Freilassing Round House

Friday, November 9, 2018

Freilassing, Germany

This one really is for those who like antique trains.

Frank was so excited. For years he and Larry (another train club member) have tried to get into this museum, but it was only open on Fridays and Saturdays and they were never in the area on those days. But today was the day!

Down a back road in Freilassing, sits an old round house that was once used for servicing steam locomotives. Some time after it was closed it was turned into an antique train museum. I love seeing them, but really don’t know anything about European trains, much less antique ones.

It was still fascinating though. The pictures show the engines, or or two sitting on each of the round house tracks.

An interesting bow to international ‘model training’ was an O gauge (that’s the large size) that was supposed to represent Colorado mountain railroading. Just some slight historical inaccuracies….The engine was from the Colorado Southern Railway pulling Denver Rio Grande cars, through mountainous desert with saguaro cactus, around a native American tee-pee camp with dancers circling an Alaskan totem pole. Great fun anyway!

Pictures

: Freilassing antique engines and western O gauge model layout

Reflections: I’ve had to think about this one for a while. Interestingly enough, I think I would label my reaction as nostalgia. Thankfulness that someone not only had the foresight, but committed the resources necessary to save these beauties from the scrap heap, and to lovingly restore them in all their glory.

There were two docents were in the round house, both at least my age, dressed in red vests decorated with the Museums emblem. One of them follow Frank around explaining in great depth the details of each and every exhibit. Frank said he understood maybe half of what the docent was saying. And, just like shopping, would have been happier browsing on his own (as I was able to do) since he knew almost as much about the engines as the docent.

As we left I pondered...I wonder what the old gentlemen's connections were with railroading. Would it have been fascinating to to be able to speak German well enough and to spend the time with them to mine their histories for nuggets from the past, or were they just filling time...someplace to go?