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Rhein Gorge and Frankfurt, 30 March 1980

This album is from my March 1980 Eurailpass trip around Europe.

 

I had been in Narvik, Norway and then headed south to Stockholm on the overnight Nordpilen. At Stockholm, I connected to a train with through cars to Hamburg, then at Copenhagen changed to a car that went beyond Frankfurt. I had decided to go to Frankfurt and then to the Rhein Gorge, as I'd been very impressed with the area when I went through on the Rheingold a couple of weeks earlier.

 

The first couple of shots in this album were taken from D-371, which I rode to Frankfurt, then we have a few photos taken in Frankfurt. The Frankturt photo of a 103 is of D-371.

 

i took a train to Bingerbruck at the southern end of the Rhein Gorge and spent the afternoon walking along the road that parallels the track on the west bank, shooting pretty much anything that came by. The power was mainly 103s, 110s, and 141s with a diesel at Bingerbruck.

 

Here are my notes from the day, as written, except for cleaning up punctuation and spelling.

 

30 March - Sunday on D-371 to Frankfurt:

 

Morning finds us racing behind a 103 electric through the hills of central Germany. The train didn't clear up last night until Copenhagen [ The train I rode from Stockholm to Copenhagen had been jam packed due to a Danish gymnastics team having missed an earlier train and everyone from the time being packed into the the through Stockholm-Copenhagen coach.] It was OK as I got to talking with a girl on the gymnastics team and we chatted the whole trip. Earlier the conductor had made us move our bags out of the vestibule, which resulted in every inch of luggage rack being packed to capacity.

 

Quite a trip. Most of the gymnasts got off at Helsingor, where they were taken to their school-it is a little similar to a jr. college that offers just fun or mind expanding topics - no first 2 years of a 4 year degree classes.

 

Lisbeth and I exchanged addresses on the leg into Copenhagen [I stayed with her a few days the following year after having been in Saudi Arabia, but we later lost touch.]

 

The SJ [Swedish Railways] had delayed the train enough to miss the ferry, so we were quite late into Copenhagen. [This was before the bridge was built between Malmo and Copenhagen and through cars between Stockholm and Copenhagen used a rail ferry.]

 

At Copenhagen, I transferred to the Copenhagen-Konstanz composite coach and turned in. My roommate was from Singapore, living in Norway. I crashed without further ado. All the through cars are DB, by the way. Woken by the conductor checking tickets. Had chills and it took me a while to get back to sleep. Woke up again at 0300 on ferry and barely found the ferry's toilet in time, the coaches' were locked. Finally fell asleep after German passport check and woke up about 0800 to find that DB has the train only a couple of minutes down.

 

Raining on and off. Meeting all kinds of traffic.

 

Think it's time for a cup of coffee from the diner. As is true of just about anything DB, we seem to have a good operation this morning. Coach rides extremely well.

 

Wound up having breakfast - 5 pieces of bread with various spreads and a pot of coffee for DM 6.90. DSG's service was glacial. It was only because I got to speaking with 3 people about, among other things, the service, that I stuck around until they decided to serve me. Rarely has even Amchoo taken so long.

 

We reversed at Kassel while I was eating. We are now going through rolling hills, still with intermittent rain. Out of Kassel, train is: 103, DSG sleeper, DB couchette, 1st/2nd, two 2nds, baggage, 2nd, 1st/2nd, diner, two 2nds. First 5 or 6 cars are from Copenhagen, next 2 or 3 from Puttgarden [German end of the ferry from Denmark], diner and last 2 cars from Hamburg.

 

Sunlight breaks through out of Wahern.

 

---- Written on the Holland-Wien Express, which I took from Frankfurt to Wien (Vienna) ----

 

DB brought this train in right on time. I am in an OBB 1st class coach (orange and modern), looks like a wonderful way to spend the night. As for now, it is uncrowded.

 

Today couldn’t have been more enjoyable (other than that DSG diner crew). Took the 1231 train from Frankfurt to Bingerbruck, at the start of the Rhein gorge, after our on time arrival and dumping the bags.

 

Eventually found my way out of the Bingerbruck station and hiked a couple of km north into the gorge, stopping at various places and steady parade of trains down both banks for the Rhein. The west bank, which I was on, had heavier traffic, but I did get some good broadsides of trains across the Rhein. As the light was fading toward 1730-1800, I walked back to town, shooting the Rheingold along the way, then ate at a little place across from the station – a Schweinschnitzl mit Kartofelsalat und grosses Bier for DM 9.50. [Pork cutlet with hot potato salad and a large beer] If I’m ever back in town, I’ll eat there again.

 

(DB just pulled the Holland-Wien Express out on time, as a blue Class 260 diesel switcher is pulling a cut of suburban coaches out on the next track.)

 

The 1231 was an Eilzug, made of suburban silver cars, which are quite acceptable, and a couple of older green coaches on the rear. The rear cars came off at Bingerbruck and went behind a diesel to Saarbrucken, while the electric, a 110 I think, went to Koln with the front.

 

I don’t know how many trains I shot, but 1 frame per train was the rule and I went through a roll of 135 and 120 [I have not yet scanned my 6x6 cm slides from this trip] so it was probably about 40. This was on a Sunday (quiet day, some trains not running) afternoon from 1400-1800. (About 10 trains an hour or a train every 6 minutes.)

 

I caught the 1903 train from Bingerbruck to Mainz, a Dortmuch-Munchen D-Zug. It had a 110, RPO, 3 couchettes (I think, anyway, they were blue seconds), three 2nds, two composites, three seconds. If the service had not been so prompt at the restaurant in Bingerbruck, I was resignd to catching the Holland-Wien Express at Bingerbruck, it was the next train Cook’s mentions stopping there, and making a dash for the bags at Frankfurt. As it was, I had a nice 20 minute ride on D-719 from Bingerbruck to Mainz, a 16 minute wait for an S-Bahn EMU train to Frankfurt at 1939, then a casual time at Frankfurt getting the bags and onto the platform for the Holland-Wien Express. I was about 1 car off on the platform from where the 1st class car stop and got there about 2 minutes before the train arrived, on time.

 

This OBB coach has unusually wide vestibules and corridors, making it easy to get on with a backpack. Wien will come at 0640, so good night.

 

I seem to have enjoyed my afternoon at Bingerbruck after the morning on the overnight train from Copenhagen. When I was in Germany again in 1984, I rode the K-D boat from Wiesebaden to Koblenz, then stopped off at Oberwessel in the heart of the Rhein Gorge for a few hours of train watching. Even today, 37 years later, I look back on the day near Bingerbruck with fondness. I ‘d love to go back, even knowing that things have changed quite a bit with a high speed line for ICE trains bypassing this stretch and new equipment on most of the trains.

 

The order of the photos is approximate. I scanned them in two different batches, years apart, on two different scanners. I had some in a "highlights of Germany" slide reel and the rest in a binder. 37 years later, even some that did not make the cut for the highlights show are probably of interest.

Done