Notes

OK, I’ve run out of semi-creative titles for now.

In Cologne Main Station Operation Station (yes, that’s the title. Köln Hauptbahnhof Betriebsbahnhof in german) there are always one or two class 103 units parked, which belong to the DB museum and are in great shape and in the classic color scheme of ruby/creme. There’s also a TEE trainset, including one of the very, very few german dome cars, but that is even more difficult to find. I had a lot of trouble getting this picture even because there’s always something in the way.

The class 103 is a high-speed locomotive. Designed for speeds up to 200 kph, although in tests with different trucks it managed to exceed 300 kph. Used a lot on the heaviest and fastest trains in Germany, it was worn out in the nineties and has been replaced since then with other units, though a few are still available as reserve, and a few others are in museal service.

A note for anyone living in the area, say, Leverkusen, and wanting to take a picture of these units: From most angles it’s just plain impossible, as it’s surrounded by railway lines from all sides, and I don’t think it’s possible to get a good picture through the window of a moving train (feel free to prove me wrong, of course). However, there is a parking garage right in the middle of it all, belong to Expo XXI or something, in walking distance from Hansaring station. The road it’s on is named “Gladbacher Wall”, and from the top deck of this I was able to make this picture. That’s not a guarantee, though, I was lucky because the unit was pushed further down the track than usual and even then it was already about the end of my range.