The first part of this DVD (18 mins) shows Mh6 in charge of an excursion over ‘Die Krumpe’ from OberGrafendorf along the Erlauf valley to Gresten. This route, with its elegant station architecture, has since been decimated by conversion, in 1998, of the section between Wieselberg a/d Erlauf and Gresten to standard gauge so that heavy freight can be handled without the labour intensive use of ‘rollwagen’ (these wagons were used to carry standard gauge stock on 760mm lines): it has suffered further closures as both freight and passenger traffic has declined.

The second part (37mins) is devoted to the picturesque mountainous section of the Mariazellerbahn between Laubenbachmühle and the pilgrimage town of Mariazell which, over the years, has generated much of the passenger traffic on the line. Since 1911 this has been the domain of the rod-coupled Class 1099 CoCo electrics which were re-bodied in the 1960s. Even today these veterans remain the mainstay of locomotive power on the line: at the time of filming 15 of the original 16 locomotives remained in service – 1099.15 was judged beyond repair after a serious derailment.

As a rail fan I try to support the lines I visit by riding on their services. I hope that, by including video footage taken on the move, I can leave you with a better impression of my experiences than can be gained from those who rely on filming by ‘train chasing’ alone.

Questions
If you have any questions on this DVD please ask me by E-mail to twolambs@nslamb.co.uk. I may not have every answer, but, through my membership of the Austrian Railway Group , I probably know someone who does.

Technical Notes. The material on this DVD has been copied from S-VHS tapes recorded in the early 1990s using a Sharp VL-S860. A few titles with backing music have been added, but during the film there is no music and no commentary – the trains provide the sound track! price £10.00 Order online UK P+P £1 Europe P+P £1.50 Rest of World P+P £2.00 Postage will be refunded via PayPal on second and subsequent multiple purchases.
by POST with cheque payable to N Lamb Please add P&P to your order as follows: UK £1.00; EU £1.50; Elsewhere £2.00 Send to Austrian Railway Memories, 46 The Rising, Billericay CM11 2HN England

updated 12th July 2008
Design and © 2006 Ron Ferguson