"The Great Dane" - a journey to Denmark

I have been meaning to post a few pictures from my present journey for a few days.

I am currently on an inside Track organised holiday to Denmark - "The Great Dane", with all major travel by train. We spent 2 nights in the Jutland city (Denmark's second largest) of Aarhus after an overnight in Cologne.

On the first day, we visited the excellent Mariager to Handest Railway for our first taste of Danish Steam. The Guard (and Chairman of the Railway) said to our courier Clive that the fireman on the locomotive used to be a volunteer fireman at a British Steam Railway, which he himself (the Chairman) has visited for its Wartime Weekend last October - the North Yorkshire Moors! Clive pointed to me on the veranda of the next coach and said "he's the Finance Director of them!" hence, I had a very good chat with the Chairman. They have about 30 active members, are fighting a =n ever increasing average age and the need for major trackwork they can't manage in house. It really is a lovely line and has been preserved for a long time, as well as running much more regualrly than many European lines, although often with a diesel railcar.

The next morning, we took an excellent cruise in the Danish Lake District on what may be the world's oldest paddles steamer, the P S Hjejlen. After visiting the top of one of Denmark's highest peaks (482 feet!), we visited another long standing heritage line, dating back to the 1960s, the Byyrup to Vards Railway. This runs through a forest to a very nice station - literally in the middle of the forest! Unfortunately, it had turned very wet by this point.

We then transferred by Danish Express train to Roskilde on the main island of Zealand. Our first full day based here (as it is from Roskilde I type this) started at the Danish National Railway Museum in Odense. This is a round-house museum with around a dozen steam locos, the first 2 of which are Robert Stephenson products from Newcastle! Other lcoos and carriages are also present in a very good museum.

With the weather still wet, it was off to a ferry and then across back to Zealand (Odense is on the island of Fyn) and the Maribo to Bandholm Railway - always a private line and running preserved trains since 1962. An interesting mixture of propelling and lots of running round as well as some amazing vintage coaching stock on what was the coldest recorded July day in Denmark!

This morning was the national tram and bus museum, the this afternoon a marvellous 700mm gauge line around a country park - with the steepest rail gradient in Denmark apparently - and a biting wind with open coaches! A collect of locos "to be restored" included a lovely little Bagnall. The final fun of the day was not on tracks but members of the party rowing replica Viking boats out into Roskilde fjord!

Tomorrow is Copenhagen and Sunday sees a technical museum and mainline steam, as well a brief excursion, via "The Bridge", to Sweden!

All good stuff, well organised and with good company.

Steven

 

Tomorrow is Copenhagen and Sunday sees a technical museum and mainline steam, as well a brief excursion, via "The Bridge", to Sweden!

All good stuff, well organised and with good company.

Steven[/QUOTE]

Hope you get to see the large opposed piston Burmister and Wain engine which is in a technical museum in Copenhagen. This was the largest diesel engine in the world for many a year and the brother to the Marine B&W 2 stroke opposed piston engines which were always my favorite engines (as long as we did not have to do much crankcase work)

Brian