Rolf Löttgers

A week or so ago, I read a comment on social media about Continental branch lines, especially French, saying why the writer found them so interesting, "..as opposed to all the boring standardisation to be found in Switzerland and Germany." Well, that certainly doesn't apply to this book. We have here 160 pages of colour photographs of West German secondary railways during the 1960s. The variety is fascinating; 19th century steam engines rub shoulders with 1930s railcars and modern diesels, sometimes quite substantial vehicles. There are odd homebuilds, and rolling stock of remarkable antiquity. There are scenes from grimy industrial lines, scenes at country stations, and a number of pictures of trains running through town and city streets. There are passenger trains, mixed trains, and what the Americans call "interurbans" - trams running from town to town. The variety is truly remarkable, making this a volume worth tracking down.… (mehr)