Japan Weekend Coming Up!

Schwarzwaldbahn Erlebnispfad

or the Black Forest Railway Adventure Trail!

The railway through Triberg climbs the hill opposite the waterfalls we covered yesterday, to get out of the Gutach valley and proceed to Villingen. But inclines are notoriously difficult for trains, as metal-on-metal contact yields little friction, so, like many other modes of transport, whether roads or even footpaths, the railway weaves its way up... but on a larger scale, as trains aren't as maneuverable!

The result is this loopy section between Hornberg and Sommerau, 11 km apart in a straight line, but the railway is 26 km long! It climbs 447 m at an average gradient of 1.7% (which, again, for a train, is hard work), and with over 30 tunnels to get through the irregular terrain. Today, an "Adventure Trail" complements the route opposite Triberg, providing hikers with amazing viewpoints and some chances to get close to the tracks.

Of course, this climb for hikers is far, far steeper! The route I took started with a strenuous 15% over 700 m. One would be very happy to find this bench after that climb - Liegewagen meaning "sleeper car"!

The trail has stations with information boards about various aspects of the railway, and, at the viewpoints, the timetable! Perhaps a bit of a downer is that there isn't a huge amount of traffic: just two DB Regio trains per hour (presumably the ones you came in on), one InterCity train at weekends, no high-speed ICEs, no freight. But the views more than make up for the low variety, and, at a decent pace, it is possible to be at a viewpoint for each passage and not miss one.

Most regional trains on this section of the Schwarzwaldbahn are push-pull sets with Dosto carriages - that's short for Doppelstockwagen, or double-deck. The end carriage seen above is a (deep breath)... DBpbzfa 766, each letter being short for some technical info allowing rail workers to know at a glance what they're dealing with: D is for double-deck, B second-class seating, p has air conditioned coach rooms (as opposed to compartments), b has wheelchair accessibility, z has a centralised electrical installation, f has a driving cab, and finally a means that the driver can operate the doors alone. 766 is the series number. These Dosto sets are usually driven by Baureihe 146 locomotives.

All in all, the Erlebnispfad can take up most of an afternoon (I completed the circuit in around 3 hours), it was a very satisfying walk and experience to be able to make the most of each vantage point. There are some other attractions along the route that I haven't mentioned - probably a short post tomorrow. For people who like hiking and trains, this trail at Triberg is worth doing!

Fruit, glorious fruit!

Little did I know until yesterday, the vineyards and orchards near Oberkirch, on the edge of the Black Forest, are magnificent at this time of year! Now I think of it, I didn't see any cherries, and apparently they are in season... maybe I just missed them. As for what they make with all this fruit in Germany, well...

That'll be schnaps.

Available in all good drink huts along the hiking trail! A friend and I saw a self-service drinks cabinet on another hike to the North of Oberkirch, but this circuit was on another level. I must have seen at least four drinks stops, ranging from a cabinet with a cash box to a full-fledged hut with shade and benches. It appears to be a local speciality, and I'd say this sells it quite well!

It's quite the feeling to enjoy a cold schorle (fizzy water with a dash of juice, I passed on the schnaps because I don't go for alcohol) with an incredible view on the way back down a hill on a hot day!

Sangaku Saturday #3

Another problem this week, adding to the configuration we looked at previously.

Specifically, given two circles tangent to each other and tangent to a same line - these circles have respective centres A and B, and respective radii p and q -, we want to construct the circle tangent to both of the original circles, and tangent to the line beneath them.

Can you prove that the radius of this third circle, denoted r, satisfies

and deduce a formula for r as a function of p and q?

Help below the cut, answers next week.

Hint. Name K, L and M the intersections of the circles with the line below, and use the previous result on each pair of circles to get the lengths KL, KM and LM. One of these lengths is the sum of the two others.

Hohentwiel fortress

We've seen the stunning volcanic surroundings of Hohentwiel, and managed the climb - now we're at the gates of the fortress. Or the... tunnels of the fortress?

The entrance tunnels are a recent addition to the fortress, in the sense that the 18th century is more recent than the 10th, when the castle was first mentioned. For around 900 years, Hohentwiel Castle stood, seemingly and effectively invincible, receiving updates in line with the battle tactics of the times, as this entrance tunnel leading to a forward bastion, shows.

Now we are at the actual gates, exceptionally wide open to allow traffic in to set up or take away festival equipment. I thought they were setting up, but I can't find a trace of what was due early August. The largest festival the castle hosts is late July, so maybe they were taking away... but wait a minute. This place hosts festivals. It's huge.

Hohentwiel Castle is on two levels. So let's assume you and your army have made the climb, survived the open trench in the middle of the tunnels, got through the gates - and your objective is still up there. A 15% incline and the upper fortress drawbridge and gates are yet to be passed.

Perhaps unsurprisingly at this stage, one understands how the castle went undefeated. Owned by Swabian then Württemberg dukes, it stood in the crossfire of French and Austrian troops during the Thirty-Years' War between 1618 and 1648 - and survived five sieges.

It was another major conflict, nearly two centuries later, that would claim the Hohentwiel. And even then, it wasn't taken over in battle. The territories Napoleon conquered included Württemberg, and the French Emperor ordered that the castle be decommissioned and ruined in 1803.

Undefended and stripped of meaningful material, the castle was open to the public, who quickly took a liking to the astounding views of the Hegau area and the Bodensee (Lake Constance) in the distance. It became a tourist destination as early as the 1840s. And, as mentioned before, today it hosts festivals.

Hohentwiel Castle is a fantastic visit. It is an enormous complex, with a lot of structure left. The history and stunning views make the effort to get there well worthwhile. I recommend hiking from Singen city centre if you can for the fuller sense of reward!

The Fog on the Rhine (is all mine, all mine)

After three weeks of marking, I finally managed to get out of my hole in late January. I was beckoned out by dense fog, seizing the chance to enjoy the misty atmosphere. When I reached the park that straddles the French-German border, I found it on the edge of a fog bank, with haze on one side of the footbridge and perfectly clear skies on the other.

While not among the most outstandingly beautiful parks, the Jardin des Deux Rives has things to offer on both sides of the border, and, just for that ability to hop over to another country, it ranks very high on the cool factor.

Not that the birds would know. They were just taking in the winter sunlight while they could.

On the JR Nara line

Uji city and the the building on the 10-yen coin can be accessed by train from Kyôto by going roughly a third of the way to Nara. Other famous sites near the line are Fushimi Inari Taisha (Inari stop), and the studios of Kyoto Animation, famous for the music and sports anime K-On and Free! (Kohata stop).

The most recent type on the route is the 221 Series, and it's already getting on a bit, introduced in 1989. It won one of the Japan Railfan Club's two main new train design awards, the Laurel Prize, the following year. The 221 is used on the fastest Miyakokji Rapid services, which do the Kyôto to Nara run in under 45 minutes.

Green 103 Series sets can also be seen. This is the oldest type still in active JR service (if not, it's close), as it was introduced in 1963. In 2016, when I first visited Japan, I was living near Paris, and some Métro and suburban lines were running trains of a similar age, if not older, and these were atrocious in hot weather - no air conditioning, and ventilation only provided by opening windows! The RATP MP 59 used on Métro line 11 was stinky to boot; it was withdrawn just before the Games, no wonder! Point is, the 103 doesn't have air con either, but is at least trying...

Hikone Sawayama: base

Walking North along the railway from Hikone station, one reaches the base of the hiking trail up Sawayama. After passing Nagabayashi Inari-jinja, a typical shrine dedicated to the shintô deity of prosperity with its succession of red torii gates, several temples appear, featuring monuments to two historical figures of Hikone, Ishida Mitsunari and Ii Naomasa. More on them when we reach the top.

This is Ryôtan-ji Sanmon, the "gate to the mountain" which leads us to the grounds of Ryôtan temple and starting the short, sharp climb. As we begin, we are met with more popular Japanese deities: the Shichi-Fukujin, or Seven Lucky Gods.

Apparently Ryôtan-ji has a fantastic zen garden, but we missed it.

200 km/h push-pull trains

While Germany has recent double-deck train carriages, the Dostos shown previously being built in the 2000s, and updated versions still being produced, France made its last carriages in the 1980s, including Corail cars for inter-city services. But their use was curtailed by the development of the high-speed network.

Some sets were given push-pull ability, with a driving cab at one end that can control the locomotive at the other - the lead car above being a renovated B5uxh: second-class seating, 5 compartments, air-conditioned, driving cab, disabled access. These have found a new lease of life in regional transport, especially in the East, as the straight and flat Alsace line from Strasbourg to Basel allows these 200 km/h-capable carriages to stretch their legs. The "TER 200" puts Strasbourg only 80 minutes from Switzerland (wink-wink-nudge-nudge for a future trip).

The usual motors for these sets are BB 26000 "Sybic" locomotives built in the 1990s, powerful enough to get them to their top speed. While not at top speed in this setting, probably running at 100 km/h on the slower line to the Lorraine region, they still feel like very big trains when they go by.

Other push-pull trains exist in Alsace, with smaller locos and carriages rejoining the fleet for the planned Réseau Express Métropolitain Européen. However, most passengers trains everywhere in France now are covered by multiple units, especially since bi-mode units like the Régiolis shown below, have appeared. These are capable of running on electric power or with a Diesel engine, making them as flexible as can be.

I sighted this Vectron at Karlsruhe: a Dual Mode, which can move either with its Diesel engine or getting its energy from the overhead wires (German 15 kV AC only for now). However, it only delivers a third of the power of a standard all-electric Vectron, and is therefore not designed for main line hauling, and is expected to be more at home near sorting yards. Deutsche Bahn have also bought some of these as ICE rescue locomotives, serving when a train breaks down.

For Vectron!

Produced since 2010 by Siemens, the Vectron is a modular locomotive platform with various engine options - AC electric, quad-voltage for use across Europe, "last-mile Diesel" option for parking, Diesel motors, dual mode/hybrid... It hauls both freight and passenger trains. But the main reason I've wanted to mention the Vectron is...

this Mitchell and Webb sketch!

This is from series 3 of That Mitchell and Webb Look, which was aired in 2009. The Siemens Vectron was officially launched in 2010, so it's fair to say that the name appearing in both is a coincidence. However, when I see a Vectron, it reminds me of this sketch, so it's harder for me to take this train seriously!

But it is serious business, as it is one of the most common locos in continental Europe. Only Iberia (due to using a different gauge) and France (because if it ain't Alstom, they'll oust 'em) don't see much of them. The examples shown here are from Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia, and were all pictured in the same area of Germany. The quad-voltage version in particular allows companies to carry freight all over Europe, they're virtually borderless.

Yet here I am, still snickering at the name, by Vectron's beard!

The Mulhouse-Thann tram-train

Combining a suburban train service with the ability to navigate city streets sounds amazing. People can live nearer to the countryside, get frequent service into town, and, if everything lines up, commute straight into work without changes and avoiding the main station. The complementarity and opportunity to revitalise a branch line all sounds appealing... but a real challenge to implement. In France, only Mulhouse has truly achieved it.

Tram-trains aren't exactly rare in France: there are several lines around Paris, Nantes and Lyon have them (and many more had tram-train projects at some point). But, while the vehicles are capable of running in both modes, they are mostly used as a cheaper way to operate a line. The Nantes-Clisson and Nantes-Châteaubriant tram-trains, for example, which I have ridden, are just regional trains, running on heavy rail nearly all the way, and only stopping where the trains always used to.

Mulhouse is the only place in France to have true tram-train operations as described in the introduction: the tram-trains add traffic to line 3 between Mulhouse central station and Lutterbach, before switching to train mode and continuing on the branch line to Kruth as far as Thann.

The vehicles themselves are remarkable, as they need to be equipped for both streetcar and heavy rail operations, and each has its own requirements: lighting, horns, power supply, safety features... Mulhouse's vehicles are Siemens Avanto S70s, built in 2009-2010, and operated by SNCF as class U 25500. Similar units were introduced near Paris as early as 2005.