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RAILROADS

Spectacular railroads in Europe

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Following pictures on this page are brought from linked websites.

Flamsbana - Commuter train at Hardangervidda
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      X10 Meeting                                           Endstation Flam at Aurlandfjord
One of the most spectacular railroads in Europe can be seen at Flam in Norway close to the inner part of the Sognefjord. I was very surprised when I entered the train in Flam and suddenly found myself on a X10 commuter train from Stockholm. The increasing interest of railroads from tourist in Norway made it necessary to extend the traffic on Flåmsbanen. It was surely not easy to find trains capable for this line with sufficient power and safe brake systems. The choice fall on the Swedish X10 commuter trains from Stockholm climbing the mountains. The name on the trains "Stockholms Lokaltrafik" have now been covered not to mislead the  tourists.
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Flamsbanen starts from sea level in the small village of Flam up to Myrdal 866 m.o.s with a connection to the mainline between Oslo and Bergen. The train runs in serpentines on several levels in the rocks to enable the climbing up to 866 meters in the relatively short distance of  20 km.The view from open areas is fantastic with the waterfall "Kjosfossen" disappearing underneath the train at one of the stations.
Flamsbanen was built during the 30:ties by Swedish railroad workers.
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Brockenbahn - Right into European history
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A  fantastic opportunity opened up for railroad enthusiasts when the wall disappeared. Railroads are still in operation from the time before the 2:nd worldwar. Today`s Germany took the chance to preserve this treasures and have kept several steam lines for regular traffic.

A good example is the "HSB" - a net of lines based on a collection of  BR99 steam locomotives and diesels for 1 meter narrow gauge with a total distance of 132 km. HSB runs 25 steam locos , 16 diesels and more than 125 wagons of different kinds.
The "HSB"- consists of 3 nets - Harzquerbahn – Selketalbahn – Brockenbahn  with common sections.

The most spectacular line is the Brockenbahn – steaming up to the top of  Brocken. Looking out from Brocken   finding the BR99 climbing up through the last curve is unforgettable.
Brockenbahn starts from Wernigerode passing "Drei Annen Hohne" for waterfilling further up to Brocken.  Other parts of the "HSB" net goes down to Nordhausen and Gernrode/Harz. Wernigerode is a very well preserved town with unusual architecture worth a visit. A very good camping is found in Elbingerode not far from Wernigerode.
Brocken was to 1989 occupied by the Sovjetunion and Stasi as a communication center. The wall surrounded the top of Brocken with a corridor leading east for the railroad traffic only used for military transportation's.The line opened 1989  for passenger traffic from being closed since  2:nd world war.
A very good museum tells the story about the wall and the activities around the border.

How do you find Brocken and Wernigerode? Not far from the Autobahn south of  Hannover and east passing Goslar.

Steamengines from Wernigerode - Videos:  "Preparing engines"   "Departure to brocken"

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Weisseritztalbahn - German narrow gauge from  1882
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Another example of a well preserved railway net in former east Germany is the  Weisseritztalbahn with BR99 steam locomotives in traffic between Freital and Kipsdorf south of Dresden. A  26 km journey through a nice area with lakes and forests. This line was build 1882 with a narrow gauge of 750mm. As tourist - Malter is a nice place for camping and swimming in the lake. The station Rabenau with a typical German "Gaststätte" is situated closed to a river in the mountains. A German modelrailroader have built the area around "Rabenau" - presented in the magazine MIBA 6/95.

 

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            Stop at Rabenau                 Waterfilling in Freital

 

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