Steam Train climbing a snowy Mountain | Brockenbahn in Wernigerode | Germany

[@G-Man-kc2nm]

Great job, enjoyed the video! Thanks for the train ride!

[@SteamCrane]

Absolutely wonderful video. The slow pan up to the summit at the beginning is awesome! You can see how steep the grade is on the curves. A 2-10-2T is naturally bidirectional, ideal for this line. It also keeps the firebox at the low end for safety.

[@Genius_at_Work]

It's basically a Narrow Gauge Version of the Class 86 Standard Gauge Tank Engine, with one more Set of driving Wheels to account for the lower Wheel Loading. The only other Difference to a Class 86 I can think of right now is the Economiser, aka that Box in Front of the Smokestack. It mixes some/most of the Exhaust Steam into the Feed Water, to pre-heat it and to reduce Water Consumption by re-using Water. The Class 86 didn't have that, as most of them ended up in West Germany while that Type of Economiser was engineered in East Germany. Tank Engines were very Common in Germany, for exactly the Reasons that you named. IIRC, they are somewhat rare in America. Some German Tender Locomotives ride just as well with the Tender first, so they can be used like Tank Engines.

[@SteamCrane]

​@@Genius_at_Work When I was in Germany + Austria in 1970, I saw quite a few 50's and 52's(?) running on the main line in reverse. I think they had a lateral motion device on the rear driving axle.

[@Genius_at_Work]

@@SteamCrane These are precisely the Tender Locomotives that I was up to, plus a few other ones like the much smaller Class 24. The Class 52 is unlikely though; it is a simplefied Version of the Class 50 for Wartime Mass Production West Germany had plenty Class 50s after the War, quickly making the Class 52 obsolete. In East Germany, the Class 52 was vital and even saw a large Scale Modernisation Program in the 1960ies, which built the Class 52.80. The 52.80 became the last Steam Locomotive in Commercial Service (excluding small Tourist Railways like the Brockenbahn or the Molli-Bahn from my other Video) in Germany, hauling the last official Steam Train in East Germany in 1988 and even seeing a brief Rennaisance north of Berlin in 1994, due to a Locomotive Shortage under the then newly founded Deutsche Bahn AG. Little Edit: Dunna about Austria though, the Class 52 still being active there may be possible as it was scattered around entire Europe, from Norway to Turkey. Austria is a pretty blank Spot on the Map to me though, I've never even been there despite Austria being the nearest International Border to where I live now.

[@SteamCrane]

​@@Genius_at_Work I was in Germany and Austria in early 1970. I saw 50, 52, 44, 01, 23, 98 (rack engines on the line through Prabichl). At Hieflau, I watched a pair of either 50's or 52's coupled back to back on an iron ore train. I wouldn't be surprised if the 52's didn't have lateral motion. Also at Achern, I spent a day with an antique loco with outside Stephenson valve gear, looked very fragile.

[@Genius_at_Work]

@@SteamCrane That sounds fair, Austria retired their last Class 52 Locomotive in 1978.

[@voneschenbachmusic]

Beautiful film - thanks!

[@krincox]

Too Good!!

[@eileennovak1656]

👍 nice

[@Genius_at_Work]

Regarding the dead Trees: Bark Beetles are Parasites, that destroy the Bark of Trees, thus killing them. The more homogenous a Forest is, the more susceptible it becomes to Bark Beetles, and the Harz Mountains have been reforested with fast-growing Spruce Trees in the 1950ies and 60ies. Meaning to say there used to be exclusively Spruce Trees, and all of them were roughly of the same Age. Aka ideal Conditions for Bark Beetles, which have been plaguing the Area since Decades. A severe Drought in 2018 caused the Beetles to multiply exponentially, and since then the local Forestry Department has changed their Approach to the Problem; they now let the Trees die because it's literally a lost Cause, and the Spruce-only Forest are "artificial" anyway. By just letting the Forest be and waiting for Things to sort out themselves, the Forests will return to their natural Mix of different Trees within a few Decades.

[@SteamCrane]

This is what California doesn't understand. Let Nature sort it out.

[@IIIOOOUS]

Which Camera was that ?

[@Genius_at_Work]

Sony FDR AX-53, with an External Microphone and Lens Hood, both of which are visible at the Image Edges sometimes when zoomed all the Way out. Reason is, that the Camera Lens isn't fixed to the Camera Case because it is suspended on a Gimbal inside. Sony calls this "Balanced Optical Steady Shot", and it usually is a great Help except under said Circumstances (zoomed all the Way out with Accessories mounted to the Camera).

[@krincox]

❤