On a sunny day, motivation is high and the travel time seems short to the north of France. Also on July 4th of 2024, when I had a day off to spend chasing trains. The time before noon I spent in Belgium, but in the afternoon I ended up along the Somain – Cambrai line, were the blue sky was. I started in Thun-Saint-Martin on … Continue reading First time between Somain and Cambrai
There are so many spots around Črnotiče, you can probably spend a full day there. On top of the cliff around noon, early afternoon, you have a great view on the rail line carving it’s way around that same cliff, and through it. The wait is very pleasant, with views on the Adriatic sea, the mountains, and Trieste. So on this picture you see a … Continue reading Cliffs and Trieste
4th of July 2025 turned out to be an interesting day in the north of France. I started in Achiet and went until Busigny, ending near Cambrai. I summarized the full day on 1 page. Enjoy! Continue reading It was a nice day
After the pictures in Bertry I headed to Escadoeuvres for ending the day. I set up the gear in a field and started waiting. It took a while, but in the end 3 freights passed me. The evening rush of south and southwest bound trains from the northern hubs does run via multiple itineraries and it’s not easy to know which one. A few years … Continue reading A calm evening rush
After the SNCF infrastructure train I didn’t really know what to do next. I didn’t expect another freight train to Cambrai soon, so I was looking for something else to do. Too late I thought of the Eurocity to Paris, whic would be positioned well for the sun south of Busigny. But there was also a freight from Aalst heading south, so I gave that … Continue reading Busy behind the graveyard
Almost 2,5 hours after 60023 brought some cars for maintenance to Achiet, I captured it with some freshly maintained cars. After capturing the Lineas grain train to Tergnier, I looked for still another spot, as I expected the train from Achiet to be rather short. This new location gives a better view on the town of Feuchy, with the Roman-style Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil church towering above. Continue reading Maintained cars
The Belgian series 27 locomotives have nearly reached the end of their lifetime. Only 18 more locomotives are running: 15 in their original livery with SNCB, 2 with Certus Rail Solutions in a nice colorful livery, and 1 truly unique locomotive with SNCB in their white-yellow livery. This makes the locomotive very popular with railfans.Last Friday, right before lighting my barbecue, I was able to … Continue reading A rare specimen
Wednesday March 19 2025 was a very sunny day, and I was glad that I was able to take a day off work. Some interesting traffic to and from the stone quarry of Quenast was announced. First of all, TUC RAIL with a train headed to Schaarbeek, hauled by two class 55 locomotives. These locomotives may have lived their last winter, as rumors go that … Continue reading Late winter diesel day
Why wait for another train when the weather turns bad? Well, because every once and a while you just get lucky. Like in Ancy-sur-Moselle on April 17, 2024, at 16:12. One hole in the massive rain clouds lit the tracks at the exact right time. Continue reading One hole is all you need
A couple of years ago I moved to De Pinte. I was excited to get to live close to a relatively busy railroad. There were some nice photo locations close by, perfect for the few daily freights. Unfortunately, a bit more than 1 year after the move, a bicycle highway was built. Including light masts and a shiny green fence. Fortunately the railroad wasn’t the … Continue reading The spot that used to be
Railscapes 