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Good Morning! It´s finally raining over here! Never thought I´d welcome that wet stuff falling from the sky, but it has been definitively too dry in my neck of the woods! Mother Nature is certainly welcoming a drink! Keith - great to see you are back. I was so indulged in my translation job I missed your post. Hope to see you more often, Sir! J.R. - the difficcult part of that translation is to understand those many technical and medical terms which you don´t find in an ordinary dictionary. Add to that the company´s own word creations and usual marketing talk, which are impossible to translate. The good part is, that this time I have to translate English into German, which I find a lot easier than the other way around. I hope to have both the data sheet and the manual done by today. I´ll let it rest for a day or two and then revisit the job I have done to streamline it.  Garry - thanks for the update on Jeff! Makes me feel sad, to read that he has lost more of his remaining foot than just a toe. Life will turn even more challenging for him. I wish I knew how we could provide him with some more comfort and reliable help! Ray - that scene is just awesome! [bow] Are you ready for another railfanning trip? Today, we will be visiting Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Hamburg Central Station), about 35 miles away from my place. No, we won´t be taking the car into town, as parking your car is more expensive than the train ticket. It´s a ten minute walk to the train station from my place, we should be able to do that. The train we will be taking is a push-pull consist of bi-level coaches. known for their comfort and smooth ride. After leaving my hometown´s station, the train quickly accelerates to the top speed of 100 mph - not bad for a commuter train. The ride to Hamburg takes only 30 minutes. <img src="http://bahnsteigbilder.startbilder.de/1024/146-06-metronom-eisenbahngesellschaft-als-me-41773.jpg" alt=" " /> Hamburg Central Station was built in 1906, substituting a number of termini of the early days of railroading. It is quite an impressive building, right in the heart of the city. <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Hamburg_Hauptbahnhof_2009_319.JPG/800px-Hamburg_Hauptbahnhof_2009_319.JPG" alt=" " /> Allied bombings nearly destroyed the building, but unlike in many other German cities, it was decided to rebuild it and keep the old architecture. But we did not come here to admire the grand old building, let´s take a look inside! The station has 18 tracks - 8 for long distance trains, 6 for regional services and 4 for Hamburg S-Bahn (local commuter) trains. With 18 tracks, you be there is a lot of activity. Watching trains is like partaking in a tennis match. There is hardly a minute without any train movement. <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Hamburg_Hauptbahnhof_stitched_19.jpg/800px-Hamburg_Hauptbahnhof_stitched_19.jpg" alt=" " /> In the 1990´s the interior was modernized and the station now sports a shopping mall. As you can see, it also has the embassy of good taste, marked withn that big, yellow "M" [swg] More than half a million people frequent the station each day. As you can imagine, a train arrival means a lot of pushing and shoving, given the fact that a train usually stops only for not more than 3 minutes. Let´s take a look at those local commuter trains (S-Bahn). They service Hamburg and its immediate hinterland. It´s a 91 mile network of DC operated trains, running on 3-rail track (it´s not Marklin!). The service was started in 1906 as well, initially steam operated, electrification began early in 1907/1908. The fleet of EMU´s has been modernized recently, replacing pre-WW II and 1950´s trains with comfortable, smooth riding equipment. The old... <img src="http://images.fotocommunity.de/bilder/eisenbahn/historische-eisenbahnen/ein-alte-s-bahn-in-hamburg-berliner-tor-6aef18a6-fa01-4198-a316-4eeaacc69cf5.jpg" alt=" " /> ... and now the new sets: <img src="http://www.hamburg.de/contentblob/2967810/data/neuer-s-bahn-prototyp-vorgestellt-4).jpg" alt=" " /> <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/S-Bahn_Hamburg_Type_474_1.jpg/800px-S-Bahn_Hamburg_Type_474_1.jpg" alt=" " /> As our train ticket allows us to roam Hamburg, we will take a ride on these trains. We will also use Hamburg´s subway system to go to the harbor. The line to the harbor is an elevated line, that´s why the Hamburg subway is called the "Hochbahn" (High Line). <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Hh-roedingsmarkt.jpg/1200px-Hh-roedingsmarkt.jpg" alt=" " /> We still have time to do a harbor cruise, if you like. <img src="http://www.hamburg.de/contentblob/2594254/data/bildergalerie-hafenrundfahrt-mit-der-hvv-faehre-33).jpg" alt=" " /> Time to take the train home now, as supper is waiting ... Have a good day!
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