Be it in Ghent or Antwerp, you can’t escape Railtraxx and their class 66 locomotives. In recent years the company has their fleet with a lot of these engines. On December 7th I got to photograph two of them. The day was shorter than expected: the Combinant shuttle was still partially hidden by the shadow. The container shuttle from Kalishoek to Antwerpen-Noord was running completely … Continue reading Railtraxx in the ports
Taken during an afternoon spent in Brussels-South at the beginning of my photography journey. The afternoon may not have delivered the same kind of pictures I would make today, but is sure was a lot of fun. It is cool now to see which trains I saw back then. A lot of them have disappeared now. On this picture, the locomotive has been melted in … Continue reading Coal under Brussels
Since a couple of years now, Belgian rail freight operator Lineas is building up a network of train services around Tergnier. I’ve wanted to check this out for a while, and on August 7th of 2020 I finally made it there. We left before sunrise and started the day at Couvron-et-Aumencourt, between Tergnier and Laon. Lineas, Europorte and SNCF Infra made for a good start … Continue reading First time around Tergnier
A bit closer to track level, aiming my telelens through the bushes, I snapped a photo of Railtraxx’ train 42554 from Passau to Antwerp. I discovered this view on a rainy day, and it turns out to be useful on a regular overcast moment too, albeit without the special effects with water involved. Continue reading A view for when it’s overcast
This is a place I keep returning to, because it’s just so much fun. To get there you have to climb up a hill, find a way between walls and bushes, and concentrate to get your gear up in one piece. A mini-adventure so to say, and I prefer it this way. It’s one reason why I love this hobby so much. The hill offers … Continue reading Mini-adventure
This is the last spot of the afternoon already: freight train traffic was scarce. A northbound intermodal train runs through the town of Braubach. “through” has to be taken literally here: it passes right in front of the houses. Considering this is one of the busiest freight lines in Germany, you can understand why inhabitants of the villages are complaining about noise. Let’s hope authorities … Continue reading A railfan’s dream house
A spot I keep returning to is this one close to Kamp-Bornhofen. Is it because of a previous time when I missed this same train hauled by a black class 66 engine? I had taken a group photo using the camera’s timer a few moments before, and had forgotten to turn it off. And you only notice it when pressing the shutter button results in … Continue reading About beeps and clicks
It was a beautiful spring evening that I wanted to enjoy until the end, before the 2 hour drive back home. So I watched the sun set, the occasional passing train covering it. A quiet, enjoyable moment to finish an intensive day full of discoveries. Continue reading Solar eclipse
With the end of the day approaching, my two very kind photo-colleagues took me to a spot in Bösinghoven. The wide open plain allowing for long light, and making you basically forget you’re in the heart of Germany’s heavy industry. We saw more NordWestBahn Lint41 motorcars, a Talent 2 electric unit operated by National Express, and one freight train. Someone forgot to put containers on … Continue reading The green heart of industry
I was out of inspiration as to where to photograph next. CFL1800 and Peter Gootzen kindly let me follow them to the station of Krefeld Linn. Standing on the platform we awaited a few trains – from the expected trains, one would be hauled by a recently repainted Ludmilla engine! The building on the left of the frame is an old signalling cabin, I think. … Continue reading Particular engines
Railscapes 