This photograph by Daniel Simon, published on the web, was the item that spiked my interest in the HSB. The freight train has just emerged from the fog near the Brocken summit and has been stopped by two soldiers of the GDR border troops. They will now very carefully inspect the complete train and search for persons attempting to flee the GDR. In the former GDR, the border troops were closely watched to ensure that they could not take advantage of their inside knowledge to escape across the inner German border. Patrols were always manned by two or three guards at a time. They were not allowed to be out of each others' sight in any circumstances. If a guard attempted to escape, his colleagues were under instructions to shoot him without hesitation or prior warning. 2,500 did escape to the West. 5,500 more were caught and jailed while a number were killed or injured in their escape attempt. The photo was staged during a Bernd Seiler charter on 16 Feb 2011. Notice the rolling stock. It consists of standard gauge cars riding on narrow gauge flatcars.