21st June 2014 - Bentheimer Eisenbahn photo charterSaturday 21st June 2014 This morning was one of the easiest starts to a day that we have ever had, merely requiring us to wake up in time to walk a few yards onto the platform at Bad Bentheim Nord by 10:15. Of course we were up and about long before then and after a hearty breakfast went out to photograph the first Amsterdam-bound IC train and the “goodies” parked in the Bentheimer Eisenbahn yard which included a V200 loco painted like a not-quite-correct German flag.
The reason for our presence in this comparative outpost was to take part in a photo charter run by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Schienenverkehr Münsterland who we have travelled with before (see this gallery). Their charters are always interesting and well planned and this one was of particular interest in that it was doing a large amount of freight only track and it was loco hauled which was a real bonus; the only downside was that the weather was trying its best to rain – not really what was wanted. Some other participants started to arrive by road as our train for the day appeared on the far side of the BE yard only to head off towards the connection to the DB system where there was a stop board in the track. A short pause whilst we presume permission was sought then the board was removed and the short train headed off to the DB yard where there were enough empty roads for the little loco to run round its two coaches. Once it had done this, it returned to the BE yard and propelled its train into the platform right outside our hotel.
Most of the rest of the party had arrived by train from the Münster area by now so there was a bit of a scramble to secure seats in the two vehicles; one of which was a nicely restored coach complete with bar and the other converted from a freight van with an equally high standard of finish. The loco for the day was D12, a 4 wheel diesel loco built by MaK in 1957 and originally owned by the Bentheimer Eisenbahn but now in the care of Grafschafter Modell und Eisenbahn Club and also looking very well cared for. It had stopped raining by the time we departed though still overcast and the organisers came round the train with a copy of the official timing sheet for €2 and, in our case, relieving us of some money for the fare; we had arranged this in advance by e-mail to avoid the rip-off foreign currency charges if paying by bank transfer. The outwards journey to Coevorden-Heege was done with only one stop at Neuenhaus where there was plenty of space to line up next to the level crossing for the first proper photo opportunity of the day.
The weather did try to brighten up at one stage but we soon ran into a heavy rain shower which we all hoped would not be repeated during the day though things had dried up by the time we crossed the Dutch border and arrived at Coervorden container terminal. The two coaches were propelled into one of the sidings and people started getting out, so we joined them and made a beeline for loco D22, which was parked next to a fuel point, just in time to get a photo of it in a brief shaft of sunlight.
D12 had started to run round so most people had a brief scout round the area then took some pictures of the train next to the futuristic looking yard offices once the loco had attached to the south end.
Once everybody had got their photos then it was back onto the train as it propelled towards the junction with NS (Dutch Railways) and Coevorden station but we barely went half a mile, up to a level crossing, where we were all invited to get out for a photo stop on some bridge. Not fully understanding, we both got out and tagged along with the tour leaders across the road and there was the bridge, a swing bridge across the canal next to a lifting road bridge, so we found positions on the pavement alongside the road whilst D12 and its coaches were backed up and posed on the rail bridge.
Several photos later, we all started to troop back to the level crossing when a loud horn blew. We thought that it was a lorry, but there were none in sight then we noticed a boat waiting to pass through both bridges. We had no idea how long it had been waiting but presumably long enough to express its impatience and we also got the impression that some of the car drivers were getting a little fed up as our antics had caused a bit of a queue to build up. Next stop was at the closed station of Laarwald which was now a private residence though there was no sign of any occupants as we all bailed off outside their window and leapt across the track for a photo of the train with the former station building as a backdrop. As we have come to expect of this organisation it was a well-researched location which did achieve the aim of “recreating a 1950s scene” providing that the right angle was chosen to ensure that satellite dish was hidden from view!
All photos taken, it was back on board and onwards to Emlichheim where we had hoped to cover the short branch to the canal but when the organisers and most of the other passengers left the station and started walking down the road we thought it best to follow them though we did notice that the loco had been uncoupled and was preparing to run round. On we walked, through a supermarket car park, along a road with two level crossings and turned right at a road junction slap bang between the two railway crosings. We ended up a couple of hundred metres along the harbour branch where it ran alongside a road and waited whilst the train was propelled towards us to provide some photo opportunities the best of which was the passing of what appeared to be a senior citizens cycling club out for a ride.
At this point the two of us we contemplating hopping on the train so that we could at least get part of the branch in but one guy who did try to get on was told not to, so we all trooped back to the station and paid a visit to the small bar on the train for some sustenance whilst the loco ran round again. About 12 kms further south there was another branch running from Esche to Odenwald but this time the loco did not run round and merely propelled the train past some “nodding donkey” oil pumps to the oil terminal at Osterwald. The train didn’t go right up to the gates and stopped in what we took to be the favoured spot for photos though there were no features of note to make that particular spot any more photogenic than a location closer to the gates.
Three more stops were taken; at the 1.8km post on the Osterwald branch, on the level crossing next to Veldhausen station and alongside a minor road at Frenswegen before we arrived at the station in Nordhorn, the only major town on the line. Again, we were not sure what the plan was so just followed everybody else off the train, pausing to grab a couple of photos of it in the station before traipsing off along the line and over the level crossing as the train obediently followed us. Just after the level crossing was an imposing building which turned out to be the local high school so more photos were taken with this as a backdrop before we all walked back to the station as the train followed us again.
Ever onwards, past the Bentheimer Eisenbahn’s depot at Nordhorn Süd; which would have been nice to visit, another photo stop on the approach to a level crossing at Neerlage then one final call at the closed station of Quendorf where the station building had also been turned into a dwelling. We did wonder whether the owner here was an enthusiast of some description as there was a “175 years of German Railways” flag flying in the garden as well as a railway-type clock atop a lattice post on the immaculately kept grassy platform.
Rather perversely, the sun decided to make a brief appearance at this final photo stop but it didn’t last and the clouds had closed in again by the time we had arrived back at Bad Bentheim Nord. After the passengers had alighted at the North station, D12 had to propel it’s train back into the yard then a repeat of this mornings manoeuvre where access to the DB yard was sought so that the loco could run round and return to Nordhorn.
All the leaping in and out of the train and walking meant we had worked up an appetite so we went straight round to the Balkan steakhouse (Steakhaus bei Mirko) for an excellent meal before heading back in time to photograph the last IC train of the evening to Amsterdam.
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