Former Queen

Once upon a time, namely in the 50s and 60s, the class 110 (E10 back then) was the pride of the state owned Deutsche Bundesbahn. Arguably the best looking and fastest electric engine in the country, it pulled all long distance trains, including prestigious ones like the TEE, the Trans Europ Express. There were special variants with different trucks, that allowed higher speeds for the high class trains. Even after the mighty class 103 took over, they were still pulling everything that wasn't meant for the 200km/h top speed of the 103.

After being an extremely reliable workhorse for over half a century, the 110s are starting to get rare. German railfans have mourned, as one of the last lines that regularly saw these engines was switched to modern rolling stock.

What we see here is 110 497 in Cologne central station, the former Queen returning to the great hall, where the modern trains rule now. The ICE and IC trains are the new emperors, modern DMUs such as the Talent and EMUs like the 42x classes took over the regional traffic, along with double decker cars and TRAXX engines.

Despite being very unhappy with the noise and colour, I really liked the angle and composition. This engine, along with 110 426 [link] was relocated to Munich, along with 8 others of her kind [link] , with 426 being the lead engine. A sad day for me, as this means that I won't see them again in Duisburg, until they'll arrive at my doorstep for scrapping so to speak. But at least they have several years until their next inspection is due, until then, they are still allowed to do what they can do best: Work their asses off.



You may have noticed that I have expanded my folders, including the best-of that I now link in my signature, but also a folder just for the 110s, if you're interested [link]