From Dutch to Deutsch II



Under the shed at Centraal Station, heaven!  On the right is a Fyra train, then a NS Intercity Direct train headed by a Bombardier TRAXX F140MS built in 2014.  The Sprinter on the left was built by Siemens/Bombardier. It was a big order by the NS and was shared by the two builders.  

We walked into the train shed, I with a coffee in hand and Kathleen with her book.  It is very nice to see this icon from the past, better yet was knowing that was no problem photographing the trains.  This is quite unlike the hassle and eviction one would receive in Montréal, Vancouver or in many places in the USA. 

A  VIRM departs Amsterdam CS.  These units were built by Alstom DDF starting in 1994. So far the NS has 178 units.  On the top of the shed is the old symbol of the NS, a golden winged locomotive wheel.

  

 Our train IC 147 departed promptly at 13:01.  Two or three kilometers west of Amsterdam Centraal I found what I thought I would never see, plus I managed to snap the above photo as well.  If one looks carefully one can read the name of the railway...Ontario Northland.

How did this come to be?  Back in the mid-seventies the DS retired 4 train sets that they had built with the Swiss in 1957.  These new diesel trains were build to attract the business traveler between Amsterdam-Paris and Amsterdam-Zurich and was part of the newly-formed Trans Europ Express system.  Years later the Ontario government (Bill Davis, att: Mary Ellen) were looking for rolling stock for a new daylight service from Toronto to Northern Ontario.  They found the ex-TEE train sets were for sale.  June 9th, 1977 these trains entered service on the Ontario Northland Railway.

 The Trans Europe Express in the fifties and sixties followed by its new Ontario Northland look in the seventies and eighties.

More interesting equipment was passed before heading out into the Dutch countryside.  

Retired sets of Mat'64s in the yard new Science Park Amsterdam.  The proto type the built by Werkspoor in 1961 with 226 more unit by 1976.  These EMUs came in Plan T, a 4-car set and Plan V, 2-car set. As of today, forty set of Plan V Mat'64 remain in service.