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
I expected the train serving Achiet to return to Somain, so I drove to Feuchy to look for a spot. On the map it looked good, but in reality I had to look really good to find the position from where a minimal amount of bushes would be in front of the train. First I got an empty Lineas grain train headed for Tergnier. Continue reading Exploring Feuchy
With no long-distance trains on the way, I concentrated on finding a spot for the train serving Inveho UAB, a freight wagon maintenance facility located in Achiet. Wagons are brought in from Somain before noon. The return train with serviced wagons arrives back in Somain around noon. Continue reading Wagons for maintenance
On a beautiful Friday morning beginning of July, I drove to the north of France. Very early, because I wanted to see the morning rush of trains to the terminals in Somain, Dourges, Lille. Many trains leave these terminals southbound in the evening, their counterparts arrive north in the morning. I chose the line from Amiens to Arras. Unfortunately, northbound trains were held in the … Continue reading Quiet morning rush
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
Winter 2023-2024 wasn’t one of the best. Understatement. It seems that this second half of March is finally getting a bit better. Therefore a small selection of recent dark photos, to prepare for the times when we get homesick for those short dark days. You’re welcome. Continue reading Are the dark days over?
Last year’s summer vacation was spent partly in the utmost south of France, in the canton of la Côte Vermeille. It was a family holiday so I didn’t spend too much time chasing trains, however on 2 mornings I got myself out of bed early enough to catch some interesting traffic. The region is splendid in many ways, so I consider this as only a … Continue reading Merveilles à la Côte Vermeille
On the to-do list before the end of the year were the evening southbound trains originating from the Hauts-de-France region. It was a very special evening. Upon arrival it was still raining quite hard, and I had to wait some time in the car before being able to go out without getting soaked. During the set-up for the photos, lightning bolts were still shooting around … Continue reading Not so silent night
Earlier attempts to shoot the famous French nez cassé locomotives on the IC trains between Paris and Maubeuge were rather frustrating, partly due to the very sparse number of trains. That is, until we discovered that there were also loco-hauled trains running between Paris and Saint-Quentin. It turns out you can fill quite a day south of Saint-Quentin chasing these trains, which my friend Eurorailer … Continue reading The hunt for nez cassés
Back home since 2 days, after the yearly holidays in beautiful France. Driving around in France always leaves me with a feeling for more, even though the freight traffic is rather sparse. Processing the pictures will be for later, however here’s a picture from a while ago at dusk in the north of France. I got to shoot a few freights on the line connecting … Continue reading Back home
Railscapes 