While the bottom of the valley is still covered in shadows, the west-side is bathing in sunlight. The town of Wassen seems to be strategically located, getting sun early during the day. Train 67767 connects Hüntwagen-Wil with Sigirino – minutes before this sunny photo was taken, it was still riding in the dark part of the valley. These trains transporting gravel (I guess) were a … Continue reading Above the roofs of Wassen
Winter sun takes a while to rise, but its warm light makes the waiting worthwhile. It’d better, since temperature was also pretty low and wind was blowing. Fortunately, there were plenty of interesting trains riding up the hill. Like this one, straight from our home country: SBB’s 11683 and a sister haul train 40243 from Antwerp Oorderen to Gallarate, seen here at Wassen. Continue reading For the homesick
Going abroad always means some kind of adapting to a new environment. No different when we went out shooting along the Gotthard railway in the last winter before the opening of the new base tunnel. We were completely off as to when the sun would actually light the tracks, not thinking about the high mountains and wintertime. The dark valley was still nice to see, … Continue reading In the shadows
Sometimes all you need to do is turn around. A rear helper was definitely necessary to get this heavy train up the hill. What you can’t see on the photo are the mid-train helpers. No need to tell the heavy train was rolling by really slowly. A treat for our eyes and ears! Continue reading Just turn around
Between Needles and Kingman, both Interstate 40 and the BNSF transcontinental line run south and east of the Black Mountains. This mountain range stretches from Lake Mead in the North until the point that is shown here, at a place called Haviland, where a westbound container train runs along the southern part of the range. This zone is also called the Black Mesa. In the … Continue reading Black Mesa
The Dead Mountains provide a view over the Sacramanto Wash, and the wooden trestle over it. The river bed is completely dried up at this time of the year. The roads are treacherous here. That is, if you make a U-turn and get off the asphalt in the sand. We got stuck indeed. Fortunately, a friendly man, who happened to have a chain in his … Continue reading Lots of sand
The Needles Subdivision north of Needles was unknwon terrain to us. We had driven through the region twice, but never really explored it. Time to bring some change. Landscape-wise, it is a desert. The railroad line is surrounded by hills, allowing for good views. Here we see the Sacramento Mountains in the background, and a container train heading west in nothing but dry desert. The … Continue reading Desert view
We met the next train in Klondike, in front of a backdrop formed by the Bullion Mountains. The 3 engines are working hard pulling their load through the curves and up the hill. As is mostly the case, you need luck with train traffic. Despite the great weather and the beautiful locations, we didn’t get to see any more trains. When the sun was gone, … Continue reading Bullion Mountains
In Ludlow, we started following the National Old Trails Road, aka Route 66. Following this legendary road leads the slow traveller past long forgotten restaurants, motels and gas stations. It follows BNSF’s transcontinental railroad, or at least the parts of it that we explored in California and Arizona. This makes route 66 a must-see for every railfan. Along the road you discover great places, and … Continue reading National Old Trails Road
A westbound doublestacker runs through Ludlow, now populated by creosote bush instead of people. The remains of the town can be seen in the center of the image. The interstate highway, main reason of the town’s disappearing, can be seen on the left. Of course, trains don’t need to make intermediate water stops anymore. Technological advance made this town obsolete. Continue reading In the wide open desert
Railscapes 