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Description
Took some shots today, nothing special, but I kinda liked them. See my DSO post for more, as usual. Sorry about the heat distortion, but shooting at 500mm didn't exactly help!

What we have here are two GDR-built class 143s doing S-Bahn service on the line S6 between Essen and Cologne. I actually wanted to shoot the daily 110-hauled booster train, but since I have so many shots of that already, this side-by-side view of two 143s seemed more interesting.

Such push-pull trains were once a very common sight in the Rhine-Ruhr area, as well as several other urban centers in the country. After German reunification, the economy of the former GDR collapsed overnight, making many of these locomotives redundant. It was soon discovered that they'd be quite useful for such short S-Bahn trains, replacing locomotives that were either outdated (like the 141) or too fast and heavy (like the 111) for such tasks. The S-Bahn stops at pretty much every village, so good acceleration was more important than top speed, making the 143 with its low gearing a perfect fit.

These days, they have disappeared almost completely, as the low top speed does tend to hinder, with the locomotives' outdated internals not being very efficient either. Most S-Bahn lines have been converted to EMUs in the last few years, and many of these once reliable workhorses have ended up on the scrap heap, despite their young age.

This line though is a special case, as it runs through the territory of two transport associations. The Rhine-Ruhr Association was the one that bought the new EMUs, while the Rhine-Sieg Association was not willing to pay its share. This resulted in a quarrel, ending with the words "FINE, then you can't haz our new EMUs!" or something like that. And so, the 143 still roams the rails, to the pleasure of photographers and the displeasure of passengers, who have to put up with non air-conditioned x-type carriages from the 1970s.

For more info and photos, check out my Class 143 Tribute Series.

Description
Took some shots today, nothing special, but I kinda liked them. See my DSO post for more, as usual. Sorry about the heat distortion, but shooting at 500mm didn't exactly help!

What we have here are two GDR-built class 143s doing S-Bahn service on the line S6 between Essen and Cologne. I actually wanted to shoot the daily 110-hauled booster train, but since I have so many shots of that already, this side-by-side view of two 143s seemed more interesting.

Such push-pull trains were once a very common sight in the Rhine-Ruhr area, as well as several other urban centers in the country. After German reunification, the economy of the former GDR collapsed overnight, making many of these locomotives redundant. It was soon discovered that they'd be quite useful for such short S-Bahn trains, replacing locomotives that were either outdated (like the 141) or too fast and heavy (like the 111) for such tasks. The S-Bahn stops at pretty much every village, so good acceleration was more important than top speed, making the 143 with its low gearing a perfect fit.

These days, they have disappeared almost completely, as the low top speed does tend to hinder, with the locomotives' outdated internals not being very efficient either. Most S-Bahn lines have been converted to EMUs in the last few years, and many of these once reliable workhorses have ended up on the scrap heap, despite their young age.

This line though is a special case, as it runs through the territory of two transport associations. The Rhine-Ruhr Association was the one that bought the new EMUs, while the Rhine-Sieg Association was not willing to pay its share. This resulted in a quarrel, ending with the words "FINE, then you can't haz our new EMUs!" or something like that. And so, the 143 still roams the rails, to the pleasure of photographers and the displeasure of passengers, who have to put up with non air-conditioned x-type carriages from the 1970s.

For more info and photos, check out my Class 143 Tribute Series.