We spent a recent family weekend in the border region near Montzen. On two occasions I got out to make a few photos in Remersdaal: once during daytime, once during nighttime. Both times I got a mixed freight train from Antwerp to Köln headed by a double Traxx engine. And that’s where the similarities between the two photos end. 4 different liveries, 2 operators and … Continue reading Night and day
Car traffic to the port of Zeebrugge has been booming in recent months. Many car trains drive to and from the port 24 hours per day, operated by almost all freight operators present on Belgian rails. On one of the few dry days we’ve had in weeks, I ventured out into the fields to flash some trains. Besides a Railtraxx and a Crossrail train, I … Continue reading Empties under a starry sky
After a day of work, we noticed an interesting train heading towards Zeebrugge. Taking into account cloud cover, I figured I had a chance of getting a sunny picture of this train in Drongen. Good guess, it seems, as the low sun was still lighting the train and the cloud cover over Gent. Continue reading Afterwork Backbone
Tomorrow the spring anti-weed campaign starts again on East-Flemish tracks. Here a picture from last autumn’s campaign, seen in De Pinte. Continue reading Weedfree
The port of Antwerp is origin and destination of many container trains. I got to shoot a few at the end of August, beginning of September 2022. Operation of the trains was very diverse.First highlight are the regular Transfennica container trains, connecting the Combinant terminal in the north of the port of Antwerp to Bayonne, near the Spanish border. Except for the last mile, the … Continue reading Johntainers
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
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 They are being gradually withdrawn though, … Continue reading Chasing passengers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
Railscapes 