Poland & Germany in 1996

My first trip overseas to see steam engines was in April 1996. The previous year I had decided to visit some of the former Deutsche Reichsbahn 750mm lines in what was East Germany. Whilst I was planning that trip friends recommended that I should visit the Polish town of Wolsztyn to see the standard gauge steam workings. Sadly time did not permit me to visit the narrow gauge lines at Sroda or Gniezno.
Ty2 406 at Wolsztyn
I travelled, on my own, from home near Bath to Poland and back by rail. I had no problems at all with the trains in Europe. A few connections ended up being a bit tighter than planned but I never missed a connection or got stranded anywhere. I found using an InterRail ticket a great way to get around.
The pass cover I was given for me Inter Rail Ticket
This was my itinerary. As you can see I didn't get to stop too much !

Ok22 31 & Ok1 359 on shed at Wolsztyn

99 713 at Radebeul
I organized the trip myself with a copy of Thomas Cooks' European Railway Timetable. With this I was able to workout all my connections. I booked the train journeys I needed to through what was then British Railways International. Since privatization of BR SNCF have taken over BR International and renamed it Rail Europe. I did not book any accommodation in advance, something that I decided I would never do again, but have done since !!

Ol49 69 on shed at Wolsztyn

099 725-4 in Rabenau Grund
     
As you can see from my itinerary I took a couple of overnight trains. On both occasions I used couchettes. Couchettes are compartments that provide 6 seats during the day and 6 bunk style berths overnight. Their biggest disadvantage is lack of luggage space. On both occasions I slept fairly well. I found the middle bunk to be quieter and more comfortable than the bottom bunk. The only other thing that wasn't the best was the shunting that occurred in the middle of the night. That is guaranteed to wake you up ! Liege was the worst location for this by far !!
099 wheels and motion 099 733-8 at Bertsdorf
The first day of travel saw me go from Bath to London then on Eurostar to Brussels. From there I had my first experiences of European rail travel.
During my trip I based myself in a number of different places for several days at a time. To read a little about the trip and to see photographs from my time in the various places please click on the links that follow. The towns I based myself in were Wolsztyn, Dresden & Wernigerode.
     
99 5906-5 at Alexisbad 99 7233-2 climbing to Harzgerode 99 7240-7 at Brocken 99 7237-3 climbing to Drei Annen Hohnen