Some more raking in my photo catalogue revealed this 'overnighter' with ADL to Luxembourg (again) for steam (again) with 5519 (again)!
Sunday 9 October 1994
A fine morning greeted a weary ADL party arriving at Oostende at 04:30 off the overnight ferry from glamorous Ramsgate for an exciting wait for the 05:32 to Köln Hbf, powered by 1601, one of the 8 multi-voltage (1,500 V and 3,000 V DC, 15 kV 16⅔Hz and 25,000 V AC) electrics built in 1966 for international services between the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France with their differing electrification standards. This took us as far as Brussel Zuid where we were presumably able to get some breakfast (though almost 30 years later I don't specifically remember) before continuing on an EC to Luxembourg (which continued to Milano Centrale) at 07:15. MW reports the haulage as 6880 hp mixed traffic electric 2015.
The steam tour was organised by the 5519 group (again) and hauled by 5519 (again) but this time was billed as the Musel-Nostalgie-Express and was to travel a circular - well, nearer triangular - route via Trier and Thionville back to Luxembourg. We set off southwards past the then new Howald station, opened two years previously on 26 September 1992 but destined to have its service suspended in June 2002 and then to be officially closed on 11 December 2015 for rebuilding, being reopened in stages from 10 December 2017. We diverged at Berchem N on to the freight curve to Alzingen which neatly completed a triangle for those who'd been on the BLS Tour de Luxe the previous year. We continued on freight track to meet the normal passenger route from Luxembourg just south of Oetrange. At Wasserbillig, the last station in Luxembourg before the border with Germany, a stop allowed much admiring and photographing of 5519 (including from trackside, which seemed to be well accepted practice even on this international main line).
Onwards then into Germany as far as Karthaus Nordwest, diverging there on to the freight only curve from Karthaus Nordwest to Karthaus Nordost then continuing to Trier West where we stopped for 5519 to run round. The purpose of this diversion wasn't to do track, but to turn 5519 so that it would be able to run chimney first from Trier to Thionville. However in the course of running tender first from Trier West to Trier Hbf, we did usefully complete the triangle by doing the Karthaus Nordost-Moselbrücke side. At Trier Hbf 5519 ran round again and was now pointing the right way for the run to Thionville.
The run down to Thionville will have been my main objective for this visit as it was at the time freight only between Apach and Perl, with only occasional use by diversions, specials etc. In 2023 it still only has a handful of trains at weekends between Apach and Perl with those places being the termini of German and French regular passenger services respectively.
At Thionville there was a break for an hour or so while 5519 was uncoupled, turned and watered, and coupled to the north end of the train. Doubtless some of the ADL contingent will have headed for nearby licensed premises. Thereafter it was a straight run on passenger track to Bettembourg and Luxembourg, followed by the 18:27 departure to Brussel Zuid, worked by one of the wretched vinyl-seated Break units, the 21:55 Brussel Midi-Oostende hauled by 2158, and the 00:30 ferry back to Ramsgate. The things we used to do for fun...
A fine morning greeted a weary ADL party arriving at Oostende at 04:30 off the overnight ferry from glamorous Ramsgate for an exciting wait for the 05:32 to Köln Hbf, powered by 1601, one of the 8 multi-voltage (1,500 V and 3,000 V DC, 15 kV 16⅔Hz and 25,000 V AC) electrics built in 1966 for international services between the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France with their differing electrification standards. This took us as far as Brussel Zuid where we were presumably able to get some breakfast (though almost 30 years later I don't specifically remember) before continuing on an EC to Luxembourg (which continued to Milano Centrale) at 07:15. MW reports the haulage as 6880 hp mixed traffic electric 2015.
The steam tour was organised by the 5519 group (again) and hauled by 5519 (again) but this time was billed as the Musel-Nostalgie-Express and was to travel a circular - well, nearer triangular - route via Trier and Thionville back to Luxembourg. We set off southwards past the then new Howald station, opened two years previously on 26 September 1992 but destined to have its service suspended in June 2002 and then to be officially closed on 11 December 2015 for rebuilding, being reopened in stages from 10 December 2017. We diverged at Berchem N on to the freight curve to Alzingen which neatly completed a triangle for those who'd been on the BLS Tour de Luxe the previous year. We continued on freight track to meet the normal passenger route from Luxembourg just south of Oetrange. At Wasserbillig, the last station in Luxembourg before the border with Germany, a stop allowed much admiring and photographing of 5519 (including from trackside, which seemed to be well accepted practice even on this international main line).
Onwards then into Germany as far as Karthaus Nordwest, diverging there on to the freight only curve from Karthaus Nordwest to Karthaus Nordost then continuing to Trier West where we stopped for 5519 to run round. The purpose of this diversion wasn't to do track, but to turn 5519 so that it would be able to run chimney first from Trier to Thionville. However in the course of running tender first from Trier West to Trier Hbf, we did usefully complete the triangle by doing the Karthaus Nordost-Moselbrücke side. At Trier Hbf 5519 ran round again and was now pointing the right way for the run to Thionville.
The run down to Thionville will have been my main objective for this visit as it was at the time freight only between Apach and Perl, with only occasional use by diversions, specials etc. In 2023 it still only has a handful of trains at weekends between Apach and Perl with those places being the termini of German and French regular passenger services respectively.
At Thionville there was a break for an hour or so while 5519 was uncoupled, turned and watered, and coupled to the north end of the train. Doubtless some of the ADL contingent will have headed for nearby licensed premises. Thereafter it was a straight run on passenger track to Bettembourg and Luxembourg, followed by the 18:27 departure to Brussel Zuid, worked by one of the wretched vinyl-seated Break units, the 21:55 Brussel Midi-Oostende hauled by 2158, and the 00:30 ferry back to Ramsgate. The things we used to do for fun...
Preserved ex-CFL 2-10-0 5519 stands at Luxembourg station at the start of the tour. |
A photo stop was made at Wasserbillig, a station in Luxembourg just short of the German border on the line to Trier. |
The second of the 'Three Countries' was Germany - 5519 is seen here at Trier Hbf before departure for Thionville |
Multivoltage 1601 seen on a Köln-Oostende EC at Merzenich shortly before its first scheduled stop in Düren [KlausMiniwolf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons] |
2002 seen near Vauban on the Namur-Luxembourg line in 2011. [Luxmaster051, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons] |
In the early part of 1995 I made some more trips to the Low Countries - but either I didn't keep any notes for these trips, or the book has submerged somewhere in my record-keeping 'system'. However I've managed to piece together some photographs and route descriptions at least for some of the trips. The next one with any records was a weekend in Belgium (and a German exclave or two) with two more ADL tours.
