Harz in December.

DB in UK is highly regarded and you well get good service, although myself, I do everything via Internet via the DB site or Eurostar. If you throw time at it you can tweak your itinerary to catch bargains that may not be offered by DB who may stick more to your specification or fastest journey. There is also the question of which carrier you are using beyond Brussels and to compare the DB offer versus Eurostar offer to/from the German gateway.

My next trip for example I have tweaked the DB site to get as close as possible to Wernigerode by loco hauled trains and avoiding the awful tilting 612s on the Hannover - Wernigerode route. Round the houses can work out cheaper than direct too.

David

 

DB in UK is highly regarded and you well get good service, although myself, I do everything via Internet via the DB site or Eurostar. If you throw time at it you can tweak your itinerary to catch bargains that may not be offered by DB who may stick more to your specification or fastest journey. There is also the question of which carrier you are using beyond Brussels and to compare the DB offer versus Eurostar offer to/from the German gateway.

My next trip for example I have tweaked the DB site to get as close as possible to Wernigerode by loco hauled trains and avoiding the awful tilting 612s on the Hannover - Wernigerode route. Round the houses can work out cheaper than direct too.

David

 

If this is your first visit I would recommend a "guided" tour with Railtrail as their tours include charters - which means you will photograph at locations not normally accessible unless you are familiar with the area. Railtrail is currently offering a trip in February and I would recommend that you consider it.

A further consideration is to fly out to Berlin on day 1 of the Railtrail programme then take the train to Wernigerode for a night's stay at Wernigerode giving you Day 2 as a full day to travel to the Brocken and stay as long as you want to sample the arrival / departures - subject to the temperatures whilst the main group stays overnight at Wuppertal and travels on Day 2 to Wernigerode. I did this and Railtrail happily made all the arrangements including the travel between Berlin and Wernigerode both ways, the night at Wernigerode (effectively equalling the non-use of Wuppertal) then joining the basic tour. By arranging my own flights on Easy Jet from Liverpool I actually saved money compared to the standard tour price from London and had the second day as a full day on the network rather than travelling onwards from Wuppertal.

Railtrail website at : http://www.railtrail.co.uk/steam-enthusiast-tour-calendar

If any questions feel free to contact me offline.

 

You on commission?
Seriously though, there's enough info on the internet and advice available on forums such as this that having someone to "hold your hand" is hardly a necessity.

 

Seeing as Fred has decided to advertised a specific tour company, I shall do likewise! The pros and cons of organised trips or going it alone have already been discussed, but Fred is probably right that a first trip as part of a party is a good idea.

I went with Inside Track in February and liked it so much I am going again on 9th October! Their trips are rail from St Pancras, overnight at Koln and then on to spend the first part of the holiday at Alexisbad and then moving on to Weinigerode for the second part (and straight home in a day at the end). You gets lots of chance to ride all parts of the Harz network, including, of course, the Brocken. Towns served by the network are also visited, there tends to be a little tram riding in Nordlingen and there is also an excursion, including a rather unusual mainline ride, to a separate narrow gauge line where full hospitality to provided! A coach is on hand for several sessions of chasing the train for photographs as well as a works tours at Weinigerode being included.

I see you are a Train Planner and hence perhaps have Priv entitlements - if it is easier and cheaper for you to book your own travel, Inside Track can reflect this in the holiday price - I have just returned from Luxembourg with them and one of our party, who has full priv entitlement, had used this for his Eurostar and onward travel (actually, not much is needed - Eurostar tickets covered the whole of Belgium).

I have been with both Railtrail and Inside Track and find Inside Track, a smaller company, much better value. Railtrail do tend to be more enthusiast focused for some of their trips, although I am not sure if the Harz ones aren't in their general brochure and hence more aimed at the coach travel market. Inside Track sit in between - plenty for the enthusiast but enough variety for those not totally obsessed with trains! Either way, the advantage of being part of a party )certainly with Inside Track) is the Courier knows the best places for photographs, can recommend eateries and plans an itinerary for lunch and drink stops..

I am not part of the Inside Track business, just a very satisfied customer on about 20 occasions - this is the brochure for October 2014 - go to the index at the back and click on "Harz Mountaineer" - https://interactivepdf.uniflip.com/2/12240/317434/pub/index.html

PM me if you would be interested in further details.

Steven

 

Sidmouth AKA Martin on here is running a photocharter next year, not sure if there are places still available.

 

Apologies if I have upset anyone by advertising a specific company BUT that is the only one I have used and their package is one that suits me and at a cost that I can afford. My first visit to this line was in 1975 and having made many independent visits whilst a single person but now married and a pensioner I have to look carefully at the available options when looking to visit the Harz. In principle the Railtrail tours are run in conjunction with the Friends of the HSB hence you know what to expect - especially in terms of photo runpasts and catering facilities.

Simon mentions Sidmouth's Tour which I understand involves Bob Branch and Tony Streeter - Tony being the knowledgeable narrow gauge element (especially German narrow gauge) and Bob being the knowledgeable photographic element. I believe that Bob is creating / organising his own programme directly with the railway and - if that is as good as his regular Welsh narrow gauge charters - the participants should be very happy with the experience. Sadly his timings don't suit my arrangements so I will - sadly - have to forego the opportunity to join his trip and sample options other than my regular operator.

Apologies to Khardis that I hadn't picked up his "privilege" status as that is a cost factor that may influence his choice of transport; DO go however as I am sure you will find it an experience that may wish to repeat as often as possible.

 

I have always driven over, via Dover - Calais, and slept in the car, even in DDR days (courtesy of camping vouchers - but that's another story!). The flexibility, and prospects of discovering new photo-spots, which having your own car offers, is unbeatable; and what better way to learn the language, and save cash? Some of the results can be found in www.drehscheibe-online.de (Historische Forum - same username).

 

Not on commission - sadly - but I don't hesitate to praise where I feel praise is due.

Whilst agreeing that information is freely available on the internet, I still feel - and it is a strongly held view after certain experiences - that for a first visit the best option is go on a package tour where there is "someone to hold your hand". That first experience can then allow the traveller to decide whether any future trips should be as "independent" or "package tour" arrangements. Personally the option I outlined suits me despite the area being one that I have over 30 years experience of visiting, but the mix of "independent" and "package" comes at a price and in a timescale that suits me.

 

Do note that DB 'apex' type tickets purchased on Internet can be much cheaper than priv/FIP tickets. OK, the priv gives flexibility on which train to catch, rather than being fixed to the booked train. And in many areas there are no priv fares, but in those areas I am often happy to pay the full fare as a day ticket will probably cover trams, buses etc as well as the local trains, which is probably the product I need.

David

 

My personal preference has always been to go independently. Provided you 'do your homework' there is nothing difficult about the Harz even for a first visit. I just like the freedom to go where I want to go, when I want to go but I can see why others prefer an organized group. On the other hand maybe I'm just a 'cheapscate' as both of us had a week in 2012 for less than the cost of one on a tour. There are cheap airfares to Hannover or Berlin and the Happy Weekend ticket on DB allowed up to 5 people travel throughout Germany for E38 in 2012 (except IC expresses). In the Harz the Harz Tour Card was something like E16 for 3 days. Must get back next year! Ray

 

Hello "worldsteam" - are you perchance the revered Mr Thornhill from those far off pre-internet days when useful gen was almost unknown and the splendid WS magazine was almost the only source?

 

I'm not sure about 'revered'! But I always say I only collated the gen from those of you out looking for it in remote places and reported back. Thanks are due to many out there.

And this little diversion is almost on topic as I'm just back from the Harz, which was as splendid as always. Only real change currently is that 99.5906 (Mallet) is kept at Wernigerode for the Historic Train, so its Th/F/SO duty at Gernrode is a 2-10-2T, which is a pity - 2-10-2Ts on the tiny trains at Gernrode aren't quite right to my eyes. At least 99.6001 is on the Gernrode daily steam duty.

David

 

If 5906 is currently retained for the SonderZug / Historische Zug workings what is the current status of the other pair 5901 / 5902 ? Many thanks in advance for reply

 

99.5901 is in Meiningen Works, so 5902/5906 share the Historic duties. But that isn't the complete answer. 5906 was in Meiningen too in March and returned to Gernrode, but there seemed some reluctance to use the loco very much and it eventually ended up at Wernigerode and for quite a time Wernigerode has had three Mallets plus 6101 to cover historic duties. Of course, perhaps it was known 5901 was poorly and was waiting a slot at Meiningen, so it was logical to have 5906 at Wernigerode just in case. What happens when 5901 returns will be the test of what 5906 does I suppose.

David
(Writing from Grosmont after 63395, 2807, 75029 earlier, with pint in hand (well, not when actually typing!) with an owl making amazing noises very close to where I am ...Excellent!! But I wish it would stop raining!)

 

Thanks for your response. I can confirm that 5906 was in Meinigen as it returned to Wernigerode during my visit; it was actually being prepared for its test run on the day I left Wernigerode on March 3 but - having to get to Berlin for my flight home - I was unable to do more than grab a quick shot. Despite criticisms of the Mallets I find them more interesting than the standard 2-10-2Ts and love to see them at work whether on the Brocken -; Harzquer - or Selketal - Bahns and am glad that these appear to have a future in the network operations.

 

Winter comes early to the Harz - the view today shows snow around

http://www.hsb-wr.de/mehr-erkunden/webcams/kamera-bahnhof-brocken/

 

Looks like the last time I was up there. First train up so the cafe wasn't open.

 

Well, the visability looks very similar to when I last departed the Brocken, almost exactly 1 week to the minute that you first posted the imagine - absolutely no snow then though!

When are the vintage specials/photo charters due to happen on the wider system? Some time soon, isn't it?

Steven

 

Hi All, Planning a trip there in the spring, and I would like to avoid the 612 like David. Which route do the loco hauled trains work?
Gerald Lindsay.