Here we are, the start of the journey. Niederbruck was chosen as the starting point for the company for one main reason, the size of the town was especially large compared to the others in the area. We stroll into the station, having pre-booked our tickets online, the departure board indicates we have several minutes before the arrival of the Inter-City train to Nortbruck. We buy a coffee and move to Platform 2.
Only 3 minutes have passed when suddenly my train comes gliding from the tunnel
into the station. 1st class passengers are at the back of the train so we walk
to the back and board in considerable comfort. The whistle is blown and the
whole train smoothly eases forward, with the distant roar of the BR120's engine
increasing in volume.
We go back through the tunnel and immediately above the tunnel is the HQ, to our
left as we cross the 3-track bridge is a wonderful view of the plains, the
meadows and the never-ending sea of grass. Up ahead, a V100 pulls a Local train
from Nortbruck, although it uses a mainly single track route through Langenheim
and Albhausen an der Elbe.
We come down the hall, with plentiful countryside on both sides, along with a BR250 hauled Inter-Regio train from Nortbruck.
We come round the corner of Dusselhaven am Main and head straight through the
station. Just leaving is an IR service bound for Coberg. We don’t stop here but
head straight through.
We cruise along the mainline, the town of Nordbruck on our right, and the local
route to Langenheim.
We move across the bridge and pull into Nortbruck, a real hub on our network. This is where we change trains, having enough time to get our bearings; we go under the platforms to the S-Bahn tracks. There is the mainline to Salzhorst, the S-Bahn line to Salzhorst, the local route to Langenheim and Niederbruck plus the mainline to Niederbruck.
Our train arrives as does one in the opposite platform, direction Elstermunster.
The town is situated on the Nortbruck-Coberg mainline.
We have climbed the hill and arrive at Salzhorst south station, before briefly
stopping and departing again.
We arrive at the Hauptbahnhof, just as our IC train
from before rounds the bend and enters as well. That was a fun trip, join us
again for another ride!
Nurnheim, a town located in the hills. Our train has just arrived, behind a nice, big, beefy BR101, one of the companies newest. On the next platform is the all-stops local service to Niederbruck, hauled by a BR250.
We set off ahead of the local, and speed up to the routes max. speed of 160 kph.
The lush countryside giving the passengers a pleasant view. Coffee is served
from the mini-bar as the train roars on.
Freudenmunster, located on a hill-top and an awkward place for a station!
Blocking the express heading the other way is another local train on the same
service as the earlier one, although this time pulled by one of the BR116’s that
share the routes services…
Between the towns of Wurzfurt and Herzberg we speed, not stopping at either. This section is 4-track for convenience. Both towns are of roughly the same size, and both getting only visited by the local trains.
Round the town of Bammund we go, the engineers having a difficult time with this
one. Parts of the mountain had to be strengthened to take the weight of the
frequent trains. The track now threads its way through the streets, and then
down towards Niederbruck.
We descend the Niederbruck loop, used to get the descent done in as little space
as possible. Already the outer suburbs of the city are visible, cant be long
now…
Back up the hill we trundle, just getting ahead of the I.C.E. service to Bonn Hbf via Niederbruck. The route gets very busy now, with trains every couple of seconds!
It feels good to be back, doesn’t it? The station is much busier now, just at
this moment, several trains are in the immediate area: 3 BR614’s joined together
for the rush hour, which make their way to Nortbruck, although leaving later
than our train, we take the earlier BR612, also in a set of 3, so as to get some
ideal train-spotting time at Dusselhaven am Main Hauptbahnhof.
We head off, our IC train from before beating us to the bridge. You know the
journey from here so we’ll skip onto Dusselhaven.
Now this is what I call busy!!!! 8 trains just at this point come from all over and head all over as well! Our train has to wait for an empty platform while a BR614 heads back up to Niederbruck. Another BR614, on the same service as the one next to us, is heading for Nortbruck. The other train on our route is also present, sitting collecting passengers. An IC train from Nortbruck to Coberg crosses, along with an IR train from Coberg heading for Fort Bruckheim, we are no way in time to catch it but if were lucky we may catch the EMU…
Dammit! Just as we arrive the other one pulls away, oh well, another one will be
along soon! A BR420 on a regional all-stops service is leaving as an arriving IR
train from Coberg enters.
Only a few minutes later our train, another BR614, arrives and we pile in with
the crowd.
Moments later we depart again, heading south under the mountain, on our right is a BR232 pulling an IR service, whilst on the far side, an old BR120 pulls an IC non-stop service from Nortbruck to Niederbruck.
A while later we emerge from the tunnel, the bypass clearly in view which takes
IC trains around Dusselhaven am Main.
Welcome, to the third story of this collection. Today we travel from Fort
Bruckheim to Kulmheim, we will be changing trains twice. Here we are, standing
at Platform 2 of Fort Bruckheim Hbf. Our train, a shiny, red BR420 is just
arrving now. Dont forget anything!
Our train rolls off, crossing the T-Junction and heading for Rottbrucken.
Our train is rolling along at maximum speed now, on our right is a dual-headed
BR181 train of 14 empty coal hoppers, on its way up to Koln. On our left is the
"New Development Area" for Rottbrucken. Our company, Deutsche Bahn AG, is
funding the project for a very happy Rottbrucken.
Already the suburbs are coming into view, trains are slowly making their way to
Innsdorf on our right, both empty and loaded.
After a couple more minutes of just trains and houses, all of a sudden comes
Rottbrucken Hbf, swarming with trains! Goods trains from the refinery and
factory at Innsdorf are making their way in and out, along with expresses to
different regions, ours will be along any minute now, must hurry!
Here it comes now, along with an express from Nortbruck. Pulled by a slightly
ageing BR182.
We leave now, taking the sunken route that leads to the tunnel to Coberg, our
next port of call.
The city is behind us now, and we are into the countryside, crossing a new
bridge across the lake.
The countryside now behind us, we roll once more into the traffic outside Coberg
Hbf. Ahead, just leaving, is an ICE1 trainset bound for Niederbruck and Bonn.
And we glide smoothly into Platform 5, just arriving is a local service BR612
from Niederbruck, and just leaving is a train to Nurnheim via Paderbruck.
Our train is not far from arriving now, meanwhile as we prepare for embarking,
trains come and go, both IC trains and Ex-IR trains to various destinations Such
as Rottbrucken, Niederbruck, Hildesdorf and Nortbruck.
An ICE1 trainset has just arrived, and our train, another BR420 is also coming
in, the train isnt very busy as we arent at rush-hour for another 30 minutes.
Time to leave, our train is now departing, but the ICE1 leaves just before us,
on the far side of the station throat is an ICE3 trainset which runs from here
non-stop to Nurnheim.
We roll off and increase speed, this time going right at the 3-way split.
Our first stop along this route is at the lakeside city of Munchen, another
BR420, on the return working of this service is ready to depart.
Just after departing we pass a double BR614 trainset which has come from
Nurnheim.
Our next halt is at the lofty town of Olsfeld, where we stop briefly before
continuing, not many passengers use this stop because lots of the citizens work
within the town.
Now we have the quite large city of Herzhaven, known for its local delicacies
such as Deep Fried Mars Bars! Yum, yum!
We are just approaching the first of Lubeck's 2 stations, this station doesnt
see service ATM, it was built for the new stadium which will be built next to
the current structure.
The 2nd and main station is where we stop for 2 minutes, quite a lot disembark
here for the brief stroll down to the shopping centre in town.
We speed through a tunnel and dont pause at Erlangen as this is a limited stop
station, we have no need to call here.
An interesting arrangement at Paderbruck, 4 platforms, one for each direction to
Kulmheim and one in each direction to Nurnheim, we pass an oncoming BR614 train
just before gliding to a stop inside the platforms.
Our pen-ultimate stop is at Essen, quite a bustling city actually, the local
Sawmill brings workers and visitors alike to see the wonders of the olden days
at work!
We cross the busy junction just outside Kulmheim and head over the bridge, our
train starts to slow now.
Welcome, ladies and gentleman, the speaker overhead crackles, to Kulmheim, we
hope you enjoy your stay here. Our train comes in, between an IC service from
Rottbrucken and a regional BR614 from the industrial city of Bad Potsdam down
south on the coast, going via Nienstadt. We hope you enjoyed the journey, I
certainly have! Please join us again soon!
Moments later we pull into the terminus station, situated at one end of the
historic, medieval town. The towns station has yet to be renovated, and as such
it lacks the cover of a shelter. Not many trains stop here, most continue
further up the route in the opposite direction to Rottbrucken.
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Story 3
Fort Bruckheim - Kulmheim
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