In Vienna we sit in a late-night cafe...

[Davo Dentetsu]

Straight connection, T E E.

Got to use my new (well... new to me) Roco VT11.5 yesterday arvo.  An interesting aside to my British OO and Japan N/HO endeavours.  Plus how many times can I get to own something that's got Made In Austria on the box?  :P

[dabsan]

Really cool train! I have a weakness for buying German trains in N Gauge and also Z Gauge.   

 

Back to Düsseldorf City
Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie

Trans Europe Express

[Davo Dentetsu]

Yeah, I'm a sucker for red and cream.  It's just classic.

As a small bonus (and to make it a bit more of an interesting topic), anyone know this Fleischmann locomotive?  It's a club one I took a picture of, but since I'm not familiar with German types...

[marknewton]

Dave,

 

It's a Prussian T18, which was a tank engine version of the P8 4-6-0 tender engine. In DR/DB days they were classed BR78.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Davo Dentetsu]

Excellent.  I'll go look it up.  It's a beauty for sure.

[Mudkip Orange]

Unandeniably sexy train, and love the brute force engineering. "We have a bunch of incompatible electric systems, so let's make a really fast diesel train - and unabashedly so, with a giant smokestack fore of the cab windows."

[Davo Dentetsu]

Unandeniably sexy train, and love the brute force engineering. "We have a bunch of incompatible electric systems, so let's make a really fast diesel train - and unabashedly so, with a giant smokestack fore of the cab windows."

Lop a bit off a DD51 and a passenger coach.  Voila!  New train everybody. ;)

[ozman2009]

Just as an aside, two of them were converted to gas turbine drive. I don't think they lasted very long...

[kvp]

Actually back then everybody made their own TEE train variant, some of the early ones were diesels and most of the late ones were electrics. Some trains were even loco hauled. This nice system was later replaced with IC trains and then for some time almost nothing. Lately the newer high speed trains (TGV, ICE, etc.) start to cover the old TEE network, but not with direct long distance city to city links like the old trains, so you can't take a single train from Vienna to London. (in the past you could)

 

Some of the more famous ones:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/DB-Baureihe_VT_11.5 (diesel with two power cars at the ends)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBB_RAm_TEE_/_NS_DE_IV (push-pull diesel with a single power car at one end)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBB_RAe_TEE_II (push-pull electic with a 4 system loco in the middle)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheingold_(Zug) (loco hauled, mostly with electrics)

And a less known one that actually lasted much longer:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria_(Zug) (diesel loco hauled)

 

ps: The VT 11.5 design is actually just a post WWII version of the original flying hamburger concept and the slightly newer desiro trains have the same drive layout. All 3 trains are meant to be used on non electrified lines. The problem with the VT 11.5 idea was that it costs less to use a diesel locomotive with a control car and it will have the exact same number of powered wheels with a much lower maintenance bill.

[Davo Dentetsu]

Actually back then everybody made their own TEE train variant, some of the early ones were diesels and most of the late ones were electrics. Some trains were even loco hauled. This nice system was later replaced with IC trains and then for some time almost nothing. Lately the newer high speed trains (TGV, ICE, etc.) start to cover the old TEE network, but not with direct long distance city to city links like the old trains, so you can't take a single train from Vienna to London. (in the past you could)

 

Some of the more famous ones:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/DB-Baureihe_VT_11.5 (diesel with two power cars at the ends)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBB_RAm_TEE_/_NS_DE_IV (push-pull diesel with a single power car at one end)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBB_RAe_TEE_II (push-pull electic with a 4 system loco in the middle)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheingold_(Zug) (loco hauled, mostly with electrics)

And a less known one that actually lasted much longer:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria_(Zug) (diesel loco hauled)

 

ps: The VT 11.5 design is actually just a post WWII version of the original flying hamburger concept and the slightly newer desiro trains have the same drive layout. All 3 trains are meant to be used on non electrified lines. The problem with the VT 11.5 idea was that it costs less to use a diesel locomotive with a control car and it will have the exact same number of powered wheels with a much lower maintenance bill.

Yup, like most things in real life, sexiness is always expensive :P

[dabsan]

The VT 11.5 is a damn sexy train. 

Makes me think of adventure and nostalgia, I can almost hear the sound of Kraftwerk in the background B)

I would like a Z gauge version of this train but they are pretty expensive.

[Davo Dentetsu]

The VT 11.5 is a damn sexy train. 

Makes me think of adventure and nostalgia, I can almost hear the sound of Kraftwerk in the background B)

I would like a Z gauge version of this train but they are pretty expensive.

Yeah, European pricing is scary at best.

[Melandir]

Yeah, European pricing is scary at best.

 

Official pricing and "strangely" the train is still available and in-stock

 

https://www.maerklinshop.de/index.php?sid=c3144eb109ccb52e6a611c1412227201&cl=details&anid=M088734&searchparam=88734&&searchepoch=&searchgauge=&searchgroup=&searchsubgroup=&searchfeatures=&searchseries=&searchcrossselling=

[Davo Dentetsu]

Luckily mine was a second-hand Roco version of the Parsifal.  That's still north of $300 though.

[dabsan]

 

:love10:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcCubJEGRUU

 

Here is an even better video .......   http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKHfSwoALYE

 

Edited February 4, 2015 by dabsan

[Davo Dentetsu]

I genuinely hope to see some truly groundbreaking music like this again.  I believe it could happen, but a lot of the manufactured pop rubbish just dominates and blocks out the unique tunes.  :(

[cteno4]

Ha brings back memories! Nicely done slide show to the music! It did seem so new then! It was even cool to play in the disco at the time!

 

Jeff