Bebra Mega steam

Continuing Germany’s 175th anniversary celebrations Railtrail’s next port of call takes us onto the fabulous steam festival at Bebra in the cultural heart of Germany with loads of steam action in the inimitable German style.

The best way to travel to a steam festival is by steam, and we certainly have that as we power our way to Bebra from Karlsrhue – a return distance of over 800 kilometres. But that’s not all, as we include lots of ‘special highlights’ en route plus a private vintage tram charter and a private photographic steam charter at a 600 mm line.

DAY 1 Thursday April 29th: If choosing to travel throughout by train, we depart London St Pancras International to Brussels, then high speed ICE train via Cologne and Frankfurt to Karlsruhe and our hotel, the Ibis, situated close by the station. Clients who have chosen the flight option join at Frankfurt. DAY 2 Friday April 30th: Our steam special departs Karlsruhe circ 09.00 hrs for around 9 hours of mainline steam haulage with 58 311 joined en route by Prussian P8, 38 3199 and an additional 4 vehicles, making the consist a heavy 12 vehicles including a heritage postal vehicle giving demonstrations. During the run there will be a mainline photo run-past and the locos will be worked hard up the 10 kilometres steep gradient en route to Bebra arriving circ 17.30 hrs. At Bebra we have the opportunity of photographing Pacific 01 1075 arriving on its train before it replaces 38 3199 / 58 311 and hauls us onto Eisenach where we have two nights at the historic Kaiserhof Hotel. DAY 3 Saturday May 1st: An early start as we steam out of Eisenach to the Bebra Festival hauled by 2-8-2, 41 144 to give us a maximum full day at the Festival. Today will see steam hauled excursions arriving and departing from all over including: 50 3501 from Meiningen, 52 1360 from Vienenburg, 52 8134 from Gießen, 50 3552 from Hanau, 41 096 from Braunschweig, 41 018 from Nuremberg, 01 533 from Augsburg, 011066 from Stuttgart, 38 3199 from Kassel plus other excursions from Cologne and Leipzig. The day is free to enjoy all the attractions of the Festival, however also included in your tour fare is arguably the highlight: you travel behind one on the locos, as two locomotives haul parallel trains on the mainline, each overtaking the other, to give passengers the unique close-up of a mainline steam locomotive at work. We depart the Festival circ 18.30 hrs, travelling back to Eisenach again hauled by Class 41, 41 144. DAY 4 Sunday May 2nd: A later departure today at circ 09.00 hrs as we roar our way from Eisenach to Bebra to the sound of heritage diesel V100 Class, 212 084. At Bebra steam replaces diesel as P8, 38 3199 takes over to Gemünden (Main), from where 58 311 takes over back to Karlsruhe - including a stopover at Darmstadt-Kranichstein steam depot, where there will be the opportunity to view their superb collection of steam locos at the old DB depot whilst 58 311 takes on coal and water; a unique time-capsule of the past. Our hotel for the next two nights is again the Ibis, close by the station. DAY 5 Monday May 3rd: Travelling by public tram service to the Tram Museum where we board our private charter vintage tram for a 90 minute tour through the streets of Karlsruhe ending at Marktplatz where we have a lunch break before enjoying a private photo steam charter on the 600 mms Schlossgartenbahn. The remainder of the day is free to explore the sights in Karlsruhe. DAY 6 Tuesday May 4th: We conclude this action-packed holiday by departing Karlsruhe circ 10.00 hrs, returning via Frankfurt, Cologne and Brussels, arriving London St Pancras International at 19.03 hrs. Ibis Hotel, Karlsruhe Situated close by the railway station. Kaiserhof Hotel, Eisenach An historic hotel.