Bigchris
Member
Hi all,
Just thought I'd stick this on here as it may be of interest to many of you. Recently a friend of mine compiled a new book entitled "Freight Only - Germany". This is in fact the first of 4 proposed books that will cover the whole of Germany, and being volume 1, covers Northern Germany including Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover etc. This isn't a sales pitch but having received my copy recently I just wanted to make people aware of it's existence and give my whole-hearted recommendation. It includes a range of very detailed information such as what freight operates in the area, breakdowns of specific freight yards (especially good for the various yards around Hamburg docks), operators in the region, lots of good photos, and most importantly, numerous timetables for all manner of freight flows at various locations around the region. This has been compiled after considerable time researching, sightings and reports, and I have to say, is unlike any other resource I've seen. His original post from another forum is below if anybody is interested, and there's a link to a preview of the book.
If you're interested in the German freight scene I can guarantee this book will be of interest to you, and it would also be really good if you could support the project as this first volume has been produced on "Blurb" which isn't particularly user friendly, and if interest can reach a certain number then it could give the go-ahead for the next 3 volumes to be produced via a proper publisher, which would also bring the cost down and improve on options for the layout of the book.
Anyway, details are here, the book is actually available as a mail-order physical copy (Blurb postage is expensive though so always worth clubbing together if you have mates that would also like it), or you can order it as a PDF copy (personally I think the physical book is much better as the photos and tables look better). I'm more than happy to answer questions on my copy but would thoroughly recommend it if you want something with a bit more specialist detail than any other books I've seen on this subject.
Original intro by the author:
Ladies and gents - "this is the moment you have all been waiting for" as the great Mr Jackman once said in The Greatest Showman.
After hundreds of hours and more than a few false starts, I've finally put a book together with Michael Rhodes that aims to explain to the novice and the experts where freight trains go in Northern Germany and when they operate. We've created a whole load of individual timetables for various hotspots. The timetables are broken down by flow, so all the car trains are in one table and all the container trains are in another, etc, etc plus lots of narrative and photos - aim is to help people identify some of these trains - many can be identified if you use the book.
There is a 10 page preview in the link below.
Pdf (90mb so you've been warned!) is obviously cheaper than the book and the book does come with a hefty delivery charge, but unfortunately I have no say in the prices that Blurb put on these things. We will be lucky to get £1.00 a book for each sale, so this ain't a money making exercise by any means - I even have to buy my own book and pdf
This venture is all about gauging interest (and btw - blurb is set up for narrative with no bullet points, no font changes, no anything and certainly no tables!). I'd say price is the biggest downside of this venture - the alternative was to go to a publisher and a printer, but we had to shelve out thousands of pounds in advance and no guarantee we would sell any and they would still be priced similar to the Blurb book.
Anyway, back to the positives - I recommend the book over the pdf. The photos, narrative and tables just work better over two pages sat side by side. Should make for a really good read whilst we are all sat on a local beach / park in the UK during the summer and planning our next trip abroad later this year
And if nothing else, it is a useful record of what was operating when and by whom (just like our old back issues of Freightmaster book have been).
And if it is successful, then we may well do another one (the purpose is to find out what interest there is in this potential venture)...
Link to 10 page preview and book / pdf for buying is below
https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/10124565-freight-only-germany
Just thought I'd stick this on here as it may be of interest to many of you. Recently a friend of mine compiled a new book entitled "Freight Only - Germany". This is in fact the first of 4 proposed books that will cover the whole of Germany, and being volume 1, covers Northern Germany including Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover etc. This isn't a sales pitch but having received my copy recently I just wanted to make people aware of it's existence and give my whole-hearted recommendation. It includes a range of very detailed information such as what freight operates in the area, breakdowns of specific freight yards (especially good for the various yards around Hamburg docks), operators in the region, lots of good photos, and most importantly, numerous timetables for all manner of freight flows at various locations around the region. This has been compiled after considerable time researching, sightings and reports, and I have to say, is unlike any other resource I've seen. His original post from another forum is below if anybody is interested, and there's a link to a preview of the book.
If you're interested in the German freight scene I can guarantee this book will be of interest to you, and it would also be really good if you could support the project as this first volume has been produced on "Blurb" which isn't particularly user friendly, and if interest can reach a certain number then it could give the go-ahead for the next 3 volumes to be produced via a proper publisher, which would also bring the cost down and improve on options for the layout of the book.
Anyway, details are here, the book is actually available as a mail-order physical copy (Blurb postage is expensive though so always worth clubbing together if you have mates that would also like it), or you can order it as a PDF copy (personally I think the physical book is much better as the photos and tables look better). I'm more than happy to answer questions on my copy but would thoroughly recommend it if you want something with a bit more specialist detail than any other books I've seen on this subject.
Original intro by the author:
Ladies and gents - "this is the moment you have all been waiting for" as the great Mr Jackman once said in The Greatest Showman.
After hundreds of hours and more than a few false starts, I've finally put a book together with Michael Rhodes that aims to explain to the novice and the experts where freight trains go in Northern Germany and when they operate. We've created a whole load of individual timetables for various hotspots. The timetables are broken down by flow, so all the car trains are in one table and all the container trains are in another, etc, etc plus lots of narrative and photos - aim is to help people identify some of these trains - many can be identified if you use the book.
There is a 10 page preview in the link below.
Pdf (90mb so you've been warned!) is obviously cheaper than the book and the book does come with a hefty delivery charge, but unfortunately I have no say in the prices that Blurb put on these things. We will be lucky to get £1.00 a book for each sale, so this ain't a money making exercise by any means - I even have to buy my own book and pdf
This venture is all about gauging interest (and btw - blurb is set up for narrative with no bullet points, no font changes, no anything and certainly no tables!). I'd say price is the biggest downside of this venture - the alternative was to go to a publisher and a printer, but we had to shelve out thousands of pounds in advance and no guarantee we would sell any and they would still be priced similar to the Blurb book.
Anyway, back to the positives - I recommend the book over the pdf. The photos, narrative and tables just work better over two pages sat side by side. Should make for a really good read whilst we are all sat on a local beach / park in the UK during the summer and planning our next trip abroad later this year
And if nothing else, it is a useful record of what was operating when and by whom (just like our old back issues of Freightmaster book have been).
And if it is successful, then we may well do another one (the purpose is to find out what interest there is in this potential venture)...
Link to 10 page preview and book / pdf for buying is below
https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/10124565-freight-only-germany