Berlin Hauptbahnhof itself is huge and complicated!! The majority of IC/ICE-services run north-south through the low-level platforms which are several storeys below ground level and, due to this, awkward to photograph. The higher-level platforms, which are on the main 'corridor' through Berlin from Wannsee in the west right across to Ostkreutz in the east.

Freight in this area is limited; most starts/ends at one of the main yards - particularly Seddin, which is not far out of town - and anything needing to cross the Capital takes one of the avoiding routes so as not to further increase congestion on this already-congested 'corridor' from east to west.

Passenger traffic is plentyful and varied; most local trains are in the hands of DBAG Br112/114/143 East-German electrics, mostly with equally old (or virtually brand new!!) double-deck stock. For variety, some services are worked by private companies, introducing white-based colour schemes applied to Siemens 'Desiro' 2-car DMUs, whilst DB's own Br646/946 'GTW' DMUs work down from the island of Usedom occasionally. InterCity traffic is considerably more interesting; ICE1- & ICE2-EMUs mingle with Br101-hauled 'Eurofima' rakes, whilst the Russia- & Warszawa-bound services generally turn up DBSchenker Br145s and hired-in Br186s respectively. ICEs to/from Kobenhavn generally involve pairs of Br605 ICE-VT 4-car DMUs, whilst the ICE-works at Berlin-Rummelsburg is well worth a pass or two on the top deck of a double-decker, as is the nearby 'Talgo' works; both are visible from Schönefeld-bound trains.

An uninspiring town midway between Coswig(Dresden) and Dresden Neustadt/Hauptbahnhof, the main station is Radebeul Ost from where a 750mm-gauge "Schmalspurbahn" climbs up the mountains to Radeberg, this being the only major item of interest in the local area. The works and yard for the so-called "Lößnitzgrundbahn" are at this end of the line; this provides something of interest between the hourly steam service and the large numbers of Br143s prevailent virtually everywhere in east Germany.

Passenger traffic consists of an half-hourly S1 service from Dresden Hbf to Coswig(Dresden), extending to Schöna in the east and Meißen-Triebischtal in the west; this utilises Br143s in push-pull mode with 4-coach sets of new Görlitz-build double-deck vehicles. Also passing, but not stopping, are frequent express services towards Hamburg and Leipzig; these lines split between here and Coswig, and frequent regional services on each route, both of which skip the Radebeul stations. Local services are operated by the uniqutous Br143 whilst expresses are a mixture of ICE1/2/T trainsets and Br101-hauled passenger coaches.

Freight traffic over this section of route is sparce, given the presence of a duplicating secondary-route (with connections to both the Leipzig and Hamburg lines just east of Coswig(Dresden, and better connections to Dresden-Friedrichstadt goods yard) which sees considerably less passenger traffic.

Near the border with the Czech Republic, Dresden handles the majority of the through traffic to & from Praha, and it's stock portfolio is equally varied. The layout of the station is interesting; there are through platforms at both the north and south sides of the station, these are at a higher level than the surrounding area. In between these are half-a-dozen ground-level bay platforms which are accessible only from the western end, these are at ground level and there is a road and tram-network behind. Whilst this sounds ideal for photography, it really isn't; the variety of electrical equipment for the bays makes it virtually impossible to gain a decent picture of one side of the station from the other; some piece of catenary or signalling equipment is guaranteed to get spectacularly in the way! Over at the eastern end, there are a couple of rarely-used bays; these see most use stabling stock between duties.
Dresden Neustadt, the other main station in Dresden, is currently being rebuilt and modernised, and as such the middle two platforms (4 & 5) were closed during my visit. This is a more 'traditional' station with 9 through platforms and a tenth at an obscure angle on a little-used line.

Passenger traffic mainly utilises Br143 electrics for the 'S-Bahn' network (with a variety of double-deck stock) or Br612 & Br642 DMUs for the longer & shorter journeys respectively. ICET Br411 & Br415 EMUs are used on the hourly ICE-service to Frankfurt/Main, with Br101s used on the last-remaining loco-hauled services, usually those which run through to Praha or occasionally further to Wien; these change locos at the border with a ÈD class 371 multi-voltage loco (identical to Br180 except for number) taking over at Dresden Hbf. During my visit, some ICET-worked services were replaced by "ICE-Ersatzzüge" [ICE-replacement-trains], one of which even showed up a Br120!

Freight traffic is plentiful, but virtually all of this takes the freight lines behind the station which, due to the position of the station relative to the sun, means it's nigh-impossible to get a photo which isn't pointing directly into the sun! Freight here is varied but the traction isn't particularly; most of this is going cross-border and Br180/371s are the mainstay, with the occasional diesel, Austrian 'Taurus' or German Br189 appearing.

Located around 20kms out of Dresden on the main line to Leipzig & Riesa, this station sees plenty of activity, both passenger and freight.

Passenger services centre around an half-hourly S1 (Meißen Triebischtal-Schöna), an hourly RE50 "Saxonia" (Leipzig-Dresden), and interspersed with this are 2-hourly RE18 (Dresden-Cottbus) and RE?? (Dresden-Hoyerswerda). Most services are formed of double-deck stock; the S-Bahn services use the newest Bombardier (Görlitz)-built stock, whilst the RE50 uses second-generation stock and the RE?? the oldest East German-designed vehicles. Worth noting is RE18 which uses 'Halberstadter' coaches; most formations being Bybdzf control-car, Abyz centre-coach and a Bimz (or two) former-InterRegio vehicle. Also worth noting, for track-bashers, is that RE?? takes a back route out of Dresden and rejoins the mainline just outside Coswig station; hence it usually uses Pl.5 here.

Freight traffic is less predictable but, as pictures will tell, seems to involve one heck of a lot of tanker wagons!! There is a nearby goods yard which explains the volume of trains. Trains are generally hauled by East German-built Br155 electrics and Br232 diesels, but the newer DB locos (Br185 & Br189) are slowly making an appearance, whilst private operator ITL has a strong presence in the area, bringing Br185s, Swiss-registered Br481s [a Br185 with a different number] and diesel-powered Br285. ITL Br232s also sometimes appear.

Pictures taken during an hour or so at Brandenburg, a medium-sized station about 50 minutes away from Berlin on the half-hourly Regional Express services which link the two cities.

Passenger traffic isn't particularly varied; former-DDR classes 112, 114 & 143 push/pull rakes of four new-ish double deckers around for a living, whilst Veolia subsidiary "Märkische Regiobahn" 'Desiro' 2-car DMUs work the hourly shuttle to Rathenow (on the Hamburg-Berlin line). Passenger services run to an hourly patter:
- 1 RE to Berlin & Frankfurt (Oder) which starts here,
- 1 RE to Berlin & Magdeburg which originates at Eisenhüttenstadt,
- 1 RE Eisenhüttenstadt-Berlin-Brandenburg-Magdeburg,
- 1 MR from Brandenburg to Rathenow.

Freight appears non-existant.

Also worth noting is the other station in the area - Brandenburg-Altstadt - which gets a much poorer service - the hourly MR Brandenburg-Rathenow train and return.

Steinfurt, a sleepy little station on the Münster to Enschede(NL) line.

Recently-rebuilt with pre-fabricated platform sections, the modern look and feel betrays the lack of interesting trains; the passenger service comprises an hourly DMU-shuttle between said towns and freight is non-existant!!

Osnabrück station is an odd affair; it is on two levels which are at right angles to each other. Underneath is the east-west route from Hannover to Hengelo via Rheine, whilst the main north-south route passes overhead, linking Hamburg & Bremen with Düsseldorf & Köln.

Passenger traffic is the usual mix of long- and short-distance, the former operated exclusively by DB Fernverkehr using BR101 & BR120 electrics, and ICE EMUs, whilst the short- to medium-distance workings are shared between DB Regio, Nordwestbahn & Westfrankenbahn, DB generally running the longer 'Regional Express' services with BR111 & BR146 electrics, whilst NWB use 'Talent' and 'LINT' DMUs on their services and WFB using it's fleet of 'FLIRT' EMUs.

Freight wasn't common; most took one of the many sides of the various triangles which exist in/around the station, although a couple were routed through the station and these varied in content.

Pictures from a visit to Münster (Westfalen) Hbf.

Münster Hbf. itself is a junction station, with the lines from the 'Ruhrgebiet' joining at the south end, whilst the lines to Osnabrück and Enschede(NL) split halfway down the station, creating a 'Vee' shaped station.

Passenger traffic varies considerably, from local trains formed of all-manner of stock ranging from brand new Eurobahn- and Westfalenbahn-operated Stadler 'FLIRT' EMUs to DB's old 'Silberlinge' regional coaches powered by ageing BR110 electrics. ET425 EMUs are also prevalent. Longer-distance and the 'diet' is DB BR146s with double-deckers, whilst the long-distance trains are operated by BR101 & BR120 electrics on IC coaches; ICE EMUs were noticeable by their absense.

Freight was virtually non-existant during our visit, although we were treated to a loco-movement featuring two ancient 'Nohab' diesel locos!!

Rheine is a medium-sized town in northern Germany, near the Dutch border at Enschede(NL).

Passenger traffic is a regular diet of BR146s on regional trains mainly of push-pull double-decker rakes, with BR110s & 'Silberlinge's working the shorter duties. Many local services have been contracted-out to Westfalenbahn GmbH, who run 3- & 5-car Stadler-built 'FLIRT' EMUs on these services.

InterCity trains are approximately hourly, and are BR101-hauled and formed of 'Eurofima' vehicles with the odd former-InterRegio buffet car in.

Freight was quite varied during our visit, but mainly comprised car transporters and tanker wagons, hauled by a variety of engines.

Wunstorf, visited by train from Hannover, whilst staying in the neighbouring area.

Wunstorf itself is a junction station, with the platforms build around two blocks of three, each with a through line 'behind' the platforms, and the middle platform housing the station building. This is where services to the north west of Germany (Nienburg, Bremen, Norddeich Mole, etc) diverge from those heading south west and into the 'Ruhrgebiet' area, towards Minden and on to Rheine, Dortmund and, eventually, Köln.

Freight traffic is pretty frequent, heading both into Hannover (the line to Hannover passes the huge Seelze freight complex first), and heading away from said location both north and south.

Hannover, a large town in central-northern Germany, located partway between Hamburg and the 'Ruhrgebiet'.

Passenger services are plentyful, and feature a broad mix of IC/ICE services to most parts of germany; the former being E101-propelled and the latter ICE1/ICE2 trainsets. Regional services link Hannover with the north west and the former-east, the latter via Braunschweig (see collection). Regional services are worked almost entirely by DB, except the hourly "metronom Express" service to Hamburg. Also present is a less-than-spectacular 'S-Bahn' network; most lines operate an hourly frequency, except the one linking the airport with Hameln and the north-eastern tip of the Ruhrgebiet, which runs half-hourly.

Freight wasn't plentiful during our visits, despite the town being surrounded by marshalling yards; we presume there is an avoiding line somewhere, although we did (repeatedly!) see the only-remaining prototype E120, now in use with DB Mess.

Staying in the town of Burgdorf, in the area to the north-east of Hannover, we ventured out to Celle (the end of the Burgdorf line from Hannover), which also passes through Lehrte on the way to Burgdorf.

Passenger trains on this corridor are half-hourly, a mix of hourly Silberlinge-operating 'Regional Express' services which skip Lehrte, and hourly 'S-Bahn' ET424 EMU-operated services which call at all stations. Celle itself is also on the 'direct' route from Hannover to Hamburg, and thus gets plenty of 'fast' ICEs and some stopping IC services, as well as the 'metronom Express' (ME) direct services from Hamburg to Hannover. Lehrte meanwhile, is on the Hannover to Braunschweig route, and has both stopping (E143s & Silberlinge-operated) and longer-distance (IC/RE) to and from Halle in the former-DDR. These are operated either by E101s and IC-coaches or pairs of VT612 stopping services.

Freight is relatively frequent at all places; although there wasn't a great amount to be seen at Celle in the short time we were there

Random/odd photos which don't fit into any other collections on here

A short visit to Braunschweig whilst on holiday in the neighboughing Hannover area.

Situated east of Hannover, and on the main ICE-route from Berling through southern Germany and into Austria (via München) and Switzerland (via the Black Forest). Regional services link Braunschweig with the Harz, Magdeburg (both new-build DMU-operated) and the other local areas (628/9238-pairings) whilst electric inter-regional services are provided by E111 electrics and modern double deckers.

Freight traffic was reasonable, but much passes through the back of the station out of sight, although there is also an avoiding line which, I presume, carries most of the good traffic.

Two visits to these town on the lower Elbe, on the line from Hamburg out to Cuxhaven, where the Elbe joins the North Sea.

Both of these towns are junction stations for EVB-local services towards Bremen. Stopping services along the mainline are provided, as far as Stade, by a December 2007-opened extension of the S-Bahn Hamburg network, in addition to the hourly Hamburg to Cuxhaven metronom-operated services.

Freight services were sparse at Buxtehude, and non-existant at Stade; the latter being due to visiting on a Sunday!

Hamburg Hbf is the largest of several stations in the Hamburg area; Harburg and Altona being the next-two biggest.

Freight traffic tends to avoid the station, whilst passenger trains are many and varied, although the ever-popular 'Silberlinge' and Double Decker coaches are everywhere, as are a decent number of V218 diesels and 'metronom' diesel and electric engines.

Mönchengladbach Hbf is a junction station with the lines from Krefeld/Duisburg and Düsseldorf coming in from the east, and the Köln, Aachen and Venlo lines coming in from the west.

Most passenger traffic arrives from/leaves to the east; this being a staple mix of push/pull E143-powered 'S-Bahn' trains, E111/146-powered push/pull 'Silberlinge' and double-decker rakes, and new(ish!) ET425 articulated EMUs.

Freight is also relatively common, with a relatively steady flow of coal/iron-ore and containers being observed

Places visited:

1) Our local station, Duisburg-Meiderich, which featured a half-hourly DMU-operated shuttle between Duisburg-Ruhrort and Oberhausen Hbf, which also featured some decent freight operations to and from the docks at Du-Ruhrort - Europe's largest inshore containter harbour

2) Oberhausen Hbf itself, a junction station with trains to/from Duisburg, Mülheim/Essen & Dortmund. Passenger services were frequent, serving a variety of destinations, although ICEs are two-hourly in each direction; to/from Dortmund/Amsterdam. Freight was particularly lacking.

3) Duisburg Hbf. This is the main station in the area, one of quite a decent size, a busy junction for Oberhausen or Essen, and Düsseldorf or Mönchengladbach.
Passenger services are many and varied, and very frequent, whilst freight was apparently lacking.

4) Duisburg-Enterfang: at the end of an ET426-operated shuttle service, freight here was much more common; we spotted five within 15minutes!

All pictures taken at Du-Hbf unless otherwise stated!

Pictures taken in Troisdorf and Siegburg (Rhein).

Troisdorf is where the railway along the right-hand-bank of the Rhine diverges from the S-Bahn and ICE lines to Sigburg, Au (Sieg) and Frankfurt, and Siegburg is where the S-Bahn line to Hennef/Au (Sieg) diverge from the Köln-Rhein/Main Neubaustrecke (High Speed Line).

Passenger services are relatively good:
- S-Bahn services direct to Köln (3 per hour)
- S-Bahn to Hennef (3 per hour, 1 per hour extended to Au (Sieg)
- Hourly Regional Express Aachen -- Köln -- Siegen (extended 2-hourly to Gießen)
- ICEs left, right & centre to Köln & Frankfurt, and further affield to Freiburg, München, Basel, Dortmund, Hamburg, Berlin, etc.
- From Troisdorf, this plus 20-minutely S-Bahns through the Airport (Köln-Bonn Flughaven) and hourly Koblenz -- Köln RBs via the right-hand bank.
Also present in Siegburg, under the ICE Bahnhof, is the north-eastern terminus of 'Stadt Werke Bonn's "Telekom Express" - a rapid transit network, of which Route 66 (the line to Siegburg) is funded by "...T...com.".

Freight through Siegburg is limited, mostly being for the local area (there is a printing ink-manufacturer in Siegburg). Through Troisdorf, goods trains are much more common, providing a wide variety of locos and colours!

Photos taken in Bonn Hbf, and on Bonn-Beuel station.

Bonn Hbf, the main station in the former-Capital City, is a rather spartan affair, with 5 platforms offering only limited cover. Bn-Beuel, however, has fewer platforms, and, being on the right-hand-bank of the River Rhine, has a less-frequent passenger service, but freight is more frequent if less-predictable!