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Suggestions for visit to the Ruhr

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Pete81E

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2 Dec 2012
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Hi,
Am travelling to the Ruhr and will have a VRR Hotel Kombi ticket in a couple of weeks time and looking for some suggestions for freight/generally good hotspots.
Haven't been for a number of years but am aware of the well know places like Dusseldorf-Rath / Lintorf, Duisburg Entenfang (is it a bus at the moment?) Oberhausen Osterfeld Sud. Was looking at my Scheers and Wall and YouTube trying to work out if places I've not been to before would be any good.
Alternatives I've come up with so far are Krefeld-Linn, Essen-Dellwig, Bochum-Riemke, Bochum Langendreer, Hagen? Also have never done Oberhausen West if anyone has public transport directions to the best view would be appreciated.
Also any major infrastructure stuff going on at the moment meaning diverts or extra workings?
Thanks very much in advance, Pete.
 
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RailUK Forums

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Let me guess, taking advantage of the cheap weekend rates at the InterCity Hotel in Wuppertal?!
Did exactly that last year and enjoyed an easy weekend of trains and bier, sadly the main attraction of the Schwebebahn was closed though, dunno if that's sorted now..
I can't help you regarding Freight I'm afraid as I'm more into bashing loks, but I believe there are still a couple of NX and EuroBahn Ersatzzuege about including the BR 110 on N-Wagen's (becoming very rare now) between Wuppertal and Bonn (MO-FR), watch out though and don't get stung with a EUR60 fine like I did as the free VRR ticket as its not valid past Solingen..! <(
Best place for up-to-date gen is the excellent ERG forum: https://groups.io/g/europeanrail/
Viel spass! :smile:
 

Spoorslag '70

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Morning.

Entenfang is bustitued until the 22nd of September (but that's very likely to be extended). Linn and Dellwig should be better than Riemke and Langendreer but I can not comment on Hagen.
The "through line" side of Oberhausen West (namely Abzweig Mathilde) can be reached with a bus to "Pauluskirche", walk towards the railway bridge and use the set of stairs to the left. Local staff are usually fine as long as you wear a hi-vis, stand clear of the line and don't go further than the PSB.

The only intresting diversions at the moment are some rather longstanding ones due to works in Bielefeld, affecting long-distance trains only (but includes the likes of Recklinghausen-Krefeld via Bottrop Gbf, Prosper Levin, Beeck and Moers etc.), which are not included in the VRR ticket.
 

Pete81E

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2 Dec 2012
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Thanks for the replies.
Not Wuppertal IC Hotel but will check them for future. I'm actually at Bahn Hotel, Dusseldorf. Travelling out on Sun 15th Eurostar to Amsterdam for a few hours then ICE to Dusseldorf. Flying back to Heathrow Wednesday evening.
Will try Essen-Dellwig and Krefeld-Linn for sure. And will try and catch up with the 110. Will just enjoy a good potter around!
Cheers,
Pete
 

duesselmartin

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At Duisburg it might be worth taking a train or tram to Hochfeld Süd. Although a bit of a shoddy area it has a steel railway bridge with footpath. There is a lot of freight a regional passenger traffic so it is never boring.
Nearby in the Rheinpark there is a nice Café called Ziegenpeter for refreshments.

Freightwise the Duisburg to Emmerich line is also interesting as it carries freight to Rotterdam. Check in engineering here as it does happen frequently. If it is closed, trains are diverted via Mönchengladbach to Venlo (NL).

If you are interested in derilict steel industry with with some derilict railway stock, Duisburg Landschaftspark Nord is the place to go.

Staying with deriliction. The platform canopy of Duisburg Hbf is due for demolition in the coming years. It is the last of its kind and dates to the early 1930s.

As to Entenfang, it still has the rail replacement bus and passenger service will formally cease in December indefinatly.

Engineering work is expected this year between Oberhausen-Gelsenkirchen-Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen-Essen. So If you wish to visit the Zollverein colliery it is best to go by tram from Essen Hbf.

Martin
 

Fireless

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I second Mathilde for lots of interesting stuff coming through and Oberhausen-West still has semaphore signals (their replacement will finally open on the 17th of september).
The mentioned path (the stairs are located on the southwestern side of the railway bridge over the Ruhrorter Straße, next to the mortal remains of the letterbox of No. 10).
I also second the rules stated above, so wear a high-vis vest, stay clear of the tracks, don't do anything stupid and don't venture out further than Mathilde PSB (the big dark building on the southern side with "Maf" on it).

My insider tip for that area is Ineos in Herne with a fireless steam locomotive in regular service.
Between her duties (a trip to the exchange sidings in the morning and one around noon and associated shunting), she will be standing next to the level crossing on the Brunnenstraße.
As she will be put to bed inside the locomotive shed after the noon trip, your best bet for catching her would be in the morning.
 

Beebman

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17 Feb 2011
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I don't know if it's been mentioned before but VRR 'Preisstufe' D tickets are valid through to Arnhem via Emmerich on the Abellio Rail operated RE19 service, indeed I did that last Sunday. There's no supplement which needs to be paid but if your ticket doesn't have a QR code you'll need to ask the conductor for a Key Card ticket to let you through the gate line at Arnhem Centraal, although the staff there can let you through anyway. The city of Arnhem is worth a visit in itself, otherwise the main transport interest there is an extensive trolleybus network.
 

Pete81E

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2 Dec 2012
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Thanks for the suggestions. Plenty of new places to try, that's for sure!
 
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My suggestion is to do not even bother to go there to the Ruhrgebiet! It is really the „ghetto of the west“ and nothing to see there except everything which is wrong with the Federal Republic of today.

Go east to Berlin instead!
 

duesselmartin

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My suggestion is to do not even bother to go there to the Ruhrgebiet! It is really the „ghetto of the west“ and nothing to see there except everything which is wrong with the Federal Republic of today.

Go east to Berlin instead!
Sorry you obviously don't know what your talking about. Yes it got its problem but no more than Berlin and the east.
Best wishes from the Ruhrgebiet.
 

U-Bahnfreund

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6 Feb 2015
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Hagen-Vorhalle has a large goods yard, but as I am not a spotter, I don't really know where good spots are. But you could try along Volmarsteiner Straße (where bus 591 runs on between Wetter and Hagen-Vorhalle), since I think the freight trains go that way, while passenger trains go via Wetter direct.
 

Ian1971

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I can confirm the 110 are still doing the Koln Oberbarmen diagrams currently sat in the first coach behind the loco
 

eastwestdivide

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Gratuitous 110 photo on the Wuppertal run 20th Sept:
K50P5328.jpg
The slogan on the side is a job advert for train drivers.
Can definitely recommend the Duisburg Landschaftspark for dereliction and nature taking over, plus the underground trams that get you there from Duisburg Hbf.
And not far from Wuppertal, in fact still in the Wupper valley, is the Müngsten bridge (station: Solingen Schaberg) - well worth a visit if you're a bridge fan. It's huge, and there are two cafes underneath to choose from.
 
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