Straight connection, T.E.E.
Trans Europa Express
Trans Europa Express
Trans Europa Express
Trans Europa Express
These lines were intoned by Ralf Hütter on Kraftwerk‘s 1977 masterpiece „Trans Europa Express“. In doing so, he sparked the imaginations of thousands kids stuck in grim, gray 1970s Britain and Germany. Bar none, all imagined riding the luxurious train towards a late-night rendezvous with Iggy or Bowie (or another soulmate of their choice).
TEE Trains chuffed their last 1995, but thanks to Suiss Train archivists at the Heritage Foundation SBB, the romance lives on. They own and maintain 200 (!) retired trains, including the RAe TEE II 1053, built in 1961. To celebrate the 60th birthday of their TEE model, the Heritage Foundation SBB has now produced a limited run of the iconic TEE cup and saucer sets, available for purchase from their website. What‘s more, a recent EU report recommends the resurrection of the TEE concept as part of their drive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, so we may yet get our „straightconnection, TEE“. Bring your own cups!
Meanwhile armchair travelers may go for the cups and saucers, celebrate their favourite tea or coffee, have a nice time vanishing behind the pages of Jan Reetze‘s „Times & Sounds“, and enter the TEE via old Kraftwerk vinyl. At night. All candles on!