>>974632>>975248Old class 403, nicknamed "Donald Duck" (guess why). Three four-part units were built total in 1973 as prototypes for the new InterCity train class, a network of fast running trains across the country and the successor of the Europe wide Trans Europe Express network. Technically wise they are close relatives to the class 420, the legendary S-Bahn train of West Germany.
First passenger service began in 1974 and ended already in 1978 since there were only so few units built therefore expensive to maintain and unflexible to dispatch. Also they were first class only and with the introduction of the second class/economy in '79 for IC trains, they were finally obsolete.
Their second life begann in the early 80ies, when they were put back into service as the "Lufthansa Express", a train that ran between Düsseldorf, Cologne, Bonn and Frankfurt as a cheap substitute for flights on said line (later on also on different routes with other train sets). You had to have an actual plane ticket to board this train. This life didn't last very long either. All units were decomissioned in 1993 after they found damaged spots on the aluminium body through corrosion. All units were left to themselves since then and rotting away somewhere in the sticks in east Germany.
