One of the symbols of the railway renaissance in Europe in the post-World War II years was the extensive Trans Europ Express, or TEE network of international trains, first inaugurated in 1957.

The German Federal Railway provided a fleet of diesel-hydraulic trainsets, the VT11.5, specifically for this service.

They were originally built as seven-car, double-ended sets with two cab-power units, two compartmented coaches, an open plan, or "salon" coach, and two dining and lounge cars.

After their TEE service, the sets entered domestic DB "InterCity" service as Class 601 and were restructured as 10-car trains with additional coaches. Several were also re-engined with gas turbine power plants (as Class 602).

Here, an "InterCity"-branded set is in the coach yard outside Altona Station in Hamburg, Germany, along with a pair of VT12 (Class 612) diesel trainsets.

Danish State Railways built a fleet of similar Class Ma trainsets in the early 1960s for its Lyntog (Lightning Train) intercity services.

Photographed by Thomas McCann, July, 1976.
Added to the photo archive by Thomas McCann, June 2, 2010.
Railroad: Deutsche Bahn.

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