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Almost a century later, a man appeared on
the scene whose dream in life it had been to
become an engine driver. And even though
his bourgeois parents would have preferred
that their son go to university, they left him
the freedom to fulfill his dream. So Gottfried
Rieck became an engine driver.
The life of an engine driver does not
start in the cockpit of an elegant locomotive,
but on the lowest level, shoveling coal on a
steam engine and performing other heavy
physical labor. But even those hard years at
the beginning could not deter Gottfried from
his love of locomotives. Through diligence
and determination, numerous additional
training courses, and profound know-how,
he obtained his goal: when he was only 21
years old, he became an engine driver of
the Austrian Federal Railroads and, owing
to his great knowledge and expertise,
was often chosen as a test driver and for
special trips. In the end, he had licenses
on all steam engines in Austria and for 17
different types of electric engines. At the age
of 23, he drove the high-velocity Transalpin
train through Austria – the youngest engine
driver ever to do so. When in 1988 he
finally moved to the executive floors of the
Austrian Federal Railroads – which was more
in keeping with his training – he wanted to
conclude his years as an engine driver with
a special attraction. He invited his colleagues
and friends to a luxurious and nostalgic
journey. The legendary steam engine No.
310.23 drew salon carriages rented from all
over Europe, and the train ride from Vienna
to Budapest became not only a triumph
but also the beginning of an altogether new
dream.
A NEW COURT TRAIN
emerges …
Special Trip to Spitz an der Donau