Post B17HkXCOCUeMu2tM7E by moof@cupoftea.social
(DIR) More posts by moof@cupoftea.social
(DIR) Post #B17HkL3nKce3FumK3M by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T09:51:38Z
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Good Morning! Today is Day 1 of the #ICEAgeChallenge and boy is it starting off with a Bahng!In case you’re not up to speed, the #ICEAgeChallenge was set to me by @quixoticgeek a month or so ago. @darkphoenix decided to join in, as the challenge progressed, and has been a great help in setting the route. The aim of the challenge is to ride all the 7 active types of ICE train in order of entry into service - :ice_1: ICE 1, :ice_2: ICE 2, :ice_t: ICE T, :ice_3: ICE 3 (403), :ice_3: ICE 3 (407), :ice_4: ICE 4, :ice_3: ICE 3neo) as a run-up to going on the first ICE L that is leaving Köln to Berlin this Sunday.We are starting at Koblenz Hbf, and our original aim was to get to Würzburg Hbf tonight, changing at Hamburg-Altona. But Deutsche Bahn has other ideas, and has decided to cancel the Köln-Hamburg portion of our train. Even if the replacement service were to be an :ice_1: ICE 1, we wouldn't make any of our buffer options. I'll let @darkphoenix talk a little bit more about that.
(DIR) Post #B17HkMandOdk0ZEC8W by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T10:06:31Z
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Currently, our plan is to get on the original :ice_1: ICE 1 train as far as Köln, and then change onto another :ice_1: ICE 1 as far as Hannover Hbf, where we can hopefully catch the same :ice_2: ICE 2 we intended to catch as far as Würzburg Hbf, arriving at 20:28 (DB Standard Time). Should we need more buffer, there is a later :ice_2: ICE 2 two hours later.We are taking advantage here of one of the rules we set: We have to take the types of train in order, but we can take several of the same type, one after the other, as long as we don't break the sequence. Once we've taken an :ice_2: ICE 2, we can't go back down to an :ice_1: ICE 1, but we can take several :ice_1: ICE 1s in a row.In case it becomes useful later, we can also use Non-ICE trains to get us between stations, e.g. Regios, S-Bahns, or even ICs, as they don't count towards the sequence.Our original, planned route is available here: https://trainlog.me/public/tag/ac3a00b0-1f79-4707-8d8b-5456a0932130I'll be updating the actual route on another map a little later
(DIR) Post #B17HkNwob1qQD8XI5g by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T12:01:25Z
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On the rails again… #ICEAgeChallenge #Interrail Today we start off on a thoroughly delayed and half-cancelled :ice_1: ICE 1.I am ably joined by @darkphoenix and Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG, and we are busy enjoying the first class cabin of this refurbished :ice_1: ICE 1. You can follow our progress on the #ICEAgeChallenge map that is available here: https://trainlog.me/public/tag/e94de609-9108-49cd-9c3c-5421472de1aeI will be updating that map with the real trains I take as and when plans change.For added meh, the bordbistro is running on minimum rations today. I managed to blag a cup of tea and a croissant off them, but it’s a far cry from the full French Breakfast that is now the tradition when we take the Rhine Valley line in the morning.CW: eye contact
(DIR) Post #B17HkP2sVyHxcENeBE by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T12:40:48Z
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So, why Koblenz as a starting point? Mostly, because the Rhine Valley Railway is the most beautiful railway in Germany, and I felt that it would be nice for any trip of this magnitude to go past this stunning scenery.We tried to fit it in several different ways. There aren't that many ICE trains that go through Koblenz, all either :ice_1: ICE 1s or :ice_t: ICE Ts and we wanted to do it in the daytime to have a chance of seeing the river.
(DIR) Post #B17HkPp5ciqy1kw9KK by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T12:41:18Z
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Another reason to pick Koblenz is that this route has the added advantage of going through Bonn Station. Bonn was the capital of Germany at the time the first ICEs went into service. In fact, the Hauptstadtbeschluss, the Decision on the Capital was voted on 20th July 1991, 18 days after the first commercial ICE service, although it took a further 8 years before the change became fully effective. In 2006, the German constitution was changed to explicitly state that Berlin the capital of the German Republic.Given that this trip is a voyage through time, and will be ending in Berlin, it seemed appropriate to either start from or go through Bonn early on
(DIR) Post #B17HkQPbQy3nr01JEu by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T13:11:19Z
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On the 29th of May 1991 the ICE was officially launched in a press event. Trains started in Bonn, Hamburg, Stuttgart, München and Mainz and converged on the newly-built Kassel-Wilhelmhöhe station, the centre of the new Hannover-Würzburg High Speed Line. There were politicians and celebrities aboard the trains, as well as the press. More were at the station, alongside many eager train fans.Aboard the train from Bonn was Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker, who was there to inaugurate the service, which happened on the stroke of midday, in the hopes that punctuality would be one of the hallmarks of the new service.Story on the Hesse history site: https://lagis.hessen.de/de/quellen-und-materialien/hessen-im-19-und-20-jahrhundert/alle-eintraege/1604?zeiger=1
(DIR) Post #B17HkRNVqDyyqo39cW by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T13:12:29Z
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There is a little known fact that there was a sixth train that came to the station that day. It was waiting in Köln for the train from Bonn, and drove behind it, empty. It was there in case the presidential train broke down, in order to let the show go on, but was never used. It can be seen in the photo, but was not reported on by the press. An interview with that train driver can be found here: https://www.hna.de/kassel/sechster-ice-bahnhofseroeffnung-kassel-wilhelmshoehe-90838357.html(some of this research was facilitated by the delightful @MagicLike)
(DIR) Post #B17HkRzRZCK8kRnRk8 by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T13:49:50Z
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After that brief dip into the inauguration, it's time for our next train, from Köln Hbf to Hannover Hbf. This is again on an :ice_1: ICE 1, in keeping with our rules. We've found ourselves a spot in the first class section that has a nice wide table, which means I'll be able to grab lunch properly. This is thanks to the fact that @darkphoenix has gold status, one of the perks of them having a BahnCard 100, which allows for unlimited travel on the entire DB network as well as regional and local railways. You can see her post about it here: https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag3mf0f3ebio009o
(DIR) Post #B17HkSdVAGMmkgXRBI by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T14:55:13Z
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And this really is not our day. We've been Bahned yet again, though only in a way that affects this challenge.I've now received a notification for DB that due to a technical fault, my train to Würzburg has been replaced with a different model, and so my seat reservation has been moved. This is normally a good thing, as it means I don't lose my place on the train, except what was an :ice_2: ICE 2 is now an :ice_1: ICE 1.Whilst we could take an :ice_1: ICE 1 to Würzburg under the rules, I couldn't find a sensible routing that would allow us to take an :ice_2: ICE 2, an :ice_2: ICE T and an :ice_3: ICE 3 (403) tomorrow. There is an :ice_2: ICE 2 that arrives in Würzburg 2 hours later, which hopefully will not be replaced. If not, then, within our rules, we have the option of something like a NightJet, either to Würzburg, or to Passau.As it is... it's going to be a long evening…
(DIR) Post #B17HkTTG3plbLCklqy by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T15:28:20Z
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Back to 1991. There was an intermediate period between the official inauguration on the 29th May through to the first commercial service. Gerd Böhmer, a long time rail fan, took one of the demonstration trains on the 31st of May and his (short) account and photos are up on https://www.gerdboehmer-berlinereisenbahnarchiv.de/Bildergalerien/19910531-db/19910531.html
(DIR) Post #B17HkU81cGNPNdpKOe by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T15:42:46Z
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The first commercial service was ICE 593 departing at 05:53 from Hamburg-Altona, via Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, and arriving in München Hbf at 13:20, on the service known as the Münchner Kindl. This was a savings of an hour of journey time compared to the ICs it replaced.That train was Trainset 156, now known as Heppenheim/Bergstraße. It's still in operation today. There's a fascinating home video documentary available on Youtube where you can see the original livery, and the original multicoloured interior, as well as what was basically a slice of life view of that first train, taken from Hannover to Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. https://youtu.be/jEYMsUYSmDc
(DIR) Post #B17HkUr2usOBdGtHZQ by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T15:55:41Z
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So, what was so revolutionary about the ICE? At that point, the headline feature was the speed. It could do 250km/h on the high speed lines, which basically equalled the speed of the iconic orange TGVs that had been running for over a decade in France. There's a fascinating clip of a poster in the video above showing the new journey times and time savings from Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe on the ICE.Signalling was different, too. Signalmen and drivers needed to be taught how to operate this new LZB signalling. But as far as the rest, it was a sleek, modern (for 1990s) aerodynamic design. It had mod cons, such as automated announcements, TV screens in first class, a cellular payphone, a computerised timetable that the public could type into a keyboard to use, and, of course, every business traveller's best friend: a Fax Machine!Truly a marvel of the 1990s, worthy of the last decade of the millennium
(DIR) Post #B17HkVg5r5DqBam38a by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T16:04:16Z
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Pulling into #Bielefeld, a bustling metropolis that is the centre of German life, possibly more important than Frankfurt. It’s my first time here, and I now understand why people keep going on about it. As you can see from this photo, the skyline is impressive…
(DIR) Post #B17HkWXce42YrbonZY by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T20:06:35Z
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Germany in Advent and Christmas is quite a different place. It feels like the Germans got tired of the early evenings and the arrival of the long winter nights, and so needed to fight back with lots of cosiness and warm light before the full arrival of winter. And they do this with the Christmas Markets. If you haven’t been to a German Christmas market, then you really are missing out. Other countries just don’t seem to manage the combination of Kitsch, warmth in the face of cold, and alcoholic indulgence without taking it to excess. And of course, they pop up in the most unlikely of places. I was surprised to discover there is a Christmas Market in a central square landside in Munich airport, complete with ice rink, for example.…and train stations are not left out. Here’s a photo of the square in front of Hannover Train Station, with a Glühwein (mulled wine) stand made out of an old tram, and the station itself nicely outlined in Christmas Lights. It’s adorable, and wonderful.
(DIR) Post #B17HkXCOCUeMu2tM7E by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T20:23:05Z
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And given the intensity of the day, we decided to celebrate the evening with the new Winter Gin & Tonic that is a special on the DB Bordrestaurant menu for November and December. You see it here as modelled by Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG. In true DB style, whilst the drinks are cold, there is no ice on this ICE.We have also been toasting to the times we have spent together, and to crowning off the year and this travel season for me with a suitably crazy journey. The sappy stuff has happened on @darkphoenix's thread over here: https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag402034hltv00c7
(DIR) Post #B17HkgDmeg74syc62S by moof@cupoftea.social
2025-12-10T20:09:50Z
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On the rails again…And we’re back on the #ICEAgeChallenge, now on our second type of train, an :ice_2: ICE 2 to Würzburg, where we will be spending the night.(CW: eye contact)