Dirtbag

For Sam

To show him that not all our 143s are squeaky clean.

Of course, it all depends on where the engine is being used, or rather where it is stationed. The ones on our S-Bahn lines (or rather the last few of them that are still loco hauled) seem to be well cared for. Those that run on this regional line however, are notoriously dirty, and interestingly enough, still have the old style round buffers. Shot a few months ago at Cologne Central Station.

In contrast, most 143s that run on the S6 (which stops about 400 meters from my house) look a little bit like this:




What's also interesting: Most locomotives these days hardly ever get uncoupled from their train, all thanks to cab cars. As a result, the end that's usually visible is kept clean, while the one that usually faces the leading carriage doesn't receive much care. When the cab car breaks for some reason, the locomotive has to be brought around, and looks a little bit like this: