W to E, or A to Z, Aachen to HarZ, viaducts and brown coal

[eastwestdivide]

Back in September, I had a holiday in Germany, so I thought you might appreciate some holiday snaps. The first week, I was staying in Aachen. I used a 3-day 1st class Interrail for the two days to and from the UK, and for one of the long travel days in Germany/NL/B, while the rest of the journeys were made using more normal tickets.

An early start from S Yorks saw me on the 0714 from Doncaster, a 2x5 Azuma, with very few unreserved seats in the leading unit's first class. The red/green lights were useful. Second breakfast:

 

Then a coffee break at St Pancras, and on the 1104 Amsterdam Eurostar as far as Brussels. Lunch:

 

 

at high speed:

 

Followed by a change to the 1428 Brussels South via some 200km/h running in a double-decker on the high speed line before Liège, from where you trundle through the Ardennes to Welkenraedt/Welkenrath, where I changed:

 

...to SNCB's premier international service:

 

To arrive in Aachen at about 5pm. Hotel am Bahnhof just opposite the station (surprisingly!), and settle in.

 

More to follow...

[eastwestdivide]

A few other shots of Aachen during the week...

A mixture of 111 and 146 locos on the RE services, here one of the older 111s:

 

The proper international services are of course a mixture of ICEs and Thalys. The "I [train] Europe" ICE in white+blue was out:

 

and here it is coming down the hill on the line from Belgium:

 

On the Saturday, there were diversions between Aachen and Köln via Mönchengladbach instead of the usual route via Düren. Here, a Thalys has come from Belgium, reversed in Aachen Hbf and is heading past the depot towards Aachen West and Mönchengladbach:

 

There's a fair bit of freight passing through en route to Aachen West yards, where much of it reverses to travel over the Moresnet freight-only route into Belgium towards Antwerp. Including Class 66s of varying descriptions. Here, an RTB Cargo electrically-hauled container train is heading west into Aachen Hbf:

 

The SNCB stopping train creeps into the platform furthest from the entrance, and creeps out again a few minutes later:

 

Also of interest in Aachen is a well-stocked model shop:

 

 

Edited October 13, 2019 by eastwestdivide

[eastwestdivide]

Three countries by bike. I hired a bike from Aachen and set off to photograph the freight line mentioned above that runs from Aachen West via the Gemmenich tunnel and Moresnet viaduct into Belgium. It's electrified, and I missed a photo of a double-headed electric freight being banked by a DB red loco (a 185 I think - too far off). 

I paused on the outskirts of Aachen for a couple of wide pics:

 

Then the summit tunnel, which has an interesting arrangement of track for out-of-gauge loads. A Gleisverschlingung in German apparently, gauntleted track in English?

 

I didn't have to wait long for a train. You can see the change of gradient at the tunnel mouth:

 

And not too long after, I got two at once, slightly messing up the planned shot down the hill. Can't really complain though, as I had no idea of what was due and it was down to pot luck:

 

Onwards and upwards to lunch at the three-country border (Dreiländerpunkt/Drielandenpunt/Les Trois Bornes), where I had my passport ready, but there was no-one to check it:

 

Onwards in the next post, but stuck to a lamppost near the tunnel was a taste of things to come later in the week, "stop brown coal":

Edited October 13, 2019 by eastwestdivide
brown coal

[eastwestdivide]

And down to the Moresnet viaduct. I'll let the photos do the talking, but again, I wasn't hanging round for too long before the trains came.

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure If I'd like that as my "office":

 

 

My return route took me via the village of Kelmis, where there was an ancient coach parked up to commemorate the railway that used to be there (I had just cycled part of it, converted to a cycle route):

 

And back to Hergenrath station for an SNCB local back to Aachen:

Edited October 13, 2019 by eastwestdivide

[eastwestdivide]

A few months ago, my partner was watching Gardeners' World on TV and called out "quick, industrial archaeology!". They were featuring the Duisburg Landschaftspark (landscape park), an ex-steelworks converted to a park with some planted gardens, lots of letting nature take its course, and various activities like climbing walls and slides in old coal bunkers.

To get there involved changing at Duisburg to a tram, which took me a while to find as it was disguised as the U-Bahn, running underground for quite a few stops:

 

A few railway relics in the park, notably a torpedo at the entrance:

 

and some old rolling stock:

 

including a fireless loco with bits missing?

 

Assorted park views:

 

Desulphurisation in operation:

 

 

En route between there and Aachen, I noticed a few of the older curvy-fronted S-Bahn sets still in use around Köln/Düsseldorf:

 

And a set of N-Wagen coaches (more on which later in the week)

 

Edited October 13, 2019 by eastwestdivide

[eastwestdivide]

Another day, another destination. Caught the train from Aachen to Düren where I hired a bike to head for the Hambach Forest, currently the site of an environmental controversy. RWE, the operators of a huge opencast brown coal mine, want to expand and destroy the old-growth forest. RWE have already moved their own electric coal haulage railway AND the Autobahn to expand the pit. The whole operation is on a massive scale, from the size of the pit and equipment, to the length of their private railway, to the size of the trains themselves.

If you're on a train between Düren and Köln, to the north side of the line, the new Autobahn and the coal railway run parallel to the main line for a few miles and can be seen from the train.

 

So, protest graffiti already evident on the approach to the forest, crossing the main line from Düren to Köln. Google maps click here

 

"Hambi bleibt" = Hambi stays, Hambi being a contraction of Hambach, possibly with Bambi connotations?

 

I found a bridge over the coal railway, and settled down to wait, not knowing how frequent the trains would be. As it happened, I waited less than 10 mins for the first one:

 

 

Then I cycled through the forest, pleasant enough:

 

To another bridge, where again, I didn't have to wait long. I was kind of concerned that the security people might show an interest in someone with a big camera, but despite seeing a couple of RWE pickup trucks, no-one said anything:

 

Onwards to another spot, near the ex-Autobahn. On this one, you can see the loco's side pantographs:, used to take the trains through the loading points, where obviously having a live wire directly under tonnes of coal being dropped into the wagon is a bad idea.

 

Wagon design - tub on wheels:

 

The abandoned Autobahn:

 

Then on to the Hambach loading point, where a couple of works trains ventured out:

 

 

And I watched a train creep through the loading plant and depart under the Autobahn:

 

On my way back, there was this section of bucket wheel excavator on display outside the loading plant:

 

The trip back to Aachen on local trains brought a couple of other surprises too. First this 110 towing a single DD coach at Stolberg:

 

Then at Aachen West, a section of DD coach and other bits for the railway technical department of the University:

 

Bonus for all those waiting for German clichés, the door handle on a sausage restaurant:

 

Bis Später...

Edited October 13, 2019 by eastwestdivide

[eastwestdivide]

Last day from Aachen, this time to the Wupper valley, but not exclusively the obvious destination there.

 

First was to take the surprisingly busy 2-car DMU from Solingen Hbf to Solingen-Schaberg, from where you can walk down to the valley (Tal) of the Wupper and see the highest railway bridge in Germany, the Müngsten bridge.

 

 

German cliché number two, as it's a pleasant spot, of course there are TWO cafes there, one posher than the other:

 

But woe betide anyone who picks mushrooms under the bridge. "Contaminated land - please don't pick mushrooms near the bridge". I imagine it's due to the repair work, where old and new paint and rust might be considered a health hazard.

 

View from the station:

 

And here's the view from the train down to the river, with that cafe in the foreground:

 

More obvious Wuppertal delights in the next post.

[eastwestdivide]

So the diesel from Solingen heads round to Wuppertal Oberbarmen, where I did the most gricerish thing of the holiday, picked up the Ersatzzug (replacement train due to stock shortage) on one of the regional services, thanks to a comment on another rail forum.

 

This was formed of a 110 loco with N-Wagen coaches including a driving trailer. The loco's carrying a job advert for train drivers. Coaches comfortable enough, but awkward to use doors:

 

 

 

I caught this to Wuppertal Vohwinkel (the other end of the Wuppertal monorail line), from where it's a short walk to the terminus station. Here you can see the front of a train on the left, turning sharply to reach the departure platform, and the rear of the same train on the right, just leaving the arrival platform:

 

Pointwork:

 

Dangly bits:

 

The notice says you have to get special permission to use cherry-pickers etc:

 

Pick your seat in the rear of the monorail trains for a wide-screen view.

 

Over some roadworks:

 

Turning onto the river section:

 

And back to the Hbf:

 

Same location as above, taken from the DB station/high level bus station:

 

Seen at Wuppertal Hbf, an IC2 double-deck intercity:

 

That's it for the West, but the East is yet to come. Tschüss

Edited October 13, 2019 by eastwestdivide

[LBRJ]

Wonderful thread here  - I do like the holiday snaps type threads generally, but having been to Koln and surrounds by train in the early 90s this one is especially good

 

From what  I can recall one ride from Koln- Buir was terminated because the old railcar we were travelling in failed.

[eastwestdivide]

So onwards from Aachen using a DB Sparpreis advance ticket, RE service to Köln, then an ICE as far as Hannover:

 

It was a double-unit ICE, with one unit in reverse formation - the platform train composition poster and the platform display screen had the 'normal' formation while the DB mobile phone app had the actual formation. Cue lots of people running up and down the platform. Not just a problem for GW's 800 units it seems.

 

From Hannover, a couple of DMUs took me via Goslar to Wernigerode:

 

Where I checked in to the Hotel Altora, famed for its views of the engine shed, and also for the on-demand train service in the restaurant:

 

In my few days there, I didn't see anything on the main line other than DMUs and a single 218 diesel, but then I spent more time on the Harz narrow gauge lines.

 

After an early dinner, I did manage a nearly-night shot showing the antenna on top of the Brocken in the distance:

 

 

[eastwestdivide]

So, three whole days based in Wernigerode to fill my (walking) boots with pics of steam trains. I've mixed photos from the three days in the following posts, but if anyone's interested, this is what I did 

Day 1 started clear, so I bought my Brocken ticket. But it clouded over by Schierke, where I got out to walk the remainder of the way to the summit via a lineside path and then a rocky gully. Unfortunately the cloud and mist rolled in, to the point where the top of the summit antenna wasn't even visible from the bottom of the antenna, let alone the bottom of the mountain. I got out at Schierke again on the way down, and walked into the village for a bus to Drei Annen Hohne then a train back to Wernigerode.

Day 2 involved a bus to Drei Annen Hohne, and a bit of hiking round. The hotels all have a tourist tax for which you get various discounts and free bus travel.

Day 3 started with a quick look at the aviation museum, then the 1155 steam train through to Eisfelder Talmühle, a much less crowded train. In fact I had a coach to myself on the way back, and in the long pause at Drei Annen Hohne, the vintage/oldtimer train arrived from the Brocken.

 

Anyway, a few non-railway pics to start.

Aviation museum had a few too many post-war military aircraft for my taste, but probably 40-odd aircraft in total as well as bits and bobs:

 

Still on aviation of a sort, some of the buses are run by NASA:

 

(Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt)

 

Wernigerode itself is quite pretty, all different colour half-timbered buildings:

 

Although it was in E Germany, there's not all that much to tell you. I certainly couldn't see where we'd crossed the former inner-German border. One of the more obvious signs is the Ampelmännchen wearing a hat:

 

And over in Schierke village, there's a stone with an inscription to mark the opening of the border in 1989 (crikey, was that 30 years ago!), on which are fragments that they found of an earlier (1950s) monument to German unity. More details in German here: https://www.volksstimme.de/nachrichten/lokal/wernigerode/105812_Schierker-haben-ihren-Stein-der-Einheit-fast-zurueck.html

 

 

Don't worry, more trains to follow...

 

Edited October 15, 2019 by eastwestdivide
deduping photo

[eastwestdivide]

A few details that might be of interest...

Waiting at a crossing, I noticed one rail was quite old "Krupp 1931", and the other not so old "Thyssen 96" (assuming 96 is the date):

 

Some of the rails cause a bit of a bumpy ride (although accentuated by the long lens):

 

I liked the treatment of the electronic departure screens:

 

And although I've seen route maps on the carriage tables, I don't think I've seen carved wooden ones before:

 

The turntable at Wernigerode has some lines apparently with standard gauge rails - anyone know what that's about?

 

The ash pit has this crane and lorry skip arrangement:

 

And is the boiler water treated with chemicals? All the locos had this on the side "Not drinking water":

 

 

[eastwestdivide]

A few from above Schierke, including a summit pic "just to prove I was there".

 

Following the well-maintained path:

 

Foot crossing

 

Still from video:

 

Possibly my favourite shot of the week:

 

Walking towards the summit, this appeared out of nowhere, and then disappeared into the clouds:

 

Those standard gauge tank wagons on transporters (left) are at most crossing points en route, including, here, the summit:

[eastwestdivide]

The oldtimer train was out on a special (you had to book special tickets) one day:

 

Preparation:

 

Coming off the depot:

 

Returning from the Brocken, at Drei Annen Hohne:

 

Drei Annen Hohne again, during the busy period late afternoon:

 

And arriving back at Wernigerode:

 

Far right is the standard gauge line, and running parallel is the narrow gauge line to the carriage sheds at Elmowerk, less than 1km away, where there's a minor standard gauge halt, very close to the aviation museum.

 

The rest tomorrow I think.

Edited October 14, 2019 by eastwestdivide
typo

[DaveF]

 

Lovely photos of your trip, I am enjoying looking at them a great deal.

 

You mention not being able to see the old East/West border.  My first visit was in the summer of 1991, much of the border fencing was still in place, indeed many of the cross border roads had not been reopened then.

 

At that time parts of Wernigerode were very drab, including the standard gauge station - the HSB looked a lot smarter.

 

I drove there that year, whenever I parked to look at the HSB children gathered to see the "Englischer Auto".

 

David

 

[Oldddudders]

We have been to the Harz a couple of times in recent years. Parking the car near Sorge, on a spot I knew had formerly been the line of the fence between east and west, was a key moment. Filming the midday train as taken by eastwestdivide there, knowing it had formerly passed so close to the west, was quite surreal. 

[31A]

Thanks for sharing these pictures - looks as though you had a wonderful time!  I believe the dual gauge lines in Wernigerode loco depot were to enable stores and coal to be delivered by standard gauge wagons, rather than an indication that the depot was also used as a facility for  standard gauge locos.

 

[Ian Morgan]

A couple of interesting Youtube videos. One shows why the DreiLanderPunkt was previously the four land point. The second covers an intriguing disused line near Aachen that resulted in an unusual international border.

 

 

 

 

[eastwestdivide]

5 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

A couple of interesting Youtube videos. One shows why the DreiLanderPunkt was previously the four land point. The second covers an intriguing disused line near Aachen that resulted in an unusual international border.

 

Thanks for those - I saw the Vennbahn cycle path on the maps, and wondered about exploring it, but there's only so many days in a week.

The 3LP also had some write-ups about Neutral Moresnet. Apparently the Dutch road to the three-country point is called the Viergrenzenweg (four borders road), just to confuse things even more. 

[tetsudofan]

Many thanks for another great report on your travels, always look forward to reading your reports and seeing the pics.

 

Noticed that you travelled out on the 11:04 Eurostar and got lunch. Has this train replaced the 10:58 Eurostar on which you only got a very basic so-called breakfast?

 

Keith

[eastwestdivide]

21 minutes ago, tetsudofan said:

Noticed that you travelled out on the 11:04 Eurostar and got lunch. Has this train replaced the 10:58 Eurostar on which you only got a very basic so-called breakfast?

It's the Amsterdam service, which seems to have replaced the former 1058 Brussels (now also misses out Ebbsfleet).

Couldn't say about the catering on the 1058, but on the 1104, I noted that they were serving before we got to the Medway viaduct, so red wine at about 1115am! Well, it's 1215 European time, so the sun's over the yard arm somewhere.

[eastwestdivide]

Steam + Diesel.

 

Mentioned on another thread was the last departure of the day from Wernigerode to Eisfelder Talmühle, which is a railcar tacked onto the back of a Brocken steam service.

Here it is from the front:

 

And from the rear, with the summit visible behind:

 

And on a different day, departing Wernigerode Westerntor, a different design of railcar:

 

It works in to Wernigerode during the morning:

Railcar at Drei Annen Hohne:

 

There's one in the background of this shot of Drei Annen Hohne:

 

The scale of the HSB diesel locos is completely at odds with the coaches:

 

Another kind of diesel, this time on the mainline, while the loco driver has parked up to go bowling:

 

 

Edited October 15, 2019 by eastwestdivide
wrong caption

[eastwestdivide]

Some of the stations have a 'busy' period.

At Eisfelder Talmühle, two railcars cross , connecting with the midday train from Wernigerode.

It was a case of "it's behind you" as I photographed them topping up with water:

 

At Drei Annen Hohne, there's a time where there are three trains in the platforms at once.

 

 

There's also a lot of this going on:

 

and a certain amount of linesiding too, here I think with a controller for a drone camera:

 

A few more random shots from Wenigerode.

The Westerntor depot from the train:

 

Little and large on shed:

 

Loco very much out of use parked up on the main line side of the shed:

 

Someone's been friendly to the spotters by writing the number in the dirt and dust:

 

A couple of signs. Gradient post at Drei Annen Hohne:

 

And a whistle board (P for Pfeifen/Pfiff I presume):

 

 

[eastwestdivide]

So all that was left was a 2-day journey home. DMUs to Hannover, then the Berlin-Amsterdam IC train. Relatively unusual for an international train in Western Europe these days, loco and coaches with a loco change at the border station of Bad Bentheim, from a DB 101 to an NS 17xx "broken nose". They announced that there was time for people to hop off for a quick smoke! Anything to break the boredom really, as it's not a particularly scenic route.

 

Arrival at Amsterdam:

 

From there, I hopped on the hourly Amsterdam-Brussels intercity, top and tail locos on NS coaches, now via the Dutch high speed line and a reversal at Breda. Here at Amsterdam:

 

On departure, the Berlin stock had already got out to the carriage sidings and the loco had run round:

 

On board catering, with a coffee rucksack:

 

My destination was Antwerp, where the next morning I caught a "rubber ring" EMU to Ostend. I had most of the day to get to Brussels, and the weather looked OK, so the seaside it was.

 

However, it was a bit blowy and rainy there, so after a quick wander down to the beach to admire the sandcastles:

 

I caught various trains back to Bruges, Ghent (or Brighton and Ghetto according to my predictive text) and Brussels. Here, at Ostend, one of SNCB's newer units which seem to turn up on anything from local stopping services to those marketed as "Intercity":

 

On board the Eurostar at 1656 from Brussels, food came round as we entered the tunnel at 1803 including a nice gooseberry tart. Then over to Kings Cross in time for the 1830 to Doncaster, a Mk4 formation, where dinner was served, chicken casserole - OK if a bit of a microwave ready meal taste to it.

 

And finally, last train of the hols:

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by eastwestdivide
typo Bred(a)

[eastwestdivide]

Oh, one more thing, a video compilation. I don't do that much videoing, and these clips are from my SLR and phone, either hand-held or using "found tripods".