The BeerTrain

A single manned trip to DB land, main aim of this trip to get to Berlin behind a pair of 218's. As usual # denotes new loco. The overnight ferry, now departing from Ramsgate, was as usual the booked outward move, with probably a couple of beers in the Titanic bar in Ostend before sleeping my way across Belgium. Saturday 03/02/96 2728            Oostende - Aachen 0634  Oostende -  Köln 280km 110 263#  Aachen -  Köln   0634  Oostende -  Köln 70km Only one piece of new track to aim at today, so mainly a case of working my way south towards my overnight, covering as many diesel diagrams on the way as possible. 218 130    Köln - K öln Hansaring 0940 Gummersbach - K.Hansaring 1km 143 258#  K öln Hansaring -  K öln 1050  K öln Hansaring - Au 1km 215 038#  K öln - Euskirchen 1114  K öln Deutz - Trier 40km 215 094# Euskirchen - Bonn 1159  Euskirchen - Bonn 34km Time to drop fur...

An outward trip with Neath (Steve Thomas) to Germany, with the main aims for myself of various new track for diesel, before meeting up with Neath again for a day, partly to cover a new class 217 diagram - a Mondays Only pilot turn from Schwandorf to Regensburg, the first time the class had appeared on booked passenger work since we'd started bashing in the Fatherland. # denotes new Locos. Saturday 20/04/91 We did the overnight cross channel ferry, being the usual means of getting to Europe after a Friday at work in the offices above Waterloo station. You normally got into Ostend about 0315 - time for a couple of beers in the hellfire Titanic bar (open 24 hours) just down the road . I then did my normal move in Belgium - catch up on some sleep whilst collecting more mileage behind a rateable 1600 electric. 1603        Oostende - Düren      0532 Oostende - Köln 311km 212 270 at Duren on the 0919 to Neuss.Photo courtesy of Neath (Steve Thomas). ...

Single manned on this trip, as normal new track Diesel hauled and  new engines (marked with #) being the main aims. It would be my first visit to Hungary to sample the M61's so armed with their latest known workings (thanks to Phil (Barney Rubble) Wormald) off I went. Do not expect to see any Hotel gen in this report, they only get in the way of the moves! Friday 29/04/94 Managed to save taking a day off from work with an evening flight from Heathrow, however the trip started with a bump! Flight was shown 2 hours late / wait in Lounge (in my case Wetherspoons UK side - there wasn't one customs side then). The next time I looked up from sipping my latest pint it said last orders for Boarding! I legged it down the corridor towards Customs unaware the carpet hid one of those nice undulations that you can't see at all so down I went, being weighed down by my bag full of clothes I did not land well. That will be me limping for the next 3 days or so then - thanks! At leas...