In each station my attention was drawn to the ironwork, rivets, bolts and caste iron roof mountings and other cast components. These stations are huge, with aircraft hanger-like accommodation for trains and a large concourse joining platforms.
Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof
Serving the largest city in Germany, this station and its surrounds was heavily bombed but has been faithfully restored. Below are two photos of the front of the building
the main concourse serving the platforms
There's always something happening other than train movements at a large city railway station. As we were returning to the station after exploring Frankfurt the raucous call of a klaxon alerted us to an ambulance pushing its way through the crowd to park at the front doors.
Always on the lookout for an action photograph I positioned myself where the camera was at waist level, and by fiddling the screen was able to capture the photo below. The patient was a young man of unkempt appearance who seemed to be having trouble with creatures no one else could see. Eventually he was helped to the ambulance by the ambos and policeman while policewoman gathered the evidence. Note the size of the pistol on the policewoman's hip.But no doubt she knows how to use it.
Another cavernous station (below) restored after the war. At the time of the bombing of Dresden and subsequent fire storm it's reliably reported that there were several trains in the station packed with German refugees, mostly woman and children, fleeing from the Red Army approaching from the east. Below are photos of the exterior of the station. Straying for a moment, I can't imagine that advertisement on a Melbourne tram.
