Roots

On the morning of October 23 I was in Klamm right on time to catch this train from Mantova to Dunai Finomito in Hungary. The foreground is covered with roots of trees: I had to raise my camera quite high to reach above it.

Kurhaus Semmering

Next up I chose to go to Wolfsbergkogel for getting pictures of some uphill trains. In the background we see the Kurhaus Semmering, built in 1909, and currently under renovation. Would be a good place to stay for a visit to this magnificent line, if you get a room with a view in the right direction.
Driving towards Semmering we see OBB 1144 250 with a sister and a Taurus locomotive. The train connects Šajdíkove Humence in Slovakia to Celje Tovorna in Slovenië.

Triplet

Semmering station didn’t work out for westbound trains, but the station of Breitenstein turned out to be the better setting. As the gates of the level crossing closed right before me, I left the waiting to the car and made a quick sprint up the hill, right in time to catch this triplet of 1144’s with a westbound mixed freight. The train was just long, and slow, enough for me to get back to my car in time and not block traffic in front of the opened level crossing.

Colorful wood

I had never made photos in Eichberg with the sun out. I didn’t have to wait long before catching a really cool eastbound freight. 2 1144’s are hauling a colorfull set of Innofreight containers towards Retz, close to the Czech border. Probably for loading at the Maresch wood facility.

Unalike sisters

Ex-MRCE, now Beacon, hired to Lokotrain, subhired to CD Cargo 193 635 and CD Cargo 383 011 lead a car train from Breclav to Slovenia, I suspect maybe to the port of Koper. The train is seen as it heads west through Eichberg station.

Another Railjet

Amidst an explosion of color, OBB 1216 021 pulls its RailJet 133 from Vienna to Venezia Santa Lucia. It is seen right before entering the short tunnel in Eichberg.

CD Cargo heading east

Clouds were coming in, as you can see on this picture, so I stayed a bit longer in Eichberg to get some more colorful shots. Here we see a train operated by CD Cargo, who rents 5370 028 from LokoTrain, who rents this loco from owner CargoUnit. The train is en route from Verona to, I suspect, Győr.

Signature Semmering

Forrested hills with houses scattered over them, a curve and a freight hauled by an 1144 locomotive. I found this view per accident, looking for possibilities around Küb. I love improvising like this, even though it’s not always successful.
1144 065 hauls a Swietelsky work train up the hill.

Austrian blue

From the station of Küb, a trail runs along the rail line towards Payerbach. I halted in between to get this shot of a downhill Railjet train.
ÖBB 1216 237 in Czech railways livery heads train 370 from Graz to Prague.

VW for Asia

The party was still not over, as I heard another train coming from the valley. It was a car train loaded with Volkswagen cars, coming from Devínska Nová Ves in Slovakia and probably heading towards the Porto Marghera in Venice. Traction is unrecognizable but some research shows that unit 1293 201 was running for CD Cargo at the time the photo was taken. Second unit is 6193 030.