European Railway 44, France, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic

Switzerland – a visit is made to the mainline from Z rich to Sargans, as it runs beside Lake Z richsee near to the town of W denswil. A host of Intercity, Eurocity, Sleeper, freight and S-Bahn services are seen. Classes 450, 460, Ae6/6, Re4/4, Re6/6, Classes 514, 526, 841, 843 and OBB1116 are all witnessed

France – a look at suburban and mainline operations to the north of Paris. We feature movements through Villennes-Sur-Seine station which lies on the route to Mantes and Rouen. Endangered BB17000 electrics are seen as well as BB27300, BB15000, BB26000 and new z26500 electric units through this picturesque Seine town.

Czech Republic – Part 1 of this two-part series was featured in European Railway Issue 43. This time, in Part 2, we head north along the Elbe River to st nad Labem and the famous photographic spot underneath St ekov castle perched high above the river. The railway lines are busy in this part of the country as we witness classes, 122, 123, 130, 163 and 753 on passenger and freight turns. The next day we follow the River Bilina towards the industrial town of Most. This time we witness further busy spells of rail activity featuring classes 110, 122, 123, 130, 163, 363 and 471 in action in the sunny weather.

Switzerland – the narrow gauge Appenzeller Bahnen is featured as we call in on operations back in April 2011. In glorious sunshine the line’s trains are seen in magnificent mountain and lush alpine scenery, including on the rack section out of the Rhein Valley at Altst tten.

Germany – we leave the best to last, an extended Winter feature on the Harz narrow gauge lines between Wernigerode, Brocken, Harzgerode and Quedlinburg. We have station shots and scenes from on board the trains as they make their way through the snow-covered landscape. However, first of all we have to get to the line and what better way than behind preserved V200 (Warship) number V200-033 on a railtour organised by rail operator On Wheels. We have plenty of Maybach thrash to get us into the spirit of the occasion! Once at Wernigerode we study the various forms of traction to be seen on the network during the Winter months, from the resident steam locomotives, to the single diesel railcars and the mighty class 199, ex-standard gauge DR Class 201, diesels. The finale though is the ride behind a class 99.7 steam loco from Wernigerode to the top of the snow-covered Brocken, where the sight of steam, sun and snow are an irresistible combination. We cannot recall a time where we have seen such stunning steam and snow footage taken in this part of the world – our cameraman Richard Scott really braved the icy elements in order to get the on-train sequences.