I temporarily ended my journey along the Elbe river at Dolni Berkovice. The railway line runs along the river here, as does a bike lane on the other bank. This makes for comfortable waiting. Add to this that freight trains were numerous, and I could call the evening a success. Continue reading End of the day on the river bank
The name Vrutice sounded familiar to me, but I didn’t remember why. It’s only later that I founf out that there is a very nice photo location for morning eastbound trains. Doesn’t matter, I also like this location on the inside of the curve. Continue reading A familiar sounding location
I couldn’t let this old Skoda 1203 just stand there… of course I only took it with me as pixels on a memory card. Travel to the east of Europe is interesting for people who are interested in cars: the further you go, the older the models get. Well, one photo of a car is enough. I’ll go for the trains. Like here, with a … Continue reading Vintage Skoda
The local line from Zalhostice, along the Elbe, to Ceska Lipa is…, well, rural. It is a nice contrast to the relatively busy valley, and I wanted to make some photos on these small lines. I was hoping to get some locomotive hauled trains, but got this modernised Regionova vehicle in front of the lens. Ah well, it fits nicely between the bushes this way. Continue reading Rural Regionova
I continued following the line from Usti nad Labem Strekov to Lysa nad Labem. It was a nice road to follow, but photo opportunities were scarce. In Libochovany I found a spot to park the car though, and the view turned out to be quite interesting. The town on the top left of the photo is Dubice, and is located on the other side of … Continue reading Looking out over the valley
Strekov castle is a famous landmark in the Elbe river valley, dating from 1316. It is one of railay photographers’ favorite subjects in Usti Nad Labem. I had to go check it out of course, and in the course of an hour or so got quite a few cargo trains. Continue reading Strekov castle
After a refreshing night in Usti Nad Labem, in a hotel probably dating from the communist era, I checked out the immediate surroundings of the city’s main station. I didn’t have to wait a long time to see a cargo train cross the river. It is hauled by a Skoda 57E2 locomotive, dating from 1971, in the color scheme of Czech Railways’ cargo division. Vetruse … Continue reading Coal over the water
The Elbe also has a Czech name: Labem. On this photo, the train is running along the Labem river. Yes, I have finally arrived in the Czech republic. South of Decin, there are railway lines on both sides of the river. I had no idea where to see the trains, but I guessed cargo traffic woud run on the right bank of the river when … Continue reading Labem’s right bank
One recommendation when visiting the Elbe valley: try to avoid using a car. Roads that aren’t accessible and few parking spots give the car driver a hard time. And spots like this one are easily missed. It has been on my wishlist for a while, and I knew approximately where I needed to be… but had some difficulty locating it exactly. WIth a bicycle I … Continue reading Wish I had a bicycle
A Swiss engine on its way from the Czech Republic towards Dreseden, seems a bit odd. It turns out the loco is rented out to HSL, an operator that comes here more often. All of a sudden it makes more sense. The kettles are waking up the sleeping valley as I am catching my breath to get to this position right on time. Continue reading Waking up the sleeping valley
