It?s 05:23, and here I am. Sat in the driver?s seat of my DB BR 1442 “Talent 2” locomotive at the bustling Leipzig Messe station in Germany. Having taken the helm of the A1 Magdeburg-Gaschwitz service for the day and being a good way into a rain-soaked hour-long journey, it?s imperative that I get the passengers to put their butts in the seats so I can head off rapidly. After all, Hans and Anja will be waiting at Leipzig Nord to board this train to head to their job on the other side of town. Working that early in the morning, you?ve got to imagine that they?re bakers of some sort. Hunger will undoubtedly strike and ruin countless German workdays if those in the rush hour can?t get their hands on a bit of Hans? famous strudel.
It?s important then that I correctly follow the procedure for moving off. I?ve done it nine times so far, so I?ve got this. Reverser control to ?forward.? All brakes off. Throttle at neutral. Shut the doors and away we?hold on. Closing the doors usually sounds a warning bell so that passengers don?t get squished or sliced clean in two up the middle, and I’m hearing nothing. I get out of the cab to check and, yes indeed, the doors are all still wide open. Activate the lock again. Nothing. Damn. Let me check it all again. Forward. No brakes. Neutral. No warning lights anywhere. The control panels all have power. The signal is at green. Everything seems fine. Muttering a swift prayer, I press the button again. Still nothing. Now I?m at...