Plandampf in Germany

I much prefer to "go it alone" with a small group of friends. Much more flexible than a large group who are probably on a fixed itinerary anyway.

 

Book your hotels on Booking.com and they can be cancelled up to 1800 on the day of arrival. A Blackberry comes in very useful when plans change at the last minute but internet access is available in most places these days.

Travel insurance covers the risk of missed flights and conditions on flag carriers are now generally the same as low cost. If you travel with Easyjet they will put you on the next available flight for a small admin fee.

 

With Trier, I was able to use my Eurostar ticket to Brussels all the way to the Luxembourg border. (nice to know the Eurostar ticket is to "any belgian station").
At the LUX Border, on the train I bought a one way the last stop to Luxembourg.
At Luxembourg the all line pass for the plandampf covered me on regio bahn to Trier nice.

Many times Ive just got a railpass for Germany + a Eurostar ticket, goto Brussels onto Koln then my own prepared itinery..
One year I did Wolsztyn parade by Eurostar, ICE to Berlin, then BR 52 2-10-0 from Berlin to Wolsztyn and back..
then returned with a stop at Harz and Radebeul on the way back for a few days.

Worth knowing is in Germany "Intercity hotels" .. some form of DB Subsidiary hotel comes with a local rail pass for each night and they are usually located in the station.

I was thinking maybe next year doing a re-run except from Cottbus with 01-509 to Wolsztyn.

 

Nice. I like the 01-5s. When is this please?

 

Zeitz Plandampf is now the 44 plus the 65 tank on fotozugs. I presume 52 8154 will be joining the 44 on the coal trains.

 

I was informed next year will be Saturday April 30th with 01 -0509

Cottbus was in 2010: 01 0509, in 2009/8/7 was 18 201

In 2007 there was an extra trip with the BR35 + BR03 double headed.. making 4 DR locomotives and 3 german bound trains in the platform at once at Wolsztyn for the first time since 1945.

For the Berlin run,

2011 this will be double headed BR 52s 52 8177 + 52 8079.

 

Like spamcan81, I prefer to go solo or with my "local" friend whom I meet up with over there. I don't understand why you chaps don't drive over - if you're prepared to travel on a night-time Dover/Calais ferry you can do the return for £50. I take my brew kit, sleeping bag and two-man tent, and the resultant flexibility and the encountering genuine culture are superb - like sharing a few bevvies with the crew of 50 2740 at Seebrug, last year - slept it off in the car in the carriage sidings - or sleeping in the car in Nossen station car-park, and being invited into the Stationmaster's office to cook breakfast on his stove (in the dark days of DDR). Another DDR favourite was sleeping in the car on the bank out of Saalfeld, up to Unterwellenborn, but you only got 30 minutes' sleep before the next 44 came pounding up, and you had to get up to switch the tape-recorder on. I also used to stick my tent up in a small copse at the top of the loops at Weitra (Austria) so that I could record the 5:30 goods train struggling up the hill, usually at least a 20 minute recording. If you're too sensitive for "Autoschlafen" or wild camping there are always plenty of Gasthäuser or "Zimmer Frei's" at which you can do a "knock-knock", and the prices are extremely reasonable. The great thing about Germany/Austria is that you just need to ask - be it accommodation, sticking a tent in someone's back garden, footplate rides etc. etc. (and there are no lineside fences).

Feel free to PM me if you want some tips!
(See some of my exploits on Drehscheibe-online.de - Historisches Forum (same username ie: S..N...G....).

 

SNG long time with no posts!. Driving is fine if you can spare the time and holidays. From the SW just catch the 1845 flight to Berlin, pick a hire car up at the airport and you are in Magdeburg, Halle or Cottbus by nidnight. Probably not much difference in cost and save at least two days travelling. Weekend trips with no hols to Poland, Harz or Dresden are very easy. Only downside are ash clouds leading to missed photo charters! Agree with the rest. Only in Ireland are the railway staff as helpful. Cheers,

 

What sort of sound gear were you using?

 

It is up in the loft at the moment, with a metaphorical rag over the chimney - have not used it for several years, but IIRC it's a hefty Technics RS, using Chrome dioxide cassettes (remember those!) with a couple of rather large mics. Worked wonders for my physical fitness lugging it into various inaccessible places. Wished I'd set it up, recently, for 5029 over the hill from Yeovil to Dorchester.

 

Remember CrO2 tapes very well indeed. Digitised a shed load last year. Used to drag JVC and then Marantz "pro" decks around with a pretty decent JVC "hammer head" mic. The first JVC deck revolutionised my sound recording as its predecessors were pretty naff TBH. All solid state now though with a unit the size of two fag packets. Would love to hear some of your German stuff.

 

Flights booked for Dampf Trifft Kies 5 on the Eisenach-Meiningen 'Werratal' line, 27th-29th Oct... Possibility of 2x 44! Excitement!

 

How much semaphore signalling and general old fashioned infrastructure remains on this line?

 

At the end of last year's Werratal Plandampf the resignalling of the line commenced so I suspect the semaphores have gone by now. Didn't see too much evidence of modernisation of the intermediate stations though.

 

Likewise. Having a few days on the Harzquerbahn too so very much looking forward to the last week in October. To where are you flying if I may ask?

 

I believe Manchester-Frankfurt with easyJet but I can't be sure, Dad booked them!

 

Stansted - Frankfurt (Hahn) with Ryanscare for me and my little group of lunatics. If you come across any local shortages of Schwarzbier during the event that will probably be us.

 

I thought only the pegs at Bad Salzungen had gone so far but I may be wrong. Not too much of a loss as the place has been so over grown in recent years. Just hope Immelborn and Oberrohn have survived. The line is certainly one of the better ones left in Germany and the stations are generally very nice.

The greatest steam show this side of China...see you there for what must now be the 5th year on the trot?

 

You may be right regarding only the Bad Salzungen semaphores going but I was under the impression the whole line was being upgraded. We'll find out soon enough though. Apart from the first southbound train on the first day, I didn't bother with Bad Salzungen as there was always so many photters about. Just hope we get as good weather this year as last.

 

That's fine, I'm a Weissbier man!