Sunday 20 May 2018

rallye und rhön-zügle

For certain holiday week-ends, the historic train station in the town of Fladungen (where we’ve often visited in the past for their now discontinued classic car shows but worth a visit any time) will reanimate its fleet (two) of steam locomotives (built in 1924 by the firm Krauss-Maffei in Munich and the only ones of their kind still in operation) and antique Reichsbahn passenger cars for fun little short-haul whistle-stop tours.
We boarded for a journey to Ostheim and back, a stretch of road that we were familiar with but never quite from this perspective and pace, plus it was interesting to see the feats of practised engineering and mechanical dexterity that went into pulling of the operation and prompted one to reflect on what a revolutionary marvel that such an engine would have been when it first went into service.
It was a funny coincidence that we were best acquainted with Fladungen through an auto show that was no longer held and went next to see an assortment of classic cars reach the finish line (we were not sure who was in the pole-position but I guess it just counted if one could finish intact) and present themselves for inspection in the Kurpark of Bad Kissingen down the road a bit.
The storied spa town has been hosting the Sachs Franken Classic since 2000 in conjunction with Bad Kissingen’s twelve hundredth year since its first documented mentioned and the race, sponsored by ZF (Zahnradfabrik—Gear Factory—but also a mostly-owned subsidiary of Zeppelin Foundation, a manufacturer of automotive parts) runs through the region’s forests and vineyards, and it was inspiring in both instances that with maintenance and care such artefacts can remain active parts of the community.