Regular Everyday Normal Train

When looking at my photos, one might get the impression that Germany is full of 103s, 110s and 143s, which is (sadly) not the case at all. I just love those so much that I shoot them at every opportunity, while pretty much ignoring the rest, as that's all boring. Now by ignoring I of course don't mean that I don't take photos, I photograph pretty much every train I can. But I don't upload the shots, as nobody cares about trains that you get to see every single day (unless it looks really good, like the Bombardier Talent).

This then is one of the regular average trains I often see but hardly ever upload photos of, save for one or two occasions, perhaps even three. It's a dosto train, which is short for Doppelstockwagen, aka double decker car, hauled by a class 146 multiphase AC electric. These locomotives have a somewhat interesting history, as they were developed from the closely related class 145 freight locos. Those had been used back in the year 2000, during the World's Fair in Hanover, hauling extra trains to move the visitors around. They worked quite well, with the top speeds having been increased for the duration of the world's fair. Now DB realized that this could only be a temporary measure, and thus ordered some passenger versions, with the most notable differences being the destination indicators and the different power transmission, allowing for a top speed of 100mph. There have been later versions of these locos with improved cabs in terms of crash safety, but the ones we have here in NRW (No. 001-031) are members of the first generation. The specimen we see here seems to have received a new coat of paint recently.

Also, this was the very train I rode to university and back, for four years, growing more and more frustrated with the endless shenanigans, be it line closures, overcrowding, catenary damage, annoying passengers or random delays. No car ad in the world made me want a car as bad as using public transportation did.