The End of an Era...

... is the Beginning of the Future.

The time for the standardised electric locomotives of the former Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railway) is almost over. There are still enough to spot one every now and then, but their numbers are getting smaller at an increasing rate. When they were introduced in the 50s and 60s, railfans cried out at the sight of these bland boxes that unceremoniously pushed the steam engines into their graves. Their time was up.

Now, the usurpers are being overthrown. For almost half a century, these locomotives were the backbone of the freight sector, rugged and simple boxes with 5000hp at their disposal. They were renowned for being able to return home in almost all cases, being considered the single most reliable locomotive class in Germany, and the most numerous one, with 879 units in total.

They leave the playing field silently, making way for the latest generation of three-phase electrics. The new machines are faster, more powerful, consume less energy and even feed power back into the grid when braking. They are more pleasant to operate thanks to noise insulated and air conditioned cabs, they can put much more power to the rails thanks to sophisticated control electronics, they produce less noise, don't leak oil, and cost less to maintain.

For railfans today, the new locomotives are an unpleasant sight, just like the old ones were back in their time. There will always be improvements and innovations that change the way our trains look and run. Sometimes, the changes aren't visible to the passenger. Sometimes, he notices that the new EMU is all good and nice, but the seats they put into them are hard as fuck. Often, he appreciates not having to wrench open the doors himself, but he might also ask himself why the new doors are broken so frequently. There are good and bad sides about every aspect of old and new rolling stock.

But generally speaking, it's not much use to cry about when the old is superseded by the new. We might be wondering why the youngsters of the future will chase down the locomotives we hated so much when we were young. We will eventually realize that there is a time for everything, and nothing lasts forever.