As I learned from O Scale Trains Magazine, the Railfan Five Challenge calls for those five photos that can best illustrate moments or scenes that influenced your personal interest in railroading.
So here from Worms, Germany, are my five most influencing scenes in railroading.
When seven years old I've been introduced to one of the train dispatchers on duty in Lampertheim's signal tower, the town where I grew up. This resulted in a life-long friendship, and - throughout the second half of my teens - in a nearly daily walk down to the station, "running" real trains on the CTC-table controlling Lampertheim station and connecting mainline tracks. Yes, some 40 years ago it was possible for an interested youngster to operate the CTC-table, announcing the trains, and spend some very instructive time with railroading.
Lampertheim is located about 10 miles north of Mannheim along one of the most important north-south double track mainlines through Germany. Today no less than seven ICE high speed passenger train routes run by on their hourly way between Mannheim and Frankfurt. During my childhood and youth there also was still significant freight train traffic, locally and through. Daily operations called for run through trains, take overs, local passenger service, and not to forget at least twice daily a local freight.
Already (or still?) in my teens I got to know about Austrian narrow gauge railroads. My first narrow gauge trip led me from Jenbach to Mayrhofen, Tirol, Austria, on the Zillertalbahn. This was quite a different experience from the mainline railroading I've known so far.
Before I could realize it, I've been bitten by the narrow gauge bug ... an influenza, I never recovered from.
Another important meeting happened in Lucerne, Switzerland in the mid 1980's. During the annual model railroad days at the "Verkehrshaus der Schweiz" a guest from the United States, Virginia & Truckee #11, the RENO, stopped by for a visit to complement that year's motto: American Prototype Model Railroading.
It was this event where I learned about and fell in love with geared steam locomotives, and some of the most crookedest backwood narrow gauge railroads, I'd never though they could really exist.
Shortly thereafter, at the Frankfurter Feldbahn Museum, I got into contact with European minimum gauge railroads, the so called Feldbahn. Internationally they are known as industrial tramways, mining trams, or military light railways, mostly run on gauges between 500mm (20") and 700mm (27-1/2"), with a de facto standard gauge of 600mm (23-5/8").
Now the narrow gauge bug that had bitten me years ago could gang up with the logging and backwoods virus to complete a "disastrous" work.
Finally to complete the circle there is an engineer's view from a medium sized diesel switcher, German Federal Railways (Deutsche Bundesbahn) Class 260, running through the storage area at an iron foundry with me on the fireman's seat.
From my mid teens in Lampertheim until far into my twenties I was a regular guest on several switcher and road locomotives. While I was usually only allowed to take photos during mainline and road service, I very often was able to run the locomotives myself during switching operations in stations and on industrial spurs.
Growing up along one of the busiest main lines through Germany with the chance to "play" real trains at a real signal tower, and with real diesel switchers, combined with a severe narrow-gauge-mania is what really made me a short-sighted and narrow-minded railroad enthusiast
Ralf
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short-sighted & narrow-minded at http://www.feldbahn.de
or meet me at facebook.com/ralf.schreiner.37
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or meet me at facebook.com/ralf.schreiner.37