Tubingen depot was the final stronghold of the DB's once-ubiquitous 'little red railbus'. The branch from Metzingen to Bad Urach employed one of the last remaining sets on a weekend tourist service until July 1999 when the line was modernised and equipped with new railcars. These photos were taken on 24 July '99, the last day of the old railbus operation. This view shows the terminus at Bad Urach.

The halt at Bad Urach Wasserfall (waterfall), a short distance from the terminus. These railbuses were introduced by DB from the mid-1950s and inspired the experiment which saw similar vehicles introduced onto a number of rural branch lines in the UK. The German-built Waggon und Maschinenbau vehicles used in East Anglia had the closest resemblance to their Deutsche cousins.

The railbus sets off from Bad Urach for the junction at Metzingen. The unpowered centre car was on this occasion being used to serve beer. Which was nice!

In an almost timeless scene, the little red railbus trundles along the Bad Urach branch in the hot summer sun.

A class 627 DMU at Wendlingen forming the Lenningen branch service. 24 July 1999.

The railbus arriving at Metzingen, where the Bad Urach branch joins the main line between Stuttgart and Tubingen.

Wearing the attractive TEE crimson and ivory livery, 110 504-8 arrives at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof on 17 July '99.

218 304-4 waits in the hot July sun at Freiburb, Breisgau, in 1999. What a pity DB Schenker didn't adopt this shade of red in the UK!

A double-deck driving trailer in typical Black Forest scenery at Altglashutten. 24/7/99.

A former Deutsch Reichbahn class 143 Bo-Bo electric locomotive at Altglashutten on the Seebrugg branch. 23/7/99.

A former-DR class 143 near the terminus at Seebrugg with a push-pull working to Freiburg. 20/7/99.