Wednesday august 10th I went chasing trains along the Antwerp – Aachen freight corridor. Those days off, with nothing to worry about but the photos, are rare, so I wanted to stand along the tracks at sunrise. Which meant waking up really early, but which also meant fluid traffic. Still dozy from the long ride I had to prepare for action quickly as a first … Continue reading A busy summer day
It was, again, a very hot day and I didn’t feel like sitting at the pool from early on. I’m sure my son, if he could speak, would have said exactly the same thing. So I took him to Rouffach with the airconditioned car, where we set up gear and a playing blanket under a large umbrella. It was a day in France that felt … Continue reading France with a Belgian sauce
The first week of august was hot, incredibly hot, in the Alsace region. After a short night I decided that it was time to get up early and enjoy the cool morning temperatures along the tracks. Well, a little before 7am I was standing next to the tracks in only a t-shirt. At least temperature was still bearable.Of course I got to see some trains: … Continue reading Cool morning
On the way back from our Swiss holiday last year, we had to stop for a picnic. I chose a spot near Frick, where we could sit quietly in the shade and where I could set up my tripod with camera. Armed with a remote and sandwich, I could enjoy a family lunch while also shooting some trains.The last train we saw was headed by … Continue reading Multitasking
Today I did something that I haven’t done in a long time: take a day off to make photos of passenger trains. Passenger. Trains. Really. The intercity trains between Schaarbeek and Kortrijk are still hauled by vintage 21 and 27 series locomotives. These machines are about my age and as such I’ve known them all my active railfanning life. They are being gradually withdrawn though, … Continue reading Chasing passengers
One quiet evening along the tracks, again typical for the current days: dark, dry, not too cold.Dry is relative though, as I got the car almost stuck in the mud getting here.I was treated with 5 trains in a row: 4 from Zeebrugge, 1 from Ghent. All towards Germany and beyond. Here we see Lineas hauling a train with destination Milan, Italy. It looks well … Continue reading Parade
A picture to always remember Belgian weather conditions in the first half of January. By dressing warm, wearing a water-tight vest and protecting the camera it was actually rather pleasant waiting for this cargo.We see Simon safely leading his car train to France. Train 46362 left Gent-Zeehaven 20 minutes earlier, and still has a long time to go before arriving in Busto Arsizio. Continue reading Need water?
Because respect will take you the furthest.An evening LKW Walter train from Crossrail is seen near Sint-Martens-Latem in the setting light of a Sunny day on Saturday 14th of May. Continue reading No plants were harmed during the making of this photo
A strategically planned family weekend led to Orgéo, along the beautiful Athus-Meuse line. We stayed at walking distance from the famous spot. After careful investigation of the hunting planning, I concluded it to be safe to go out shooting myself. Subject was the container shuttle connecting Antwerp and the TCA terminal in Athus. In very soft autumn light, 186 123 and 186 215 lead a … Continue reading Hunting season
Last Easter vacation, we spent a family holiday in Coussac-Bonneval, south of Limoges. There weren’t many local trains to watch, but there is some interesting diesel action near Limoges. Inspired by the excellent picture of BramTrains, I made a plan to go after SNCF’s Infrastructure operation to the quarry of Verneuil-sur-Vienne. I only knew approximately when the first of 2 train pairs would return to … Continue reading All about parenting
Railscapes 