Andreas Christopher

This interesting curiosity dates from the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the formal reunification of Germany. It is a guide to three of the narrow-gauge lines in East Germany still run almost exclusively by steam, by three writers, one of whom was East German and the other two West German. The book is produced in the style of publications from Transpress, the East German transport publisher; but it was produced in the West by Schweers + Wall.

The East German authorities had already realised that their legacy of steam-powered narrow gauge railways was likely to be of interest to visitors from the West and had encouraged a limited amount of publicity in the years immediately before reunification. This book would not have been possible without such a policy as many of its photographs are from the DDR era (and make for interesting viewing when compared with more contemporary views that readers may be familiar with).… (més)