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Köln Hbf. 21 Years Ago.


45669
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Morning All,

 

21 years ago I spent a couple of hours on Köln Hbf. filming and photographing the trains.  Some of the video that I took is now on my new YouTube channel and, as some of the locomotives that I saw such as Class 103 and Class 215 are now history, I though that it might be of interest:

 

 

 

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On 15/11/2020 at 11:15, Claude_Dreyfus said:

That is a great viewing location and one I have used a few times. Sadly when I was last there it was littered with bottles and other detritus you wouldn't want to get too close to.

 

I haven't been there for many years, so if or when I go there again I'm sure that I'll notice the difference.

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Not on the bridge itself, I'm talking about the view point closer to the station. When I was there back in 2016 it was okay, but when I returned in 2018 it was a lot less salubrious. Still a great place to see trains, even if the variety of motive power is diminishing.

 

I do wonder what difference all of those padlocks make to the overall weight of the bridge? 

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26 minutes ago, Claude_Dreyfus said:

Not on the bridge itself, I'm talking about the view point closer to the station. When I was there back in 2016 it was okay, but when I returned in 2018 it was a lot less salubrious. Still a great place to see trains, even if the variety of motive power is diminishing.

 

I do wonder what difference all of those padlocks make to the overall weight of the bridge? 

 

Ah OK; I don't particularly remember but it sounds as though things may have gone downhill a bit in the last four years.  A pity as it is a popular place with tourists as well as railway enthusiasts!  The bit around the Cathedral does seem to attract all sorts of people, though.

 

Yes I wonder that too, and I know why they're there so I don't particularly want to sound like a Grumpy Old Man but I also think they detract from the appearance of the bridge.  I also wonder whether they might exacerbate corrosion of what they're attached to.  Where I live in York the Scarborough Bridge footway alongside the Scarborough line over the Ouse  (similar to the Hohenzollernbrucke in some ways but a lot less spectacular!) was rebuilt last year and I noticed a little while ago padlocks beginning to appear on it.

 

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16 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

There are bridges in Europe where the authorities have to keep removing padlocks because the weight is making the bridges unsafe.

 

 

In fact, the Cologne Hohenzollernbridge has removeable panels to avoid the padlocks becoming too heavy. Obviously not for the bridge itself, but for the pedestrian part of it.

 

Michael

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Some more memories of Köln Hbf. in October, 1999 are now on my YouTube channel.  Included are classes 103 and 215, plus the short lived METROPOLITAN first class only luxury train than ran between Hamburg and Köln.  Hope you like it:

 

 

TTFN,

 

Ron.

Edited by 45669
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Along with some of my club members on a trip to see the club in our twin town Euskirchen, I was lucky enough to get a preview of the Metropolitan train before it entered service (August 1999?)

 

 metropolitan_dvt.jpg.eb05bb0eecdc84d237c2890967a63d98.jpg

 

metropolitan_loco.jpg.7e819486f455cacdd9aaf0ba6e0cd71e.jpg

 

 trying_out_the_leather.jpg.8bf287ed18fa263ec8d2436c6bb15e73.jpg

 

group_shot_1.jpg.16f56246714957f1eaba2e4c229bdebc.jpg

 

The Metropolitan was aimed at business travellers, with leather seats and lots of pear wood detailing.

 

 

Edited by Ian Morgan
Just checked Wikipedia - pearwood not cherrywood. - Reloaded images
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Hi Guys,

Afaik, the Metropolitan train actually continues/continued to run for some time afterwards, only difference was, it was repainted in (fairly) standard ICE colours!

 The locos were also repainted into standard Traffic red so the only way to spot it was to see how like an ICE the coaches are and then spot the interior decor, if it’s close enough! Plus, being loco hauled, of course.

My friend Doug and I went aboard it once in Hamburg a couple of years ago, I might even have pictures somewhere. The interior is stunning.

Cheers,

John

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