An illustrated review of the railway line and services that have connected Germany’s two largest cities, Hamburg and Berlin, for 175 years. The volume is divided into four distinct sections, each one covering a key period in the history of the line:
1846–1900: covers the promotion and construction of the line by early railway companies, keen to secure the trade of merchants, cities and states in the movement of people and goods between capital city and major port.
1900–1945: deals with the nationalisation of the railway network and describes a period of great technical progress with ever higher speeds, luxury travel and reduced journey times.
1945–1990: examines the turning point that came at the end of the Second World War and looks at four and a half decades of difficult operations during the division of Germany.
1990-2021: looks at how services have emerged from division and have been transformed into an efficient, modern railway with great aspirations for the future.
The review is well illustrated throughout with archive black & white photographs, maps, diagrams and other reproduced documents, with colour photography used for more recent images. Many different types of motive power are illustrated, from steam to diesel and electric traction.
96 pages German text.