Hi all,
We had travelled overnight from home by train and ferry via Harwich to the Hook of Holland and across Holland to Rheine in West Germany. Here on the Munster to Emden and Norddeich main line at Lathen it’s mainly flat with pastureland and Forest all the way to the coast. Some two miles south of Lathen half way to Meppen is Rheine based 012-063 3 cylinder oil burning Pacific storming along at about 70 to 80 mph working the 15.09 Norddeich Cologne. This at the time was a very busy line with a lot of freight going to the docks at Emden for export, hauled mainly by class 043 and 044 2-10-0s on the heavy trains, some times two engines double headed working the heavier coal trains, with an occasional class 042 2-8-2 thrown in. The 012 Pacific’s working all the Passenger trains. You could expect to see up to 30 or so trains in 8 hours all steam hauled.
3 years after the end of steam traction in Britain it was still going strong in Germany. Friday 1st. October 1971.
Regards
Ledg.

In