509 of RWE Power (formerly Rheinbraun) is about to reach the power station of Neurath (north west of Cologne) with a pushed coal train on 8 July 2007. The loco has only one cab, at the end that is not adjacent to the train, with extensions on both side which protrude the loading gauge of the cars (what is clearly visible in the picture). Sitting in one of the extensions, the driver can look along the train to see the signals. Note the device attached to the front of the first car on the right side (in the direction of travel). It contains (from top to bottom) a white headlight (on), a red backlight (off) and a loudspeaker that emits an interrupted acoustic signal whenever the train is moving in this direction. Usual trains have 14 cars (this one seems to have just 13) carrying a total of 1260 t of coal.

Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz