Trip to Germany - December 2004
Aims of Trip
This trip was planned with the following aims:
- using up the last of my holiday allocation from work - I had intended to use these days for a cancelled trip in the Autumn;
- coverage of most, and preferably all, of my required lines in Schleswig-Holstein and around Bremen;
- specifically, the line between Buchholz and Hamburg-Harburg via the goods yards at Maschen, which was being used for long-term engineering works diversions up to Saturday 11th December 2004;
- also, the Fridays-only military train from the army siding at Haltepunkt Emminger Weg in Munster (Örtze).
Daylight hours are far from ideal at this time of year so careful planning was used to ensure that all required lines were done in reasonable daylight. With three nights in Bremen a certain amount of tram-riding was planned - I'm not too fussed about doing tram lines in darkness...
Operating Company Abbreviations:
- AKN - (Altona Kaltenkirchen Neumünster) Eisenbahn AG
- BSAG - Bremer Straßenbahn AG (operator of Bremen tram system)
- DB - Deutsche Bahn AG
- EVB - Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH
- HOCHBAHN - Hamburger Hochbahn AG (operator of Hamburg U-Bahn system)
- mE - metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH (owned by Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen AG, EVB, HOCHBAHN, BSAG)
- NBE - nordbahn Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH & Co. KG
- neg - Norddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft mbH
- NOB - Nord-Ostsee-Bahn GmbH (owned by Connex Gruppe)
- SHB - Schleswig-Holstein Bahn (owned by AKN)
- SM - Serco Metrolink (operator of Manchester tram system)
| Place | Arrive | Depart | Train | Traction details & notes |
Tuesday 7th December 2004
| Timperley | 18:00 | - | SM 1005 | |
| Altrincham | 18:06 | 18:08 | - | taxi |
| Manchester Airport T1 (MAN) | 18:21 | 19:35 | LH4873 | Lufthansa CRJ100 D-ACLL |
| Hamburg Airport T4 (HAM) | 22:05 | 22:30 | - | Jasper Bus |
| Hamburg Hbf | 22:55 | |||
| New passenger track today: none. | ||||
| Overnight at Ibis Hamburg Alster, Holzdamm 4 - 12 +16, 20099 Hamburg (5 minutes from station). | ||||
| Notes Standard positioning move. |
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Wednesday 8th December 2004
| Hamburg Hbf | 08:10 | RE14562 | DB DL 218 287-1P | |
| via Pz-Gl then Hafen-Gl; reverse at Hamburg-Harburg | ||||
| Cuxhaven | 10:02 | 10:39 | RB34713 | EVB DR VT103 |
| Bremerhaven Hbf | 11:24 | 11:33 | RB24917 | DB EL 110 486-8P |
| Bremen-Burg | 12:16 | 12:23 | RB24532 | DB EL 111 138-4 |
| Bremen-Vegesack | 12:35 | 12:54 | RB24535 | DB EL 111 138-4P |
| Bremen Hbf | 13:18 | 13:38 | RE14678 | DB EL 141 126-3 |
| Hude | 13:58 | 14:01 | RB34548 | DB EL 141 349-1 |
| Oldenburg(Oldb) | 14:12 | 14:35 | RE14306 | DB EL 141 215-4 |
| Leer(Ostfriesl) | 15:14 | 15:30 | RE14513 | DB EL 111 091-5 |
| Bremen Hbf | 17:05 | |||
| New passenger track for the day: Hamburg-Neugraben - Cuxhafen, Cuxhafen - Bremerhaven - Bremen, Bremen-Burg - Bremen-Vegesack, Oldenburg - Leer. | ||||
| Overnight Ibis Bremen Centrum, Rembertring 51, 28203 Bremen (10 minutes walk from station) (1st night of 3). | ||||
| Notes Standard stuff. |
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Thursday 9th December 2004
| Bremen Hbf | 08:38 | RE14668 | DB EL 141 381-4 | |
| Nordenham | 09:48 | 10:06 | RE14673 | DB EL 141 381-4P |
| Bremen Hbf | 11:19 | 11:34 | RB24914 | DB EL 111 141-8 |
| Bremerhaven Hbf | 12:26 | 12:39 | EVB82521 | EVB DR VT109 |
| via Bremervörde | ||||
| Hamburg-Neugraben | 14:25 | 14:30 | 'S3' | DB EMU 474 023+016 sets |
| Hamburg Hbf | 14:54 | 15:15 | ME81422 | mE EL ME146-04 photo |
| via Maschen Yard south side line (except short section near Mswf) - Jesteburg | ||||
| Bremen Hbf | 16:33 | |||
| Hauptbahnhof | 16:56 | '6' | BSAG tram 3078 | |
| Klagenfurter Straße | 17:10 | 17:12 | '6' | BSAG tram 3069 |
| Hünefeldstraße | 17:46 | 17:47 | '6' | BSAG tram 3059 |
| Domsheide | 18:00 | 18:21 | '4' | BSAG tram 3069 |
| Borgfeld | 18:56 | 18:57 | '1E' | BSAG tram 3069 |
| via curve at Kirchbachstraße | ||||
| Kurt-Huber-Straße | 19:24 | 19:26 | '1' | BSAG tram 3036 |
| Osterholz (Züricher Straße) | 19:34 | 19:37 | '1' | BSAG tram 3536+3736 |
| Am Brill | 20:12 | 20:15 | '3' | BSAG tram 3517+3717 |
| Domsheide | 20:19 | |||
| Overnight Ibis Bremen Centrum (2nd night of 3). | ||||
| New passenger track for the day: Hude - Nordenham, Bremerhaven - Bremervörde - Buxtehude, (Hamburg-Harburg -) Maschen yard - Buchholz. | ||||
| Notes The Nordenham is quite interesting as there is a lot of freight traffic, some of it hauled by 232s. I had actually done much of the EVB system on a railtour a few years ago, but I needed most of the existing passenger network. First ride on a "metronom". The run past Maschen yard was interesting as we got diverted off the normal running line, through the yard, because of a train parked in the way. Made a start on the Bremen tram system, which is quite extensive and continually growing. Quite a few workings run to and from the depots via unusual curves in passenger service. |
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Friday 10th December 2004
| Bremen Hbf | 09:00 | RB24275 | DB DMU 634 661+934 452+624 645 | |
| Munster(Örtze) | 10:32 | |||
| Munster Hp Emminger Weg | 11:40 | IC2631 | DB DL 218 253-3 | |
| Uelzen photo | 12:25 | 12:43 | IC2376 | DB EL 101 089-1P |
| Lüneburg | 12:58 | 13:31 | RB11816 | DB DMU 628 218 set |
| Lübeck Hbf | 14:37 | 15:07 | RE11443 | DB DL 218 256-6 top + 218 367-1P tail |
| Hamburg Hbf | 15:56 | 16:13 | ME81424 | mE EL ME146-06 |
| via Maschen Yard south side line - Jesteburg | ||||
| Bremen Hbf | 17:33 | 18:18 | RE14419 | DB EL 111 084-0 |
| from platform 3, via south side line as far as Abzw Vahr | ||||
| Achim | 18:29 | 18:36 | RB24290 | DB DMU 614 077+914 027+614 080 |
| Bremen Hbf | 18:48 | into platform 2 | ||
| Hauptbahnhof | 18:58 | '8' | BSAG tram 3031 | |
| Roland Center (Huchting) | 19:19 | 19:26 | '1' | BSAG tram 3054 |
| Hauptbahnhof | 19:41 | 19:43 | '10' | BSAG tram 3016 |
| Seebaldsbrück | 20:08 | 20:12 | '10' | BSAG tram 3023 |
| St Jürgen-Straße | 20:25 | 20:27 | '3' | BSAG tram 3515+3715 |
| Weserwehr | 20:34 | 20:36 | 'E' | BSAG tram 3515+3715 |
| via Georg-Bitter Straße connecting line | ||||
| Föhrenstraße | 20:44 | 20:45 | '2' | BSAG tram 3066 |
| Domsheide | 21:00 | |||
| Overnight Ibis Bremen Centrum (3rd night of 3). | ||||
| New passenger track for the day: Bremen - Soltau(Han) - Münster - Uelzen, Lüneburg - Lübeck. | ||||
| Notes Highlight today was the passenger service out of the military siding at Munster(Örtze). Emminger Weg is a public road but surrounded by army areas - I didn't risk a photograph of the train! The walk from the main station only took about 25 minutes including getting slightly lost once. A lot of squaddies got on at the start, then more at the main station; many got off at Uelzen though. What an amazing station Uelzen is, apparently created by artist-architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, but maybe better suited to Morocco than to northern Germany. Lübeck station, on the other hand, is being rebuilt and is a complete mess. The Hamburg - Lübeck fasts run with top and tail class 218s which is interesting, some of them split to go to Kiel. The run out as far as Achim was to try to cover more of the flying junctions at Vahr, with only moderate success; the inbound train might have done an extra diveunder, instead it crossed on the level at Bremen Hbf. More tram routes, including the long connecting line between routes 2 and 3. |
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Saturday 11th December 2004
| Bremen Hbf | 07:18 | RE14503 | DB EL 111 132-7 | |
| Hannover Hbf | 08:42 | 08:51 | RB34610 | DB DMU 614 064+914 040+614 063 |
| via Soltau(Han) | ||||
| Buchholz(Nordheide) | 11:49 | 12:16 | ME81415 | mE EL 146-04P |
| via Jesteburg - Maschen yard north side | ||||
| Hamburg Hbf | 12:44 | 13:09 | 'S21' | DB EMU 472 048 + 1 sets |
| Hamburg-Eidelstedt | 13:24 | 13:36 | AKN1149 | AKN DMU VT2.39 |
| Ulzburg Süd | 14:11 | 14:17 | AKN4470 | AKN DMU VT2.36 |
| Elmshorn | 14:56 | 15:09 | RE11223 | DB EL 112 153-2P |
| Hamburg Hbf | 15:37 | 16:05 | RE11444 | DB DL 218 367-1 top + 218 331-7 tail |
| Lübeck Hbf | 16:53 | |||
| Hotel Lindenhof, Lindenstraße 1a, 23558 Lübeck (5 minutes walk from station). | ||||
| New passenger track for the day: Nienburg - Wuntsdorf, (Hannover) - Soltau - Buchholz, Ulzburg - Barmstedt - Elmshorn. | ||||
| Notes Down to Hannover to do the other line through Soltau. Through to Maschen yard again, this time northbound. The AKN lines north of Hamburg-Eidelstedt and at Ulzburg have been completely re-aligned, using underpasses instead of level crossings. Ulzburg to Barmstedt used to have a very restricted service, but it is now hourly. |
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Sunday 12th December 2004
| Lübeck Hbf | 08:10 | RB11746 | DB DMU 628 221 set | |
| Neustadt(Holst) | 08:47 | 09:01 | RB11751 | DB DMU 628 221 set |
| Lübeck Hbf | 09:37 | 10:01 | RE11430 | DB DL 218 456-2 |
| Kiel Hbf | 11:14 | 12:03 | NOB82466 | NOB DR VT302 |
| Husum | 13:26 | 13:32 | RE11014 | DB DL 218 383-8 |
| Westerland(Sylt) | 14:36 | 15:22 | RE11029 | DB DL 218 117-0 |
| Husum | 16:28 | |||
| Thomas Hotel, am Zingel 7-9, 25813 Husum (8 minutes walk from station). | ||||
| New passenger track for the day: Neustadt branch, Bad Schwartau - Kiel - Rendsburg, Jübek - Husum, Niebüll - Westerland. | ||||
| Notes A simple day just filling in my remaining cross-country routes in Schleswig-Holstein, as well as the short branch to Neustadt. Interesting run across the Hindenburgdamm to the island of Sylt. Plenty of hotels and restaurants in Husum, a nice port town. |
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Monday 13th December 2004
| Husum | 08:37 | NOB82568 | NOB DR VT307 | |
| Bad St Peter-Ording | 09:28 | 09:34 | NOB82569 | NOB DR VT307 |
| Husum | 10:24 | 10:32 | RE11008 | DB DL 218 495-0 |
| Niebüll | 10:58 | |||
| Niebüll neg | 11:18 | neg9 | neg DL DL.2 | |
| Dagebüll Mole | 11:42 | 11:55 | neg10 | neg DL DL.2P |
| Niebüll | 12:25 | 13:01 | RE11023 | DB DL 218 477-0P |
| Heide(Holst) | 13:57 | 14:01 | SHB82732 | SHB DR VT2.72 |
| Büsum | 14:27 | 14:31 | SHB82735 | SHB DR VT2.72 |
| Heide(Holst) | 14:57 | 15:02 | RE11029 | DB DL 218 185-7P |
| Hamburg-Altona | 16:24 | 16:38 | ME91426 | mE ME146-01 |
| Hamburg Hbf | 16:52 | |||
| Overnight at Ibis Hamburg Alster, Holzdamm 4 - 12 +16, 20099 Hamburg (5 minutes from station). | ||||
| New passenger track for the day: Husum - Bad St.Peter-Ording, Niebüll - Dagebüll, Heide (Holst) - Büsum. | ||||
| Notes Finishing off the three western branches, including ensuring that the connecting line at Niebüll between the private station and the main line station was covered. Dagebüll Mole was interesting, with the ferries docking adjacent to the station. |
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Tuesday 14th December 2004
| Hamburg Hbf | 09:05 | RE11430 | DB DL 218 491-9 top + 218 434-9 tail | |
| Bad Oldesloe | 09:34 | 09:42 | NBE82660 | NBE DR VT2.75 |
| Neumünster | 10:28 | 10:33 | AKN82820 | AKN DMU VT2.64 |
| Hamburg-Eidelstedt | 12:02 | 12:04 | 'S3' | DB EMU 474 005 + ? sets |
| Hamburg-Altona | 12:13 | 12:52 | 'S1' | DB EMU 472 024+060 sets |
| Wedel (Holstein) | 13:19 | 13:23 | 'S1' | DB EMU 472 050+042 sets |
| Hamburg Hbf | 14:03 | 14:43 | FLX88178 | NOB Dispolok EL ES64U2-034 (=182 534-8) photo |
| Elmshorn | 15:09 | 14:53 | RB11073 | DB EL 141 430-9P dep 21 late |
| Hamburg-Altona | 15:20 | arr 22 late | ||
| 15:50 | 'S31' | DB EMU 474 075+058 sets | ||
| via Hamburg Sternschanze | ||||
| Hamburg Hbf | 16:01 | |||
| Hauptbahnhof Süd | 16:10 | 'U3' | HOCHBAHN EMU | |
| via Rathaus and Sternschanze | ||||
| Kellinghusenstraße | 16:28 | 16:29 | 'U1' | HOCHBAHN EMU |
| Ohlsdorf | 16:32 | 16:40 | '110' | bus |
| Hamburg Flughafen T4 | 16:50 | |||
| HAM | 18:25 | LH4872 | Lufthansa CRJ100 D-ACJI ran 50/40 late | |
| MAN | 19:55 | 20:15 | - | taxi |
| Timperley | 20:30 | |||
| New passenger track for the day: Fahrenkrug - Neumünster, Ulzburg new low level route, Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg-Blankenese - Wedel. | ||||
| Notes Third time of asking for the line from Bad Oldesloe: did it as far as Bad Segeburg many years ago, then as far as Fahrenkrug on a railtour, now it's open to passengers all the way through. Finished off the Hamburg S-Bahn and the trip by going to Wedel, which is an interesting line with a reversal at Hamburg-Blankenese. The run out to Elmshorn and back was just to have a ride behind one of the Siemens Dispoloks on the new Flensburg Express services; the loco was coupled to the Driving Trailer so presumably they have push-pull problems here as well as in the UK! |
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Summary
A most enjoyable trip and very productive. No rushing about and all went exactly to plan. Timekeeping excellent.
No hotels pre-booked except first and last nights in Hamburg.
Tickets used: Niedersachsen-Single ticket (EUR15, Wednesday to Friday), Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (EUR28 Saturday, EUR30 Sunday - price-increase!), Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket (EUR27 Monday and Tuesday), plus single tickets as required for travel before the 09:00 weekday start time, plus an IC ticket Munster(Örtze) - Lüneburg for the Friday.