Squashed Crocs
The RWE EL1s are anything but beautiful, but they are unique and now quite old machines so well worth documenting. The RWE, or Rheinbraun railway is a quasi insular operation between the companies brown coal mines and powerplants just west of Cologne, Germany. The network consists of two primary routes, the Nord-Süd Bahn and the Hambachbahn. Last Saturday I made my first visit to the network with the idea to focus on the Nord-Süd Bahn. This train showed up exactly as I arrived and was happy to so quickly get a EL1 led train. Unfortunately things went downhill from there.
A few notes for those interested in photographing this line and also not so familiar:
1.) Blocks A -E of Kraftwerk Neurath have were shut in March of this year, meaning that the classic shot from the overpass with the power plant in the background is now impossible. Good for the environment, tragic for the photographer.
2.) 90% of trains shove back towards Frimmersdorf, making west/northbound shots very difficult.
3.) There are very few good photo locations on the Nord-Süd Bahn, this one being the best. Unfortunately this spot happens to be right in the path of the cooling tower exhaust shadow! About 30 minutes after this photo the spot was fully in the shadow. I didnt really find a satisfactory angle the rest of the day, in most of the other segments the light is wrong for southbounds or very overgrown.
Ill have to try again for the Hambach side, on this visit getting there would have been a pain due to the closure of the Aachen - Köln line due to a derailment. (always something wrong with that cursed line)
Squashed Crocs
The RWE EL1s are anything but beautiful, but they are unique and now quite old machines so well worth documenting. The RWE, or Rheinbraun railway is a quasi insular operation between the companies brown coal mines and powerplants just west of Cologne, Germany. The network consists of two primary routes, the Nord-Süd Bahn and the Hambachbahn. Last Saturday I made my first visit to the network with the idea to focus on the Nord-Süd Bahn. This train showed up exactly as I arrived and was happy to so quickly get a EL1 led train. Unfortunately things went downhill from there.
A few notes for those interested in photographing this line and also not so familiar:
1.) Blocks A -E of Kraftwerk Neurath have were shut in March of this year, meaning that the classic shot from the overpass with the power plant in the background is now impossible. Good for the environment, tragic for the photographer.
2.) 90% of trains shove back towards Frimmersdorf, making west/northbound shots very difficult.
3.) There are very few good photo locations on the Nord-Süd Bahn, this one being the best. Unfortunately this spot happens to be right in the path of the cooling tower exhaust shadow! About 30 minutes after this photo the spot was fully in the shadow. I didnt really find a satisfactory angle the rest of the day, in most of the other segments the light is wrong for southbounds or very overgrown.
Ill have to try again for the Hambach side, on this visit getting there would have been a pain due to the closure of the Aachen - Köln line due to a derailment. (always something wrong with that cursed line)