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RWE Rheinbraun 547 Neurath, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 546 Neurath, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 561 Neurath, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 561 Neurath, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 550 Neurath, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 551 Neurath, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 563 RWE Kraftwerk Neurath, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 563 Sinsteden, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 546 Sinsteden, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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RWE Rheinbraun 547 Sinsteden, 25-09-2008. © Eddy Konijnendijk.

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Rheinbraun 547 and 549 with a train full of sand near Frimmersdorf on 21st of July 2007. Photo ©Arnim v. Herff

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542 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls a train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. As far as I know, this brown coal mine is the biggest artificial hole of the world. The trains run on standard gauge track, but the loading gauge is bigger than on DB lines. Also the axle load is higher, I think it is 35 metric tons. The maximum speed is 60 km/h, and this loco belongs to the older EL 1 class. The catenary is feeded with 6000 V at 50 Hz. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. The single cab is wider than the rest of the train. If the train has to be reversed, the loco stays at the new rear end. The driver sits in one of the side gondolas, the seat is more or less facing sidewards, with the back at the outside, so he can steer the train in both directions. Which side he chooses in backward operation obviously depends on the side where the signals are. An acoustic signal on the first car is active in pushed operation. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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542 of RWE Rheinbraun returns from the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. There is a turning loop at the loading facility so the train has not to be pushed on the way back. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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547 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) departs from the opencast mine Garzweiler (north west of Cologne) with a coal train on 22 July 2007, while an empty train is waiting on the other track. The black box that appears above the corner of the cab is a signal standing between the tracks. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)

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Loco 549 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) returns from the opencast mine Hambach (west of Cologne) with a loaded coal train on 4 May 2013. Due to the advancement of the mine, the railway line connecting it to the power stations is currently being relocated. Here the train is running on a newly built section that went into service some days before. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)

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553 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls a train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. The loco is rather dirty. In the background is Neurath, one of the power plants that take most of the brown coal. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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553 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls a train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. The side gondola of the cab is clearly visible. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. The loco is rather dirty. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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553 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) is waiting underneath the loading facility at the opencast mine Hambach (west of Cologne) with it's coal train on 12 August 2007 while the train on the next track is loaded. The catenary, which passes under the loading facility, is suspended laterally. Thus the main pantographs of the loco are down and it is powered by the small tilted pantograph which is clearly visible in this picture. Water is sprayed onto the loaded cars to avoid dusting. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)

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554 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) runs towards the opencast mine Hambach (west of Cologne) with an empty coal train on 2 November 2008. The single cab has extensions on both sides which protrude the loading gauge of the cars, allowing the driver to look along the train when the loco is pushing the train (what is not necessary on this line due to terminal loops, but on other branches of the network). Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)

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Loco 554 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) departs from the loading facility at the opencast mine Hambach (west of Cologne) on 10 February 2013. Due to the advancement of the mine the railway line towards the power stations is currently being relocated. In the future the coal trains will depart via the new tracks on the left. The rightmost new track will be connected to the entrance of the terminal loop which is barely visible in the background on the right (look out for the catenary poles). Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)

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558 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) is waiting underneath the loading facility at the opencast mine Garzweiler (north west of Cologne) with it's coal train on 22 July 2007 while the train on the next track is loaded. The catenary, which passes under the loading facility, is suspended laterally. Thus the main pantographs of the loco are down and it is powered by the small tilted pantograph which is clearly visible in this picture. The signals looking like traffic light in the upper left corner of the picture are used to inform the loco driver how he has to operate the train during the loading. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)

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558 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) slowly pulls it's coal train through the loading facility at the opencast mine Garzweiler (north west of Cologne) on 22 July 2007. There are two loading units, each spanning two tracks to allow continuous loading. The right unit, which spans the two foremost tracks and is used for overburden, was not operating on that Sunday. The catenary, which passes under the loading facility, is suspended laterally. Thus the main pantographs of the loco are down and it is powered by the small tilted pantograph which can be seen below the gangway of the facility. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)

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558 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls a train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. The side gondola of the cab is clearly visible. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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558 of RWE Rheinbraun returns from the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. There is a turning loop at the loading facility so the train has not to be pushed on the way back. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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560 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls a train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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560 of RWE Rheinbraun returns from the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. There is a turning loop at the loading facility so the train has not to be pushed on the way back. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. The train consists of 14 wagons, this seems to be the standard length at least for the old EL 1 class locos. As far as I know, each wagon contains 100 metric tons of brown coal. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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Another time 560 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls it's train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. The side gondola of the cab is clearly visible. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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563 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls a train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. The side gondola of the cab is clearly visible. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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565 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls a train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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565 of RWE Rheinbraun returns from the opencast mine Hambach on 10 October 2001. There is a turning loop at the loading facility so the train has not to be pushed on the way back. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. The train consists of 14 wagons, this seems to be the standard length at least for the old EL 1 class locos. As far as I know, each wagon contains 100 metric tons of brown coal. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

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As 565 of RWE Rheinbraun pulls it's train of empty coal wagons to the opencast mine Hambach another time on 10 October 2001, it passes 542 which returns with a full train. The driver sits in the left gondola. In forward operation he is free to choose the side, I guess the left side gives a better view onto the signals in curves. Both of the big pantographs are used in normal operation. The two little tilted pantographs on the sides are used under the loading facility, where a normal catenary is not possible. In the background is Neurath, one of the power plants that take most of the brown coal. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz