Hello everybody,

while waiting for my train to Regensburg on Monday, 14th October a class 52 steam locomotive moved into the plattform directly opossite of me and was coupled to a rake of vintage coaches.

I don't know for which occasion this happened but fond childhood memories of the late 60ies and early 70ies emerged, when it was quite usual to see steam and electric locomotives working side by side.

The class 52 engines were built as goods engines in large numbers (more than 6000) during the second world war. Due to the large number some of them reached preservation in Germany and the Netherlands.





Best wishes

Helmut

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful steam engine,something we don't see a lot of here in England.Thanks for posting Helmut.

Many thanks for the photo,s Helmut.
Its great to see a German steam loco in action.

regards,

Derek.

Thanks for those Helmut. :thumbs

It's always great when you're waiting for a train today if one of yesterday's locos arrives un-announced - it happened to me twice in York last year.

Continental locos are always interesting because, unlike their British counterparts, they seem to fix all the pipework on the outside.  Almost as if they forgot it when they built them………….  They also usually seem much bigger than UK locos.  Maybe it's because of the greater distances they have to cover.

I've ridden on the Harz Mountain steam railway but are there other "preserved" steam railways in Germany ?

Dear Peter and Alan,

thanks for your encouraging comments.

Well Peter, I have to admit I know more about British railways than about German railways. But yes, there are more preserved railways. The "Rasende Roland" narrow gauge system on the beautiful island of Rügen springs to my mind or the Chimsee-Bahn, narrow gauge too, but only a very short distance. But if I remember correctly there are not as many preserved railways as in Britain, but many clubs, museums and societies who preserve locomotives and rolling stock, which, as on last Monday, use the ordinary rail system on special occasions. I know there are "Plandampf"-events in the eastern parts of Germany, where for a few days ordinary passenger and goods services are led by steam engines. There are as well several interesting Museums like Nürrnberg, Nördlingen and München which show preserved engines.

Well that's about all I know about it - but if you need more information I could talk to my neighbour who is, I believe, an active member of the Nörlingen museum - he should know more about it.

Sorry for having such a little knowledge about it.

cheers Helmut

Thanks Helmut.

It would be interesting for many of our members I think, to read (and see) what the Norlingen museum has in stock and a bit about their history if you don't mind asking your neighbour.  (sorry, my English keyboard doesn't have an umlaut for "Norlingen", "Nurnburg" or "Munchen".  Are there any museums without umlauts over there !!)

Dear Peter,

Thanks for your reply - I've just opened a new thread on the Nördlingen topic. Hope its of interest to you.

I'm not sure about railway museums without umlauts - but what about the Bergbaumuseum Bochum - would that count (Bergbau means mining - the museum is about the collieries in the Rhine and Coal area)

Best wishes

Helmut

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Thanks Helmut.

It would be interesting for many of our members I think, to read (and see) what the Norlingen museum has in stock and a bit about their history if you don't mind asking your neighbour.  (sorry, my English keyboard doesn't have an umlaut for "Norlingen", "Nurnburg" or "Munchen".  Are there any museums without umlauts over there !!)

Peter there is something in windows called the character map with letters with the umlaut above although they appear to be called diaeresis.