[Greyvoices]

This lockdown malarkey has caused so many problems for families trying to make ends meet but for someone like me, now 70, the only change is not being able to go down the pub and not having to leave my house to attend meetings (goodness how i have come to detest Zoom). I know how lucky I am especially when I read how many poor souls have lost their lives.

You know where I am going with this because you've read the title of this post. I am spending some of this enforced time at home scanning my slides and negatives, something I have been threatening to do for years. I have already posted two or three scans on other topics but i thought that it would be nice to upload the odd photo in one place as I progress through my back catalogue ..... as it were. No chronological order because as I unearth yet another slide magazine from boxes stored in the garage I am putting a selection through the scanner so it's a bit pot luck.

I will start with this:

Stuttgart Hbf - 02/08/1986 at 07:21 110 184-9 hauling empty stock into the station.

It was early on a Saturday morning and we had arrived on the overnight train from Ostende. We (being my wife and daughter plus me) lived in Cambridge at that time and had travelled down to London Victoria to catch the midday boat train connecting with the Dover - Ostende ferry service. Dover marine station was still in use and it was a short walk from the train onto the boat (or should that be ship). I was enjoying my early morning photographic opportunity as we waited for the 08:11 departure for Tubingen where we would spend a fortnight with my wife's parents.

For the technically minded the camera I was using at that time was a Contax 159MM and in this instance the film was AgfaChrome 100. As can be seen with the photo of 110 184-9 I had set the hyperfocal distance about 20' behind the front of the loco so the number is a bit blurred. Zeiss lenses were good but in use they were only as good as the idiot holding the camera.

The scanner is an Epson V600 using Epson scanning software and I'm adjusting the images where necessary with the basic image editing tools that come with Windows 10. Perhaps I could get a better result with more advanced software but to be honest, I'm not really a very advanced sort of chap so this will have to do.

So .......... onwards and upwards.

Best regards ................ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

As I was writing that last post I was thinking, "did i take a photo of that train for Tubingen?" Of course I did.

Stuttgart Hbf 02/08/1986 at 07:45. 111 065-9 waits to depart for Tubingen. The train comprises a full rake of Silver Fish coaches with a driving trailer at the rear. This train was hauled to Tubingen and pushed to Stuttgart.

Happy days now nigh on 34 years ago.

Best regards ................. Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[dwb]

This is going to be an interesting topic

David

 

[Richard Holloway]

Interesting! I'm looking forward to see more.

 

[Greyvoices]

Thank you David and Richard. I will try not to disappoint.

Working my way through this current slide magazine I realise that I have the chance to illustrate the way DB operated services in this area. My last post had my family waiting at Stuttgart for our connecting service to Tubingen which was hauled by a Class 111. My next photo was taken at Tubingen 2 days later - Monday lunchtime. I had obviously managed to escape the in-laws for a couple of beers at the bahnhof.

Tubingen Hbf 04/08/1986 with the 13:34 departure for Stuttgart which it will push. Notice the blinds are drawn down to keep the cab cool. The blinds were also down on the other cab which faced the connecting carriage.

This is the other end of the train with a Silberlingen (silverfish) driving trailer leading. They always orientated this service with the loco at the Tubingen end. The orange livery was gradually fazed out as the coaches were painted in the Epoch IV turquoise and cream livery. If only I had checked the refurbishment dates which were imprinted on the solebar. Too late now.

Before I finish this post perhaps a photo of a diesel locomotive might balance things up a bit.

Tubingen Hbf 04/08/1986. 13:15 and 215 075-3 departs from Gleis 3 for Sigmaringen. Class 215's were active here for years on these services so this is typical for the 1970's through to the early 1990's.

The Class 215 originally were outshopped in the DB red livery and this train for Sigmaringen would have consisted of a red 215 with a rake of green carriages. I know that somewhere I have a photo of such a rake because DB operated a Summer service over the Tubingen - Sigmaringen route which was very popular with families and walkers. I think I photographed this in 1988 if my memory can be relied upon (says he bravely). I will post it when i find it.

Best regards ............ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

In that last post i mentioned my memory and as I put down all these facts and figures I don't want you all to imagine that I'm some sort of "Menzo the memory man". I of course kept notes and i have my notebooks with me still.

This is a scan of the relevant pages for 04/08/1986. You will notice that there are two suspicious gaps in the timings where I would have been repairing to the bahnhof buffet for much needed refreshment.

Notebooks documenting a railway life. My preferred notebook was produced by Jarrolds of Norwich. Sadly they don't make them anymore.

Nuff said.

Best regards ................... Greyvoices (alias anorak)

 

[Greyvoices]

I wonder if there is a scanning complaint such as "scanner's elbow" because if there is then I will be sure to get it. If the scanner was a steam engine I would be going around it with an oil can after I complete each magazine of 50 slides.

Now that I have started this topic I have come to realise just what I have taken on. I have thousands of slides and negative film which document my travels and working life across about 20 countries. My main interest is Germany but looking at the UK I have goodness knows how many images. Scanning what comes up in any order will make this a very random topic so I am tempted to start different topics for each country. Is there enough interest in my amateur snaps or am I deluding myself that such a course of action would be appreciated by enough people to make it worthwhile?

I also have choices as to how deep i go into the collection in any one location. I have finished scanning the Tubingen/ Schwabian area in 1986 and am currently scanning Trier in 1988. Should I jump backwards and forwards?

In the meantime:

Stuttgart Hbf 02/08/1986. 06:51. 103 127-7 with the 07:08 departure for Hamburg.

I like this photo not just because it is a Class 103 in the Epoch 4 livery but it represents InterCity travel in West Germany prior to the wall coming down and of course pre-ICE. The Class 103 was never quite the same once it was demoted to IR trains and painted in one or other of those awful all over red liveries post 1990 ........... like below:

Class 103 approaching Duisburg in 1999 with possibly not the worst of the later all over red liveries.

Well what do you think?

Best regards ............. Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[dwb]

I am definitely interested in seeing your photos, particularly the continental ones. I am fascinated by how far and wide locos and rolling stock from different countries travel. Is there any railway company whose coaches travel as widely as the OBB? I've seen OBB coaches in Antwerp and Venice.

I will be watching out for how the traffic changes over the years and how long the locos stay in service.

I am happy with a 'pot luck' approach so hopping about year to year does not bother me. Not sure about whether to separate out the British photos. It would be interesting to see how they compare in mostly diesel, fixed unit Britain with electric shunted Europe. Or maybe the photos will show my preconceptions are wrong

.

David

 

[Bear 1923]

I'm also very interested

More in the UK material, especially anything signalling strangely enough. Keeping years in order doesn't matter but dating (as close as practical) really helps.
I am also interested in the European scene - because I've hardly been there.

Thanks for your efforts.

 

[alanoes]

Hi John
This looks like a very interesting thread
Keep it up
Regards
Alan

 

[Babz]

HI John and everyone, This is a fantastic thread and History I am enjoying reading it.You mention the SilverFish Coaches would a V200 have pulled them I do not have any in my Collection but would dearly like to add some. Keep Going. Thank You John Very Best Regards Babs

 

[Greyvoices]

Encouragement and comments really do make this all worthwhile so thank you all ........... Babs, Alan, Bear and David. I decided that there are just too many images covering so may areas and subjects that it would be best if I opened up another topic for British Railways scan: HERE

I was thinking of continuing chronologically but I scanned in some images from Trier in 1988 and I couldn't resist posting. Would you believe that I completely forgot that I had taken these and have not looked at them for the best part of 25 years.

Trier Hbf 04/04/1988 - 17:40 late afternoon. 184 001-6 Gleis 11 with a train for Thionville (France)

The Class 184 had been built in 1966 as a prototype "Europa Locomotive" capable of working on 4 voltages, 1500V & 3000V dc and 15kV & 25kV ac. The achilleas heel of this idea was the variety of signal systems adopted by different countries and railway authorities. This early attempt at interoperability was doomed from the start so the 184's were subsequently paired back to dual voltage and restricted to operations between Trier, Luxembourg and onwards into France as far as Thionville. This area is a steel making concentration so the 184 was perfect for cross border freight movements of coal and ore:

Trier Hbf 04/04/1988 at 17:55. 184 002-4 with a northbound coal wagon empties working.

Followed 5 minutes later by the opposite working:

Trier Hbf 04/04/1988 at 18:00. 215 034-0 with southbound coal train.

To be honest that looks like one helluva load for a Class 215 and I'm wondering now if I have confused north with south or full and empty but I am just reading from the notes I took at the time. I need to revisit Trier Hbf armed with a compass and a map.

As can be seen from the notebook there were some very interesting movements all in the space of an hour and this on Easter Monday. I had been a dutiful husband/father/son-in-law for a few days so my family let me out on my own.

Trier Hbf 04/04/1988 at 17:34. 181 205-6 for Saarbrucken and 181 202-3 for Luxembourg.

Trier Hbf 04/04/1988 at 18:21. 181 224-7 with a Luxembourg to Koblenz working which I boarded here.

The Class 181 was a much more successful multi-system design and worked extensively between Germany. France and Luxembourg and could be seen as far "inland" as Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Class 181's lasted well into this century and I bumped into 181 224 once again in April 2007, still on IC service late in the evening at Frankfurt Hbf.

Frankfurt Hbf April 2007. 181 224-7 at that time in that awful DB red with white bib. I much prefer the original electric passenger blue livery and even the turquoise and blue is preferable in my eyes. At this time 181 224 must have been 39 years old. Obviously this is a digital image which made photos such as this so much easier to take.

Best regards ................. Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[PeterPug]

Fascinating. I did a lot of train journeys in the UK when I was working in the 'rail industry' and before, but never thought to take photos - something I regret now. Memories of lines of different liveried coaches in sidings are vivid enough, but some photos would be better. Sigh..

 

[Greyvoices]

Freight through Plochingen 11/08/1986

Yes I have jumped back in time to the summer of 1986. That was a memorable fortnight's holiday with my wife's family as I had not up to then explored this region of Germany. No that's not strictly true as I had first visited Tubingen with my wife to be just as the last Prussian P38 class of steam locomotive (designated as Class 38 by DB and DR) was disappearing from local services. Sadly I was not then a photographer. 1986 was the year that I finally adopted the slide format. I managed quite a few odd hours of escape to look at the railways around Tubingen and a short trip to the Stuttgart <> Ulm mainline at Plochingen proved to be most rewarding. Monday 11/08/1986 was a glorious sunny day in that part of the world as the first couple of photographs show:

150 153-5 with a southbound train of 4 axle tank wagons passes through Plochingen Hbf at 15:20 11/08/1986.

260 510-3 shunts a Res wagon loaded with a cement lorry. This had been driven onto the wagon from the loading bank. I then watched as the short formation was shunted backwards and forwards right across the mainline to the hump shunt incline on the opposite side. Only a year or so later DB redesignated shunting locomotives in the 300 series number scheme and this loco became 360 510-2, allocated to Tubingen.

To help you get your bearings I have copied this map from the DB Interctive Infrastructure mapping website

Plochingen is situated just to the south of Stuttgart on the mainline to Ulm which passes over the Geislingen Steige; a formidable barrier to heavy train movements. The route to Tubingen branches from the mainline here. I was particularly interested in freight movements through plochingen because I had read that the DB Class 194 ELoks were still hauling trains beteen Stuutgart Kornwestheim yard and Munchen. Whn I enquired of one of the station staff when a 194 would be passing through he told me that they never appeared on a Monday. Typical ........... so I plotted on the train back to Tubingen how I could wangle another trip to Plochingen without the family feeling neglected. Their was a lot of thinking time as my train home was an all stopper hauled by a Class 140; nominally a freight locomotive but they were often employed on lesser duty passenger workings in this area of Baden-Württemberg (oh yes an umlaut).

Best regards ............. Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

Freight through Plochingen 12/08/1986

The next day proved to be very wet but my plotting on the train back to Tübingen did prove successful as I managed to sell Plochingen as a place for a family visit in inclement weather. There was an art exhibition that just had to be seen. Whilst the family gazed at paintings I dodged the rain to record those much desired images of Class 194 locomotives.

194 042-8, one of the original build started in 1940, passing southbound though Plochingen Hbf with a train of Eaos wagons.

Another venerable Elok, 194 055-0 battling through the rain with a mixed northbound freight at 13:54.

It's now 14:20 as 194 138-4 passes southbound with yet another mixed freight.

A variety of traction was used on freight workings and here we see a northbound freight hauled by 151 141-9.

And here was a northbound short freight hauled effortlessly by 150 171-7 notable as it retains its original green livery. 14:22

All in all a good day despite the bad weather. I even gained brownie points for suggesting the art exhibition because it was apparently very good. Happy days.

Best regards ................. Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[John Edge]

Hi John, All,
I've made it back on here again! No longer as Allegheny1600, just my real name now.
Anyway, it's really good to see your efforts with the slide scanner, very organised with all those notebooks.
I particularly love the images of the 194 Eloks, a favourite of mine however I've only seen one stuffed and mounted as it were.
Cheers,
John.

 

[reddo]

Where did you go John (Allegheny)...looks like the Band is getting back together

Great pictures John (GV) - please keep them coming. Maybe as you go through, place the non-Continental ones in seperate box and just go back to them ie stay on one theme for simplification.

What a life that must have been - as I see the pics, I mentally tick off the ones I have, and the dates cause me to think where I was in the world..

Cheers

QUOTE (John Edge @ 13 Jul 2020, 09:43) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi John, All,
I've made it back on here again! No longer as Allegheny1600, just my real name now.
Anyway, it's really good to see your efforts with the slide scanner, very organised with all those notebooks.
I particularly love the images of the 194 Eloks, a favourite of mine however I've only seen one stuffed and mounted as it were.
Cheers,
John.

 

[Greyvoices]

Hi there John and Reddo it's good to see you both active on the forum and I appreciate your comments on this thread. Your comment about separating out other photos Reddo is catered for here: Scans of my British Railway life

In honour of Reddo's Munchen connection and John's interest in the E94 I dug out this photo:

Munich Donnersbergerbrücke 05/04/88 at 07:15 - 194 149-9 stands outside Bahnbetriebswerk München Hbf

This was a memorable day for me as I arrived in Munich at 06:25 after sleeping in a couchette coach (Liegewagen) having caught this overnight service (Amsterdam > Wien) at Koblenz the night before at 21:45. I did that a lot, a day travelling and sleeping in overnight trains; planning my route through stations that provided showers. I know that some chaps can be content with an APC in the cramped onboard toilet but I liked to feel fresher than that. (APC stands for armpits and crutch - probably said to much there). When I say that I did that a lot I mean over the years for in any one year I could only get away to Germany once or twice and sometimes three times. Later, after British Rail was privatised I graduated (if that is the right word) to working across Europe but mainly based in Germany, Switzerland or Belgium. Travel by train through Germany then became a weekly occurrence. I was damned lucky and I know it. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to have a railway career.

Anyway .......... This was the day after I was in Trier and I was targeting a visit to Bahnbetriebswerk München Hbf so a short S/bahn ride to Donnersbergerbrücke, over the bridge and along the footpath to the depot ....... and there it was 194 149-9. The light was not ideal but I am quite pleased with the photo. For those interested in such stuff it was shot with a Contax 159 MM camera fitted with a 50mm F1.4 Zeiss lens on Kodachrome 64 film.

The depot interior was somewhat cramped for photography but I did manage this:

and this:

and this:

I will save the other photos of the depot for another post. As you can see this was a very good start that day and looking at the photos I am transported back in my memory.

Best regards ................ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[dwb]

Love i

David

 

[Greyvoices]

Thank you David. Would it be possible to rename this topic "Scans of my German Railway life" ...... because that is what it has become. Your help would be appreciated.

I know that you like cross border working and the OBB <> DB workings are probably of some interest so here is an example:

München Hbf 02/04/1988 - 08:13. 1044 007-1 arrival. In my opinion this is a fine looking locomotive.

I have seen an OBB Class 1044 as far north as Frankfurt and it would be interesting to know just how far they penetrated before such services were taken over by ICE units.

Best regards .............. Greyvoices (alias John)