Passenger Alternatives.

Following on from the last post about Nachlösewagen, a bit of a look at some coaches, these can be used in the absence of the railbus set or at busier times:

First up is a 2nd/baggage Bogie Umbauwagen, this is the vehicle featured in the last post...

This is probably the most typical branch line vehicle I have so far, there's also a 1st/2nd, the only snag being that a 2-car train won't fit in the loop for the loco to run round...

Both consists are hauled by the Piko Hobby 218, though motive power could equally be a 211/2, 260 or 290, possibly even a 333.

Next up, something less likely...a Roco main line 2nd coach, picked up for a fiver at the Knowl Hill show. Motive power this time is the 333, and we're a few years further on, in the mid-1990s. As the Umbauwagen are no longer in service and the railbuses are getting very long in the tooth, there's a bit of a stock shortage, so this rather unsuitable vehicle has been pressed into service...

Not totally out of the question, though it's not ideal as one door is off the platform when the train comes in, though I suspect a centre entrance coach would be more likely to appear.

Something a bit more bizarre now:

Well, it's a centre entrance coach, which is good, but what is it?

The answer is that it's a LOWA E5 coach from the DDR and the rather fine livery is from its former use on the Leipzig S-bahn. Picked up locally for a bargain price, it's probably highly unlikely that the prototype would have turned up on an obscure branch line in the West, although some did revert to standard DR Green and may have been used on DB. Of course, it's very difficult for someone to provide a photo proving that one DIDN'T go over the border...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Also, as it's a bit shorter than the DB coach, it'll go round the bendy side of the loop, which the capitalist vehicle won't, so there!