Railroad Station
Locomotive Breath
»Numerous visitors welcomed the first special
train in Rückersdorf on Saturday morning.«
(Me, too ;-)
Entire region as transport interchange and location of the first German railroad Nuremberg-Fürth 1835 is predestinated for appropriate celebrations.
Even more so it is no wonder that one is rail addicted, with interest in past, usage at present and expectations for future. Then it could also happen one is on [Rail Tour] with more than 20 000 km (12 500 miles) in four weeks and one hangs on one's railroad dreams in [Rail Plan].
Evoked, by the way, here in Rückersdorf - says my vague recollection - in the early and mid 70ies I had just seen the last type 01 locos from Hof in regular service.
125th Anniversary of the Pegnitz Valley Railway
Already a part of history as well:
ICE TD, Class 605
Enjoy the 125th Anniversary of the Pegnitztal Railway 1877 - 2002 on July 13th/14th 2002 organized by IGE Bahntouristik and additional shooting for episode 463 of the SWR TV serial Eisenbahnromantik (Engl.: Railway Romance) took place. Here a selection of some official photos out of it. Some snapshots by my own you will find here: [Rail r. d. Peg.].
Ending with the Second World War the double-tracked line, a part of the connection between Nuremberg - Schnabelwaid/Bayreuth - Eger (Cheb), was an important European main line. So e.g. the Ostende-Karlsbad-Express, the London/Calais-Paris-Karlsbad and Prague Express and the express trains Paris - Warsaw, Warsaw - Zurich and inner German express trains between Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Dresden as well as Berlin used the Pegnitz valley north east of Nuremberg.
End of the iron curtain and the reunion of Germany ere the cause for a revival of the line, there are or were InterCity, EuroCity and ICE relations to Berlin and Prague. Although the line is not yet electrified 29 bridges over the Pegnitz, seven tunnels and several viaducts, most of them just in an 11 km (less than 7 miles) long section, permit a relative straight line and rapid speeds up to 160 km/h (100 miles per hour) are possibly on one of the most beautiful lines in Northern Bavaria.
Enlarge info upon the line with the according
book: Züge - Brücken - Tunnels, Herbert Hieke,
Manfred Gerschütz, Heimat- und GeschichtsvereinNeunkirchen am
Sand, 2002, ISBN 3-00009731-7, see also:
https://www.bahnausbau-nordostbayern.de/nuernberg-marktredwitz.html.
Many line
photos are shown in the Eisenbahn-Kurier special issue ek
special 4 2/86 celebrating the 150th Anniversary of German
railroad in 1985. (In parts it is in English.)
And not to forget - an awesome cycle track accompanies the line.
German Steam Loco Museum (DDM)
Especially the Pegnitz Valley section shines due to the famous tunnel view - through four tunnels at a time. Additionally there is the not less popular Schiefe Ebene (Engl.: sloping plain; incline) at Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg and the Deutsche Dampflok Museum DDM (Engl.: German Steam Locomotive Museum) are situated at the line or, however, at least close up in the vicinity at a branch line.
Exciting front of 10 001 in the DDM; together with 10 002, the last new DB steam loco nicknamed »BlackSwan« built around 1958 (on the right; click to enlarge).
100th Anniversary of the Traffic Museum Nuremberg (DB Museum)
S 3/6 (4-6-2, 4 cyl. comp.) of K.Bay.Sts.B.
Entirely reworked Super-Pacific express train steam locomotive S 3/6 of the former Königlich Bayerische Staatseisenbahnen (K.BAY.STS.B.; Engl.: Royal Bavarian State Railroads; earlier than 1920) working at the 100th anniversary of the DB museum at the shunting yard in 1999 was one of the numerous highlights (click to enlarge).
Exhaust vapor is not everything. Current in shape of the SBB Crocodile built in the 1920ies and operating in Switzerland is not bad, too. And both elegant Diesel »Egg Heads« give forth the touch of long ago times as well (click to enlarge).
Extend the [TOUR] to a Rail Tour with the Tramper Monthly Season Ticket.