Description
Object description
Dramatisation of an engine driver's working day, mainly shot in Brunswick (Braunschweig) and Essen.
Full description
Man wakes up with his alarm clock pointing to 2.30, gets out of bed and cycles to work at a railway siding. Here he collects a bundle of tinder with which he lights the fire of his locomotive, then oils the pistons with a colleague. Work starts with the shunting of trucks along a siding. Cut to passengers boarding a train which moves off from a suburban station with people waving from the coach windows. A plate on the locomotive indicates that it is a Krupp product. View of cars crossing railway line at level crossings, filmed by camera on the moving train. The season is summer.
Content description
Background information kindly provided via email dated 11-10-2016 by Ms Manuela Wenderoth, Stadtteilheimatpflegerin
für das Nördliche Ringgebiet der Stadt Braunschweig:
The Braunschweigische Landes-Eisenbahn (B. L. E.) was found 1884. Contruction started 20th April 1885 and the first section could be opened by 18th July 1886 (north station to Derneburg). The intention of this private railway was to circle Braunschweig and to connect the industry here (as Ringbahn = cirular railway) as well as to stippulate the Harzregion. 1938 this railway was nationalised.
Beginning 1934, the B. L. E. used Krupp's locomotives - this might explain why this footage for Krupp shows Braunschweig.
In the footage (6:04) you can read on the locomotive:
46
B L E
Looking into the list of locomotives: no. 46 was used beginning 1935. And after 1st January 1938 the number was changed to DR 75602. This information helps to narrow down the time of the filming:
between 1935 and 1937.
And now the footage picture by picture (in purple: the text you have on the IWM web page):
until 00:05:10
Railway station.
The buildings on the left look to be a little bit higher as the tracks.
This is definitely not Braunschweig (neither the old central station, nor the north or west station or Gliesmarode or...).
May be in Essen?!
until 00:20:09
Man wakes up with his alarm clock pointing to 2.30, gets out of bed
until 00:26:04
Where this house was or still is, is very hard to tell - it might have been in the near by Siegfriedviertel/Donnerburgsiedlung. At least it looks like one of the typical 1920-1930 houses.
And the Heizer (fireman) might have not even lived there, could have been his superior's house - just for better looks of the film [In the address books I found that many of the machinists had lived near by the locomotive shed (mostly as inmates)].
until 00:31:01
and cycles to work at a railway siding.
This is at is the Gotenweg. He cycles by the loco shed there. Unfortunately, so far I haven't fould a close-up, only this aerial view (looking from north to south):
http://www.b24.net/missions/trolleyimages/may7/12May45%20Brunswick%2070%20%28HDeVoe%29.jpg
Also, I add another picture of unknown origin (about 1935).
In both I have marked the Gotenweg and the railway buildings [-> 001.jpg (1935) and 002.jpg (1945)]. In purple: the spot is the appr. position where the camera stood when the fireman cycles by.
Further for better understanding of the situation today, two current pictures:
003.jpg - This aerial view I had originally taken this year April to show the large building site in the middle of this picture - now it is good to compare it with the old views. :-)
004.jpg - Only at the base of the building you can see that it is the same.
until 00:39:19
He enters (left of the purple spot on the above mentioned pictures) with his bicycle and punches in.
And I assume that on the sign on the left of the entrance stood:
Wenn geschlossen, (when closed,
bitte klingeln please ring the bell)
until 02:22:23
Here he collects a bundle of tinder with which he lights the fire of his locomotive,
This is inside the locomotive shed.
until 02:43:10
then oils the pistons with a colleague.
This is outside (due to the light!).
until 02:47:14
Close up of the locomotive starting (also outside -> sunlight).
until 03:32:03
Locomotive been moved outside the shed onto the turntable platform and there turned to the right track.
until 03:39:21
Leaving from the turnable platform onto the tracks.
until 03:55:16
Work starts with the shunting of trucks along a siding.
This is at the Westbahnhof (west station).
until 04:07:01
Leaving the Westbahnhof in northern direction.
Might have been about here: 005.jpg (The large bridge I'm standing beneath did not exit then).
until 05:27:16
Again: shunting at the Westbahnhof.
until 05:51:06
This curve is somewhere between Arndtstraße und Alter Frankfurter Straße.
Could have been here: 006.jpg
until 06:04:07
Hard to tell if this is at the Westbahnhof or in front of the locomotive shed at the Gotenweg.
until 6:04:08
Cut to passengers boarding a train which moves off from a suburban station Nordbahnhof with people waving from the coach windows.
A plate on the locomotive indicates that it is a Krupp product. (Here you can read the "46 B L E" I mentioned earlier in order to date the squences of the Braunschweig.)
At the station the train left into eastern direction, but the following crossings are all in the opposite direction - really kind of irritating if you know the places!
until 6:40:14
Train moving (at the Nordbahnhof or the Westbahnhof?).
until 6:44:22
??? The houses on the right hand could be at the Westbahnhof.
until 6:56:07
Train leaving the Nordbahnhof in eastern direction.
007.jpg shows how it looks today.
until 7:04:14
View of cars crossing railway line at level crossings, filmed by camera on the moving train. The season is summer. [April to June = time the chestnut flowers]
This crossing is the first in western direction from the Nordbahnhof, it intersects the Mittelweg -> 008.jpg (situation today).
until 7:09:05
The crossing at the Hamburger Straße.
The little tower on the right belonged to the Städtischer Schlachthof (municipal slaughterhouse, demolished 1980).
Only the high building on the left still remains -> 009.jpg.
until 7:13:22
Here the Ernst-Amme-Straße is being crossed. The building on the left belonged to the MIAG, today it is called Bühler.
From http://home.arcor.de/bahnhobbyseiten/CellerStr.htm I have taken a picture of 1991 (010.jpg), as the situation has already changed again in the years past* (011.jpg).
*= Today, the whole western Ringbahn is a popular way for walking and cycling. It is now called the Ringgleisweg ("circular track way") and still under construction (north, east and south).
until 7:23:21
Intersecting the Hildesheimer Straße (012.jpg). One of the two buildings has been demolished 2007 - here still in the middle of this photo: 013.jpg.
until 10:11:22
Krupp works in Essen.
until 10:19:20
Here is the film without the Braunschweig scenes: http://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/index/44896/1456
This one states: "Brief view of the waterfront of the Friedrich Alfred Hütte at Rheinhausen [ca 1930]".
until the end
According to http://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/index/44896/1456 this is:
"Men dressed in white (hospital or sailors' uniform?) and some with their arms in slings perambulate in a garden. A small girl approaches the camera. (Scene possibly shows Krupp workers injured in First World War or at work convalescing at one of the Krupp hospitals.) [ca 1915]
Maybe there is more Krupp footage not yet digitised/available on the web, which can give further clues...
Finally, I have marked all the different places in the footage on today's map (source: Stadt Braunschweig - Open GeoData, 2016, licence: dl-de/by-2-0, edited), in order to give you an overview.
And on an older map (source: Die Geschichte der Stadt Braunschweig in Karten, Plänen und Ansichten, Braunschweig, Vermessungsamt, 1981, sheet 60) to compare it with.
As all the files are too large to send in an e-mail (14 MB), I have uploaded them here:
https://cloud.web.de/ngcloud/external?guestToken=xVMpfViKTzyGPQfvNZhl3A&loginName=m.wenderoth
Physical description
35mm