Udo Kandler has put together this fascinating collection of photographs, entitled Welcome to Germany: Ausländische Eisenbahnfreunde zu besuch in Deutschland. The German translates as “Foreign Railway Enthusiasts visit Germany” as all the images in this album have been taken by foreign visitors to Germany. Mainly dated between the late 1950s and the early 1970s the images have been taken by American, British and French photographers, amongst others.
Most of the images featured are of steam, classic diesel traction and rail buses, taken in northern and western Germany, including several in and around Cologne and the Ruhr district. Other locations covered include the Mosel valley, Saarland, and the southern federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bayern (Bavaria). The images have been taken in both rural and urban settings, infrastructure such as stations, roundhouses, bridges features in many. Also caught on camera are more unusual sights such as a motorized trolley, the Wuppertal Schwebebahn and Deutschen Bundesbahn’s Schienen-Straßen-Omnibus (Schi-Stra-Bus for short) which ran on both road and rails. There is also a short chapter featuring pictures of German tramways taken between 1956 to 1967, the majority of which are black & white.
89 colour and 92 black & white photographs. German text. Hardback. 144 pages.