from Friday 8 to Sunday 17 February 2019
109 photos
Another trip starting in Germany and then east to Slovakia. I flew to Bremen as it was £9.99. I took a tram into town and Ibis for one night. I dated one of my Bahn Bonus tickets and decided to cover some 146 turns looking for 146.101, it was on the first turn I covered! I then took EC9 to Düsseldorf to hopefully get five of my six last 101s as gen received they were out. 101.140 had turned into 146.555 but all the others worked as booked making it a fruitful day! I stayed in Bochum and next morning to get the tour to Wernigerode, it was 220.033 & 215.028 (now with TB11 engine). It would have been 216.002 but that failed and then 221.122 (ex OSE A-420) but that also failed. I continued with carts to Magdeburg for a 182 to Berlin and then three more carts while I tried but failed to find 112.148. Fast 101 to Dresden and one night in the massive Ibis Budget. A 143 to Flughafen and the Vectron to Praha and a trip up to Rtyně v Podkrkonoší picking up two 754s in the process. Then to Ostrava for one night in a hard bed in room 510, don’t want that one again. Straight over Žilina next morning and east to Štrba and a nice climb on the rack line to Štrbské Pleso. Once back down the hill I then successfully got 162.007 and then 383.108 which were required. Had a meal in the restaurant on Galanta platform and as I set off for the hotel Cargo 240.019 was on late running R814 heading in to Bratislava but it would have meant a really late finish so I flagged and as expected never saw it again! I walked to the hotel for one night stay. Next day I set about covering all Bratislava 240 turns, I did get 240.142 at the end of the day but no Cargo work. I was then in Mercure for the next five nights so that was easy. I went down to Nové Zámky intending to cover as many 240s as possible. After three duds and no sign of any Cargo ones I ended up heading to Zvolen with the intention of viewing a few turns but required 750.183 was taken on R946 to Žilina so was taken instead. Then to Trenčín and then did the DMU only line to Chynorany and covered the 757 turns getting one new. A day around Bratislava mostly and took heritage blue 362.011 from Kúty -- Trnava and then to Zohor and the branch to Záhorská Ves and back. Then to Břeclav to meet Andreas for a pizza and back on required 386.203 which I think I got for free! EN477 to Štúrovo next morning to cover some DMU lines. First to Čata where I changed for a second one to Šahy and then the line north from Šahy to Zvolen which had re-opened in January. Up to Vrútky and some nice sunny photos and a new 757 and then back to Bratislava. I went down the Prievidza line as 736.101 was on the excel sheets as on train Os from Topoľčany - Nové Zámky. In reality it was (not surprisingly) a cart, so I stayed on to Partizánske and got another new 757. Then a circular trip from Bratislava picking up winner 754.036 over the hills and then back to Bratislava and flight home next day