Fascination Railway
It steams and hisses. After months of sweaty work, 75 tonnes of steel creak into motion. The machine comes to life. For the spectators an exciting thing, but for all those who had a hand in the restoration of the old steam locomotive, an extremely emotional moment.
Seasoned men rejoice like snow kings and the youth group of the Kranichstein Railway Museum can be justifiably proud of itself and its work.
In the Railway Museum Darmstadt Kranichstein many hardworking hands preserve old techniques and maintain the historical treasures made of steel and iron. The volunteers put countless hours of work and a lot of heart and soul into the repair work of “their” locomotives and wagons. The youth of the railway museum is involved in many projects to preserve the historic vehicles and the grounds.
Experienced hares pass on their knowledge to the young people. Craftsmanship is required in the forge. Mistakes cannot simply be wiped away. Again. Until the workpiece fits. No “snotty nose” escapes the watchful eye of a colleague during the final painting. The work is filed, forged, filed, sanded, painted and tinkered with until the great work of art is finished. Then, at some point, the big moment arrives.
By then, in addition to manual skills, the young people have learned to organise themselves in projects, to set schedules, to divide up work. They have found their place in the community, celebrated successes together and digested failures. Important tools for the future.
The Bahnwelt Calendar 2024 – made by graphierano.
Fascinated by the museum’s exhibits and especially the commitment of the youth group, Norbert Göller and Ralph Zachmann from graphierano. were allowed to fulfil a photographer’s dream and look over the young people’s shoulders for more than a year.
When three photographers shoot for a year, hundreds of photos are taken. Twelve photos had to be selected from these images. After a joint pre-selection, in which the aesthetics of the picture from the photographer’s point of view had to be reconciled with the requirement of correctly depicting the locomotive from the railwayman’s point of view, the final determination of the motifs was left to a wider audience. On the Rail World Days in May 2023, almost 200 people took part in the voting and gave very well-founded feedback. In the end, the vote was close, but the result is clear – the Bahnwelt Calendar 2024:
