Video miscellany Germany and the Baltic
As our scheduled speaker could not travel due to the rail strike Colin Kellington kindly provided us with our program for the evening.
Our first session covered railways in 1988 in East Germany and the Baltic. Initially we visited Wernigerod station where several engine shots some with coaching stock displayed considerable movement on the metre gauge lines. A visit to Nordhausen produced a steam engine tender first with coaching stock. Distinctly noticeable was the staggering amount of black smoke produced by all the engines on show. Further visits followed to Gernrode, Stiege, Kirnitzsch, Dresden and Cranzhal where we saw our first glimpse of white smoke! Finishing the first session saw further visits to a wide range of geographical locations.
Our second session covered little railways around the Baltic coast of Germany from 2017, particularly the island of Rugen and Bad Doberan west of Rostock. On Rugen is the famous “Racing Roland” which covers the track between Gohren and Ostseebad Binz.To be seen here on this tourist were several open top carriages especially at Binz.No 99401-5, looked particularly appealing over the level crossing at Binz.
Traveling west to Bad Domeran was an amazing layout where the railway ran completely through the middle of the town, one shot of a lorry blocking the train very illustrative, a most unusual location. Of note was one picture with a shot of a Bibby’s coach from Ingleton (North Yorkshire) crossing the track.
Our last session in 2023 brought us railways of the NW delivered as a 4-day rail rover experience.
The first day took us to Merseyside starting from Lancaster showing 88009 on the Tesco train. Our journey took us through Wigan Wallgate, Southport, and Liverpool Moorfields, formerly Exchange until 1977.
The second day was spent on the Settle to Carlisle line. In Carlisle we saw the Avanti rainbow train heading north, further scenes included Ribblehead and Keighley.
The third days plan was to look at some cul de sac stations, including Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square. A further picture showed a “Bin train” which you could smell long before it appeared. Further travel covered Halifax, Todmorden, Leeds, and Huddersfield.
The last day saw us move into Wales with a journey from Manchester Victoria to Chester, with a class 195 and its uncomfortable seats travelling to Wrexham. Many further visits around north Wales brought the 4-day trip to an end.
Consequently, we had a high-quality film night showing many excellent railways many not seen before.
Alan Sattenstall 6th Oct 2023