The Right Bank of the Rhein is a busy freight corridor. Trains run in waves, and often follow each other several minutes apart on their north-south journey across Germany.
Kaub station sits wedged into a hillside with a castle above, and a sweeping curve to the south. In the afternoon, the sun swings around, which makes it a great place to photograph trains on the move.
Bombardier’s TRAXX locomotives family includes several classes of electrics. While the DB red class 185s may seen repetitive, open access operations make for a bit of variety. It seems that there’s always another freight working its way up or down the Rhein Valley. And this provides an opportunity to refine photographic angles and technique.
Doubleheaded DB class 185 electrics lead a southward freight at Kaub, 4:40 pm.Northward intermodal train at Kaub, 4:41 pm.Southward freight with a DB class 185 electric at Kaub, 5:15 pm.VIAS Flirt makes a station stop at Kaub, 5:19 pm.Kaub, 5:24pm.Kaub, 5:28 pm.Southward empty auto train at Kaub, 5:40 pm.Swiss BLS intermodal train at Kaub, 5:58 pm.
I made this selection using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
April 9, 2010; a group of my Irish friends and I were on a week long trip to the Rhein and Mosel Valleys.
The Rhein is great place to experiment with equipment and technique. Busy double track mainlines occupy both sides of the river amid stunning scenery and historic architecture.
I was set up at the south end of the station platform at Kaub on the Right Bank. This is the busier freight line, with trains passing in fleets. Rarely ten minutes would pass without something clattering along.
My vantage point also gave me a good view of the Left Bank and the Pfalzgrafenstein—a colorful castle situated on an island in the middle of the river. Working with my Lumix LX3, I played with the camera’s aspect ratios as an exercise in composition.
A DB class 151 electric leads a southward container train at Kaub, Germany. I’ve used the Lumix LX3 with the 1:1 (square) aspect ratio to frame the train with the castle on the side of the hill and lighting masts on the left. April 9, 2010.I made this image of a northward car train from the same location as the above photo. By selecting the Lumix’s 16:9 aspect ratio I had a panoramic frame with which to compose my photo. My intent was a juxtaposition of the castle in the river with the freight train. Would this photo work if the DB locomotive wasn’t bright red?
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
Views from the East Side of the Rhein—September 2013.
A DB freight rattles northward near Filsen on the east side of the Rhein in September 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.
For me the Right Bank (east side) of the Rhein has always been more challenging and more intriguing. This side has more freight, but the vistas are more difficult to access. Certainly getting the viewpoints that I envision take a little more work.
On this trip, with the help of maps and some advice from local photographers, I found several satisfactory spots to work from.
Where the Left Bank (west side) remains dominated by passenger traffic (with the occasional freight slotted in), the Right Bank is primarily a freight route, with the requisite hourly (half-hourly at peak times) stopping passenger train.
Since my last visit to the Right Bank in 2010, the passenger service has been upgraded with modern Stadler three and four piece Flirt-model railcars. The tide of freight ebbs and flows, but its not difficult to get four or five freights at one location in a relatively short span of time.
It seems that no sooner than one train has clattered out of sight when the next is on its way. If action on the east side ebbs too much, there are plenty of boats and barges on the Rhein as well as trains on the left side. Regardless of what happens, I find it easy to expose lots of images.
A Stadler Flirt railcar is ready to come out of the sidings at Kaub. These modern electric railcars provide interval passenger service between freights on the east side of the river. Canon EOS 7D photo.Picturesque villages line the east side of the Rhein. This view of Lorchausen was exposed shortly before sunset with my Lumix LX3.A southward freight is led by a common DB Class 185 electric. This view is made from a vineyard near Lorch that offers superb views of trains on both sides of the Rhein. Lumix LX3 photo.Plump grapes ripen in the autumn sun near Lorch, Germany. Lumix LX3 macro view.A blue electric leads a train of PKP coal wagons on the west side of the river (as viewed from a Vineyard in Lorch). Exposed using a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.Looking south from a level crossing near Kaub, Germany. Lumix LX3 photo.A BLS Cargo electric hums northbound at a lightly used level crossing near Kaub. Once a manned crossing with classic signal tower, gates are now automated. The BLS freights from Switzerland are among the most prized daily catches for some photographers. Lumix LX3 photo.
