus just about perfect for a little spotting trip. Moreover, I did not have to venture far for that, as Whitsun is when there is a small but nice railfest at Königstein, which is a town of some 15,800 inhabitants just a couple of kilometres from where I live. Königstein is a neat little town and a renowned climatic spa, and located in a wonderful landscape at the foot of the Taunus Mountains. Railway-wise, it is connected to Frankfurt by way of the Königstein Railway (German article), a 15.9 kilometre non-electrified line which branches off from the Taunus Railway leading to and from Frankfurt Central Station at Höchst. The line was opened on 24 February 1902 and handles suburban passenger trains, operated by private TOC Hessische Landesbahn (Hessian State Railway) nowadays.

 

The Königstein railfest first took place on the Whitsun weekend in 1980 and has been an annual event ever since, featuring steam-hauled specials between Königstein and Höchst and various kinds of entertainment around the station. The steam trains are provided by the Frankfurt Historic Railway (German site), using the association's engines 01 118 and 52 4867, which I think some of you may still know from my report about the 150th anniversary of Frankfurt's Harbour Railway from last summer .

 

Not wanting to keep you waiting, I'll just proceed to the photos now!

 

I initially drove to Schneidhain, which is part of Königstein, and walked through the fields until reaching the railway which runs in an almost 180° loop between Königstein Station and the Schneidhain stop.

 

 

 

 

At a farm track crossing I then had my first encounter with 52 4867, running downhill with the tender in front, as both steamers did on these specials.

 

 

 

 

I then changed position, walking towards Königstein proper and first snapped one of the HLB LINT 41 type DMUs operating on this line today - this one working the HLB84221 service to Frankfurt Central Station. I did not write down the number of this unit, but it could have been VT 207 or 648 407.

 

 

 

 

This LINT, in turn, was heading up to Königstein in bright sunlight B) .

 

 

 

 

And then 52 4867 returned from Höchst - the train consisting of three Bm type coaches and one four-wheel beer van. I cannot say whether this one had the "proper" load, though!

 

 

 

 

Walking back to Schneidhain, I then snapped the previously spotted LINT while it was descending towards Frankfurt as service HLB84218, surrounded by the wonderfully vivid countryside . My plan was to check out Kelkheim Station next, but looking around there I found it was not really a suitable location for taking photos.

 

 

 

 

However, I found that HLB DMU VT72 - also known as 629 072 and one of the few units of this type owned by a private TOC - was stabled at Kelkheim.

 

Heading back to Königstein, I next wanted to capture 01 118 in the forests surrounding the town, if possible...

 

 

 

 

...and possible it was . After this I proceeded to Königstein Station proper.

 

 

 

 

Diesel shunter 323 634 was just taking a break from shuttling visitors around the Königstein depot, which, though small, is one of HLB's bases of operation. The class 323 engines were small B-coupled shunters, also known as the "Köf" type - this being an acronym for "Kleinlokomotive mit Ölmotor und Flüssigkeitsgetriebe", which I think could be most easily translated as "diesel-hydraulic tractor". These diminutive engines have a top speed of 45 kph and were designed for local shunting and station pilot duties. They were built very low as - considering their low speed - they were meant to be piggybacked on flatcars in order to be transferred over longer distances. Previous batches of these engines were also known as the "Kö" type, these having a mechanical transmission instead of the hydraulic one, and were not initially fitted with pneumatic brakes.

 

 

 

 

I believe this was VT 207 again, basking in the sunlight before returning to Frankfurt. Next to it, the steam special to Frankfurt was waiting, to be hauled by 52 4867 this time - the two steamers taking turns.

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, 01 118 was shunting to the side for her well-earned break, having taken water on a siding behind the maintenance shed seen in the background before. She was built by the Krupp Works in 1934, carrying the works number 1415. She is coupled to a Borsig-built eight wheel 2'2' T34 tender carrying 34 cubic metres of water and 10 tonnes of coal and the works number 15117. The total price for the engine back in 1934 had been 208,597 Reichsmark. Marvellous machine...

 

 

 

 

 

In the shed, one of the HLB's VT2E type (class 609) DMUs was taking a break. The "TSB" inscription is a reference to the Taunus Railway which is the name of the rail line known as Lines 3746 and 9374 respectively, used by the DB's suburban line S5 up till Friedrichsdorf, and by the HLB operated regional line 15 from Friedrichsdorf onwards till Brandoberndorf.

 

 

 

 

Next, VT 207 was leaving Königstein and heading to Frankfurt as service HLB84237.

 

 

 

 

On the left side of her tender, 01 118 carries a commemorative inscription retained from her 75th anniversary in 2009.

 

 

 

 

Braking weights and brake overhaul inscriptions on the tender.

 

 

 

 

And the fireman's side of her cab. "S 36.20" designates her as being an express engine ("Schnellzuglokomotive") with three powered wheelsets out of a total of six and an axle load of 20 tonnes.

 

 

I next wanted to take one more snapshot of 52 4867 on her return to Königstein, and thus made way for the fields outside Schneidhain once again, snapping three historic fire trucks on display near the station...

 

 

 

 

While I do not know their designations, this here was built by Magirus-Deutz - the original Magirus company having been founded by volunteer fire chief Conrad Dietrich Magirus in 1866 and dedicated to producing firefighting equipment and vehicles. In 1936 the company was merged with the Humboldt-Deutz Motor Works.

 

 

 

 

This turntable ladder was a Magirus-Deutz vehicle as well...

 

 

 

 

...while this here was a Mercedes-built pumper. If any of you should happen to be fond of models of old fire engines, Brekina have an extensive range of H0 scale historic cars, lorries and utility vehicles.

 

 

 

 

Back in the fields I finally snapped 52 4867 battling the hills on her way to Königstein. This engine was one of an estimated total of more than 7,000 units of her kind, having been built at the former Orenstein & Koppel works in Potsdam in 1943 with the works number 13931. In 1953 she entered service with the Austrian Federal Railways as 152.4867 and was subsequently sold to the Graz-Köflach Railway in 1970, and finally returned to Germany in late 1980.

 

 

Well, this was it - hope you enjoyed this report!