The regular freight train connecting Bully-Grenay in France and Tessenderlo in Belgium has been riding 1 hour later than usual, permanently it seems. Only a few days a year can it be photographed in what you could call daylight. Also so in my hometown De Pinte beginning of July. While going for a stroll I accidently crossed paths with this train. The construction site of … Continue reading Burning into the night
Once the freight train arrives at it’s destination, it is quickly pulled apart and the cars delivered to where they will be unloaded. Swiss railways work very efficiently, no different here: in almost no time the first car was delivered to a local distribution centre. Continue reading Shunting Pontresina
Further waiting for trains on different spots only resulted in a higher number on the odometer. That’s one of this hobby’s greatest frustrations. When the sun was setting, we took a pause from driving and decided to try our luck at Battle Mountain. We were fortunate to get this freight in some beautiful light, followed by the eastbound California Zephyr. And that’s the opposite feeling … Continue reading The excitement of lights in the distance
“After rain comes sunshine”, we say in Dutch. I’m guessing it’s a proverb that makes some sense in English too. By the time we got back to the car, the asphalt was dry enough to lie down and make a photo of the level crossing. This trains was the last one we photographed this day. Williams is located close to the Grand Canyon, so we … Continue reading Pause the show
And then you decide to go to the western United States to spend a few sunny days. Wrong! Last time we were in Williams, it was cloudy because of a forest fire. This time it as cloudy because it was raining. Ah well, the Kaibab National Forest is a great place to enjoy the rain. It’s very peacefull, except for a train every once and … Continue reading Enjoying the rain
Arid environments and forgetting your drinking water are a bad combination. It gets worse if you also forgot your food. We definitely had to get back to the car now that the sun was standing too high. The perfect time to give our body the necessary fuel. Hint: always bring enough water and food. In the afternoon we picked a spot at a place called … Continue reading What’s to find in Pica, Arizona?
We had seen many photos of Truxton Canyon, and wanted to try the spot as well. When subscribing in the logbook of the private property, we recognized a few names of fellow railfans that are active on sites like railpictures.net. Yes, we were probably on the right track to get to the spot! We left our non-all-terrain vehicle early on the bumpy road and hiked … Continue reading Frustration in Truxton Canyon
We had had our fun at the previous spot, so we decided to take the car further east, into the Mojave desert. While walking back we heard another train in the distance. When we arrived at the car, there was still time to set up for one last shot in Bealville. An ex-ATSF dash 9 enters the image, surrounded by telegraph poles. It’s unclear if … Continue reading One for the road
The Chaparral Yucca was a common sight on that beautiful Monday morning. Native Americans used to make flour from its flowers’ seeds, and baskets from its leaves. We waited for one more train to allow a photo with one of these interesting plants. Continue reading Chaparral Yucca
Still stunned from the passing of the military train, we were surprised to hear more rumble in the distance after only 5 minutes of silence. 5 engines emerged out of the tunnel, slow enough to give us time to try different focal distances. Continue reading 5 minutes, 5 new engines
Railscapes 