Amsteltrein
| Amsteltrein | |
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 Amsteltrein 2010
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| Route length: | 1.9 km |
| Gauge : | 600 mm ( narrow gauge ) |
The Amsteltrein is a park railway in the Amstelpark in Amsterdam-Zuid . The track was laid out for the Floriade in 1972.
Track systems and stops
The system is a circular railway, along the attractions of the park. The length of the track ring is around 1.9 kilometers. The track width is 600 mm. After 1972, the Amsteltrein, like numerous other special features of the park, was preserved and has been operating there for around four and a half decades.
One of the train stops is located near the main entrance on Europaboulevard in the northern park area. Another stop is on the south side of the park. The course leads along the Rosarium , the Glazen huis (Glass House), the Rhododendron Valley , the Riekermolen (Riekermühle), the Parkgalerie Papillon and the Amstelpark miniature golf course. The tour takes about 15 minutes.
The train runs depending on the season: daily in July and August between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. From April to June and in September the train runs Wednesday to Sunday. In the winter half-year from October to March, the operating time is between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., the train then only runs on Wednesdays and weekends, in December only on Sundays and depending on the weather.
In the eastern part of the facility there is a track branch to the train depot. The depot is designed as a round arch hall.
vehicles
The train set consists of a Porschelok and the original wagons that have been preserved. The three covered wagons are open to the side and allow a good view of the park. The exhaust gases from the diesel locomotive are fed through a hose under the car so that the passengers are not exposed to them.
history
Amsteltrein's trains were first designed and built for the 1959 Federal Horticultural Show in Dortmund. They were operated by a company owned by the Dortmund-based businessman Henry Escher.
The current Amsterdam train initially drove in Dortmund's Westfalenpark . It comes from the first generation of these trains. In 1972 he traveled to the Floriade in Amstelpark as Amsteltrein, then was employed at the 1973 International Horticultural Exhibition in Hamburg before he came back to Amsterdam.
Several trains were used for the 1972 Floriade. A light green painted one of the first series, exactly the one that still runs on the Ringbahn in Amstelpark and two more, a light blue painted and a yellow one, both from later series of these trains. During Floriade the two breakpoints of Amsteltrein were named: near the entrance Europaboulevard there was the station rose garden , in the south the station Molen . The Rosarium station had two tracks in 1972.
Two of the trains from Amsterdam were used in Hamburg the following year. The tracks in the Amstelpark have been preserved. They were originally in the lawns of the park as a grass track running.
As a result, from 1975 at the latest, two trains were operated again in the Amstelpark: the one painted in light green that was already in service in the park in 1972 and another train of a later series. In 1975 the name Amsteltrein (German: Amstelzug) was finally established.
In the early 1990s, the locomotive and wagons of the previously light green train were painted the basic color black, decorated with red and white lines and fields. In 2005/2006 there was a significant change in the appearance of the locomotive: the front section was changed due to the aging of the material. The third headlight at the top of the locomotive was not restored. The four openings on the sides of the locomotive, reminiscent of portholes, have been replaced by grilles. The locomotive was now painted white with black lines and fields. The train's car was also given a new, now dark green paint with white decorative stripes.
literature
Raymond Kiès: A Porsche in the Amstelpark . In: Nederlandse Vereniging van Belangstellenden in het Spoor en tramwegwezen (ed.): Op de Rails . No. 5 . Amersfoort May 2012, p. 250-254 (Dutch).
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Ministry of Infrastructures and Milieu, Ministry of Economics, Zaken, Kadaster, Rijkswaterstaat and Geonovum: Publieke Dienstverlening op de Kaart (PDOK viewer) ; Instrument for length measurement (Lengte meten) , accessed on February 9, 2016
- ↑ a b Dortmund 1959 - The first Porsche railways , by Wolfgang Schöneich, accessed on February 8, 2016
- ↑ a b c d e History ( Memento of the original from February 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. van het Amsteltrein (in Dutch)
- ↑ De Nederlandse Tuinbouwraad, Gemeente Amsterdam (ed.): Catalogus van de international tuinbouwtentoonstelling Floriade Amsterdam 1972 . Drukkerij Blikman & Sartorius, Amsterdam 1972 (Dutch).
Web links
- Amsteltrein , website of the operator (in Dutch)
- Dortmund 1959 - The first Porsche railways , by Wolfgang Schöneich, with images of the green painted train (as "DAB Blitz") of the first series from 1959
Coordinates: 52 ° 19 ′ 56.5 ″ N , 4 ° 53 ′ 31.5 ″ E