This is a repost of my blog entry from last night as it would seem something went wrong while I posted it originally .

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I admit I drew some inspiration from a certain Bruce Springsteen song for this title . But anyway: The weather today was marked by intermittent rain, which but did not detract on bit from the fact that I came across some rather nice items on my photo tour . So, I suggest we get started!

I first rode down to Johannisplatz on the 12 line which terminates there. The tram stop is located in the background, where you can just about make out the rear end of a Leoliner. Cars from the 12 line then branch off to the right to loop around a small park wedged in between Täubchenweg (which is the street we are looking at here), Rabensteinplatz and Dresdner Straße. The building to the immediate left is the Grassi Museum for Applied Arts and the Music Instruments Museum of Leipzig University, and the MDR office tower can again be seen in the background. In the centre, NGT8 car 1127 "Friedrich Schiller" can be seen. The car still has the old LVB livery, but is one of quite a few which now operate with what appear to be some kind of LED-based daytime running lights.

Walking back to the tram stop, I then captured car 1115 "Richard Wagner" with full body advertising for the Leipzig Savings Bank working the 4 line to Stötteritz. I then rode back to Augustusplatz and was planning to ride on to Connewitz in the south of the city - but my plans were then changed by the subject of the following photo .

A few years ago the LVB rebuilt one complete Tatra "Großzug" as a sightseeing train for guided city tours. This set consists of motor cars 1800 and 1700 as well as trailer 700 and is called the "Gläserner Leipziger", as a reference to the glazed panoramic roof which it was given as part of the refit. The three cars were also fitted with air conditioning and had the centre door removed, so as to create additional seating space. Also, the original diamond pantographs were replaced by single arm ones. The set remains capable of operating on normal passenger duties, however, and it was working a shift on the 11E line today. After boarding it at Augustusplatz I then rode it all the way down to the Dölitz tram depot which can be seen in the background, behind the petrol station. Here, the set is on its way back to Wahren, having taken a break at the depot in between two turns. However, I did notice how the lack of the central doors significantly slows down the passenger flow while boarding and alighting. I myself then caught the following line 11 service and dropped off at Connewitz Station, which I had been meaning to check out for a while now.

And it turned out I had arrived just in time for this goods train headed by DB Schenker engine 185 270 which slowly passed through the station . Interestingly, this was the 185 I once got to check out at the Mannheim depot, including a test-sit in the cab .

A few minutes later, Pressnitztalbahn engine 204 010 came along with a rake of ballast silos for permanent way work. Some of these were either very new or had recently come out of a full overhaul, by the looks of them.

I also took a few illustrating shots of Connewitz Station, which I found was just as grotty as Leutzsch and Plagwitz. For this reason I treated these photos to a bit of a bleach bypass effect .

It is, of course, quite sad to see this kind of decay on what I can only imagine to have been a bustling station only a few decades ago. One could even imagine to hear the echoes of all those innumerable voices which these old walls were witness to over the course of the years.

I then returned to Central Station for a snack.

And not only was it good for my physical condition that I did! And here's why: After this little break I then spotted a material positioning service consisting of a variety of DB Regio coaches - ex-DR double deck, Halberstadt and Modus, all of which looked as if they were on their way to the repair works, perhaps those at Wittenberge - as well as one class 110, 120 and 143 engine each. This set had been brought to Leipzig by engine 115 278 which is seen here shunting out from track 15. The remainder of the train was pulled out a few moments earlier by a class 365 (I think) diesel shunter.

And then there also was this class 701 OHLE inspection diesel car which eventually shunted out to one of the numerous stabling sidings around Leipzig Central Station. These units are based on the famous class 798 railbus, or "Schienenbus" in German. The two pantographs on the roof are, of course, meant for diagnostic purposes only.

After a little round trip on the 4E line - which transforms into the 12 line at Prager-/Riebeckstraße - I returned to Augustusplatz and made two final shots before I went to get some coffee. The first shows Tatra car 5001 whch now serves as a driver training car.

And a look across Augustusplatz, also meant to highlight the progress made on the "Paulinum" since my last stay. This building belongs to Leipzig University and is meant to recreate the outline of the old St. Paul's Church which was demolished in 1968. In the foreground, NGT8 car 1151 "Emperor Maximilian I." with DHL full body advertisement is working the 4 line to Stötteritz.

And this concludes my photo strip for today - hope you enjoyed it!