Wed 06 July 2011
Wed 06 July 2011
31/07/12 17:06
Off to Koblenz for a few days photography, mainly in the Mosel Valley, a line with heavy freight traffic, loco hauled local passengers and rare class 181s on InterCity services, all in excellent scenery.
After an early morning drive to Gatwick, easyJet flew me to Köln/Bonn, arriving a couple of minutes after the booked 09:25. Everything went smoothly and I had collected my bag and found my way to the station by 09:45, in good time to buy a ticket and catch the 09:51 RE to Koblenz. However, I hadn’t reckoned with the ticket machine from hell, the dreaded Adamatic 9000. It didn’t just want to know where I was going, it wanted to know absolutely everything before condescending to issue a ticket. I almost got one question about the treaty of Brest-Litovsk wrong and who knows what would have happened then. In the event, I caught the train but only just.
Koblenz was reached just over an hour later and, after dropping my bag at the Hotel Hohenstaufen near the station and buying a 7-day ticket for the VRM area (€57.40), it was off up the Mosel in search of some trains. A trip to Bullay to check out some photspots was followed by a brief photosession at Hatzenport before spending the rest of the afternoon around Winningen.
There was some sun around during the afternoon but, despite the line being busy, only a couple of trains were well lit. In the early evening the cloud melted away and the day ended with a number of shots in glorious sunshine.
The line was busy with a good variety of classes seen on 18 different freights. On my previous visit, in October 2010, most of the RE trains and a few of the RB trains were worked by class 143 electrics. This time it was even better with 6 out of 7 REs and 9 out of 15 RBs worked by 143s. One set had a loco at each end, both working. All the IC trains were hauled by 181s as expected and Orientrot 181.213 put in an appearance.
After an early morning drive to Gatwick, easyJet flew me to Köln/Bonn, arriving a couple of minutes after the booked 09:25. Everything went smoothly and I had collected my bag and found my way to the station by 09:45, in good time to buy a ticket and catch the 09:51 RE to Koblenz. However, I hadn’t reckoned with the ticket machine from hell, the dreaded Adamatic 9000. It didn’t just want to know where I was going, it wanted to know absolutely everything before condescending to issue a ticket. I almost got one question about the treaty of Brest-Litovsk wrong and who knows what would have happened then. In the event, I caught the train but only just.
Koblenz was reached just over an hour later and, after dropping my bag at the Hotel Hohenstaufen near the station and buying a 7-day ticket for the VRM area (€57.40), it was off up the Mosel in search of some trains. A trip to Bullay to check out some photspots was followed by a brief photosession at Hatzenport before spending the rest of the afternoon around Winningen.
There was some sun around during the afternoon but, despite the line being busy, only a couple of trains were well lit. In the early evening the cloud melted away and the day ended with a number of shots in glorious sunshine.
The line was busy with a good variety of classes seen on 18 different freights. On my previous visit, in October 2010, most of the RE trains and a few of the RB trains were worked by class 143 electrics. This time it was even better with 6 out of 7 REs and 9 out of 15 RBs worked by 143s. One set had a loco at each end, both working. All the IC trains were hauled by 181s as expected and Orientrot 181.213 put in an appearance.
Koblenz Hbf
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 143.009 | RE12012 | 12:22 Koblenz Hbf - Saarbrücken Hbf | 12:22 |
Bullay
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 189.024 189.033 |
NB Iron Ore Hoppers | 13:08 | |
| 143.813 t & t with 143.194 |
RB12223 | 12:21 Trier Hbf - Koblenz Hbf | 13:13 |
Hatzenport
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 181.213 | IC136 | 08:34 Emden Hbf - Luxembourg | 13:47 |
| 272.001 (RTS) | NB Spoil | 14:05 | |
| 143.905 | RB12224 | 13:36 Koblenz Hbf - Trier Hbf | 14:08 |
| 189.043 189.034 |
SB Iron Ore Hoppers | 14:16 | |
| 151.144 | SB Freight | 14:26 | |
| 185.142 | NB Freight | 14:35 | |
| 143.090 | RE12014 | 14:22 Koblenz Hbf - Saarbrücken Hbf | 14:42 |
S of Winningen
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 143.833 propelling |
RE12013 | 13:04 Saarbrücken Hbf - Koblenz Hbf | 15:30 |
| 181.207 | IC134 | 09:53 Norddeich Mole - Luxembourg | 15:36 |
| 145.008 145.020 |
SB Coal Hoppers | 15:42 | |
| 143.568 | RB12228 | 15:40 Koblenz Hbf - Trier Hbf | 15:52 |
| 185.020 | SB Freight | 15:57 | |
| 152.118 | NB Intermodal | 16:08 | |
| 181.204 | IC137 | 14:24 Luxembourg - Emden Hbf | 16:24 |
| 143.833 | RE12016 | 16:22 Koblenz Hbf - Saarbrücken Hbf | 16:30 |
| 185.181 185.198 |
NB PKP Coal Hoppers | 16:34 | |
| 2016.908 (RTS) | SB Spoil Empties | 16:57 | |
| 143.910 propelling |
RB12231 | 14:31 Perl - Koblenz Hbf | 17:06 |
| 151.068 | SB Freight | 17:18 | |
| 152.056 | NB PKP Coal Hoppers | 17:18 | |
| 294.589 | SB Light Engine | 17:25 | |
| 181.204 | IC132 | 11:36 Norddeich Mole - Luxembourg | 17:36 |
| 189.xxx 189.xxx |
SB Iron Ore Hoppers | 17:45 | |
| 185.5xx (Dispo) | NB PKP Coal Hoppers | 17:45 |
Winningen
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 143.905 propelling |
RB12233 | 16:21 Trier Hbf - Koblenz Hbf | 18:10 |
| 181.213 | IC139 | 16:24 Luxembourg - Koblenz Hbf | 18:28 |
| 143.009 | RE12018 | 18:22 Koblenz Hbf - Saarbrücken Hbf | 18:29 |
| 37024 (F-SNCF/ITL) | SB Containers | 18:41 | |
| 143.905 | RB12240 | 18:40 Koblenz Hbf - Trier Hbf | 18:50 |
| 143.813 t & t with 143.194 |
RB12235 | 17:21 Trier Hbf - Koblenz Hbf | 19:05 |
| 151.018 151.152 |
SB Coal Hoppers | 19:08 | |
| 185.501 (CTD) | SB Freight | 19:15 | |
| 110.438 | NB Special | 19:16 | |
| 143.090 propelling |
RE12017 | 17:04 Saarbrücken Hbf - Koblenz Hbf | 19:31 |
| 181.213 | IC130 | 19:24 Koblenz Hbf - Luxembourg | 19:37 |
| 185.067 | SB Flats | 19:43 | |
| 185.217 | NB Steel Wire Coils | 19:45 | |
| 143.194 t & t with 143.813 |
RB12242 | 19:40 Koblenz Hbf - Trier Hbf | 19:49 |
| 143.568 propelling |
RB12237 | 18:21 Trier Hbf - Koblenz Hbf | 20:08 |
Koblenz Hbf
| Loco | Train No. |
Train Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 111.115 | Stabled | 20:22 |
