Now in the other end of the locomotive, we await clearance onto the main
line. As a single locomotive, we have the lowest priority on the system, and it shows as
we spend a few minutes waiting for other trains to pass. The passenger yard is visible to
the left.
Cleared onto the main line, we approach the dispatching tower.
Frank enters his personal information, the locomotive identification, and
the route ID into the on-board computer.
And now the big surprise! Frank is a DIE-HARD SP
railfan, and proudly
wears his SP engineer's hat whenever he's driving! He smiled for this photo, proudly
showing his DeutscheBahn pin and SP hat in the spirit that unites so many
railfans.
After some travel, we are held in place by the double-red signal.
Following a right-hand traffic rule on Germany's dual-tracked main lines, we wait for the
passenger train on its schedule.
Signaled in green and yellow, we are allowed to enter the main line at
slow speed (40 kph).
We are now on the main line. It's not one of the best, Frank notes, and
in the old East German locomotive "the ride is no SD-40". He sets the
acceleration to 80% of maximum and the target speed to 160 kph.
The acceleration is BRISK, to say the least. 5000 horsepower with no
tonnage in tow quickly reaches 160 kph, bringing smiles to our faces.
The scenery changes quickly at this speed!
Three greens, cleared to continue at 160
kph.
A meet is a common event on a DeutscheBahn main line.
Examining the
catenary, one can see how it "zig-zags" from left
to right between each tower. This is so the wire doesn't dig a groove into the
pantograph's graphite conductor. Instead, it moves from side to side and gradually wears
the conductor evenly across its surface.
This region of Germany is
renown for its sauerkraut. Here we pass one of
the many large cabbage crops with their distinctive color.
We pause briefly before switching tracks on the final leg to
Itzehoe.
This warning sign indicates we must slow to 70 kph due to construction.
The unforgiving 112 locomotive bounces at 60 kph over a particularly
rough section.
This section of main line is limited to 120
kph. It's built on swampy
ground and difficult to keep accurate.
In the throat of
Itzehoe station, we are routed to a holding track.
Good luck! A special locomotive happens to be here on layover, as well.
We'll look into this more in a few minutes.
Now in the other end of the locomotive, we await clearance onto the main
line. As a single locomotive, we have the lowest priority on the system, and it shows as
we spend a few minutes waiting for other trains to pass. The passenger yard is visible to
the left.
Cleared onto the main line, we approach the dispatching tower.
Frank enters his personal information, the locomotive identification, and
the route ID into the on-board computer.
And now the big surprise! Frank is a DIE-HARD SP
railfan, and proudly
wears his SP engineer's hat whenever he's driving! He smiled for this photo, proudly
showing his DeutscheBahn pin and SP hat in the spirit that unites so many
railfans.
After some travel, we are held in place by the double-red signal.
Following a right-hand traffic rule on Germany's dual-tracked main lines, we wait for the
passenger train on its schedule.
Signaled in green and yellow, we are allowed to enter the main line at
slow speed (40 kph).
We are now on the main line. It's not one of the best, Frank notes, and
in the old East German locomotive "the ride is no SD-40". He sets the
acceleration to 80% of maximum and the target speed to 160 kph.
The acceleration is BRISK, to say the least. 5000 horsepower with no
tonnage in tow quickly reaches 160 kph, bringing smiles to our faces.
The scenery changes quickly at this speed!
Three greens, cleared to continue at 160
kph.
A meet is a common event on a DeutscheBahn main line.
Examining the
catenary, one can see how it "zig-zags" from left
to right between each tower. This is so the wire doesn't dig a groove into the
pantograph's graphite conductor. Instead, it moves from side to side and gradually wears
the conductor evenly across its surface.
This region of Germany is
renown for its sauerkraut. Here we pass one of
the many large cabbage crops with their distinctive color.
We pause briefly before switching tracks on the final leg to
Itzehoe.
This warning sign indicates we must slow to 70 kph due to construction.
The unforgiving 112 locomotive bounces at 60 kph over a particularly
rough section.
This section of main line is limited to 120
kph. It's built on swampy
ground and difficult to keep accurate.
In the throat of
Itzehoe station, we are routed to a holding track.
Good luck! A special locomotive happens to be here on layover, as well.
We'll look into this more in a few minutes. 
Freight cars waiting on a siding.
A local train leaves the station.
Time to go exploring...
