Chapter 4 - Straight Connection, TEE (May 30, 1967)
Tuesday, May 30, 1967, 0700 Central European Time, Frankfurt Central Station, Frankfurt, Hesse, Federal Republic of Germany
It had the largest signal box in Europe. It needed it. From the vast trainsheds of the Hauptbahnhof, trains from across Europe arrived and had to be 'turned around' before being sent back out again. With the full electrification of the area in 1956, no longer was the station filled with the sight and smell of steam engine smoke.
The taxi carrying the five members of CS-14 heading for Bonn arrived at the drop off point and it was a case of moving quickly for their train, due to depart in ten minutes time. The commuters had yet to arrive in bulk, but a small group of businessmen were working their way towards Trans Europe Express 35 'Rhein-Main', destination Amsterdam via Bonn, due to arrive in the main city of the Netherlands at 1219, just in time for lunch.
It did have a restaurant car and four other carriages (although two were only going as far as Emmerich) behind an electric locomotive, all resplendent in the cream and dark red of the prestige international venture between the railway operators of Western Europe. The fare wasn't cheap - 66 Deutsche Marks each once the supplements and seat reservations were included for this and the first-class F-train they were getting back in the evening. But for this money, they'd be whisked along to their destination at 150 kilometres an hour with access to a telephone compartment and typewriter for another small fee. They could even send a telegram from the train.
As they approached the barrier, Josie had the printed tickets in her pocket, all for a compartment in coach 8, which in the rather strange numbering system of European international rail was actually the first coach from the locomotive and the furthest from the platform entrance. It was next to the restaurant car though.
Standing there, checking tickets for this exclusive business train stood a pair of DB staff, while to their side, two train crew were working to uncouple the shunting locomotive that brought the carriages inside.
Groups of men, occasionally joined by their secretaries, were going through and then clambering up into the train.
Best to join them pretty quickly, because this train would not be hanging around.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 12:21, Sun 27 Jan 2019.