At the end of March 2017, I revisited the Köln Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).
It was almost 21 years since I made my first visit here with my dad back in 1996.
I was delighted to see that a few of the old East Germany class 143 electrics were still on the move. Once very common, these old electrics have become relatively scarce.
This image was exposed digitally using my Lumix LX7.
I’ve visited this great German railway palace on several occasions over the last 20 years and find that it always inspires my photography.
I made these images on a visit in August 1998. All were made on one roll of Ilford HP5 exposed using a Nikon F2.
The Köln Haubtbahnhof is among great European stations featured in my new book Railway Depots, Stations & Terminals published this year by Voyageur Press. Don’t miss out, order your copy today!
http://www.quartoknows.com/books/9780760348901/Railway-Depots-Stations-Terminals.html
Also see my previous post:
http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2015/08/30/new-book-railway-depots-stations-terminals/
The sun low on the horizon often provides the most colorful light of the day. It had rained and above the clouds were just thinning, and the sun dropped under for a few minutes.
Denis McCabe and I went down the west bank of the Rhein in Köln, and I made this view of a tram crossing with a fleeting rainbow in the eastern sky.
Yes, there’s a bit of luck involved, but also it helps to recognize when the light is about to get interesting.
It’s been a few years since I last visited the Köln Hauptbahnhof.
For the railway photographer it is total sensory overload! Trains come and ago in parallel. There’s almost always something on the move.
Even as I write this the bells of the Dom are chiming.
Lx7 photos exposed September 2, 2015.
Tracking the Light posts Daily!
Class 110 Electric in Blue.
Today, Deutsche Bahn’s locomotive fleet is largely dressed in red paint with very light gray lettering, while Intercity carriages and ICE train sets wear an inverse arrangement. (Admittedly, the light gray looks nearly white.)
During a visit to the Köln Hauptbahnhof (Cologne Main Station) in August 1998, I counted no less than eight different DB locomotive liveries. Passenger carriages were equally colorful.
I made this slide at the west side of the Hauptbahnhof of an inbound regional express. One of the common class 110 electrics leads this train. Back then, this was the normal arrangement. By contrast, recent trips to Germany’s Rhein has found that regional express and local trains tend to be operated by local operators using modern electric multiple units/railcars. So much for traditional locomotive hauled stopping passenger trains.
Scenes like this one are now largely in the realm of slide collections.
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Tomorrow: History at Victoria Station!
