A bit more than 10 minutes after the previous shot, the valley was bathing in the first sunrays of a pleasant spring morning. The peace was shortly interrupted by a Transregio Desiro on it’s way to Mainz, racing with a few cars to get to Boppard first. I would continue chilling out on the little wall for a little longer, enjoying spring. Continue reading Little race
Way too early I got out of bed to see the sun rise over the hills surrounding the valley in Boppard am Rhein. Even though I had to take a few naps on the way here I made it way on time. I’m often too optimistic when it comes to sunrises, resulting in me being actually way on time. See where a healthy dose of … Continue reading Where a healthy dose of optimism can get you
On april 3rd 2016, commercial operation started on the second phase of LGV-Est. High speed trains from Paris to Strasbourg could from then on run at high speed until Vendenheim, where the LGV connects to the classic network. SNCF and SNCB now expect people travelling to Strasbourg to to use Thalys and TGV trains, with a transfer in Paris. For that purpose the classic international … Continue reading Last time in style to Switzerland
An afternoon shooting trains along the Rhine river with my good friend Eurorailer started in Boppard. We mainly saw intercity trains, no freight. The sun was there fortunately, bathing the winefields in a warm glow and preparing the grapes for wineyear 2016. Continue reading Where the wine is growing
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
The gloomy and short winter day ended at the monumental bridge over the Rhine river at Duisburg. I squeezed the camera through a fence to get a decent view on the steel monster, hoping for some freight but getting a bright passenger train. Nicely contrasting the bridge. It was only getting darker and I was getting more and mmore soaked and cold: the signal for … Continue reading Giant steel monster
Thoughts of the last moment are sometimes the better ones, I must admit. While packing our stuff to go home, it appeared to us that we could still make it for the TER Service to Sarreguemines. This service was one of the last ones hauled a BB67400 series diesel. We won the race against the clock; in what were really the last rays of sunshine … Continue reading Last minute
I’m always conscious of local culture when we’re out on a trip. A special interest in local beer culture makes a trip all the more interesting. In the background of this photo, you can see the buildings of the Brasserie Meteor. This independant brewery is home to Meteor (pils and lager) and Wendelinus (blonde and roussa), and also creates occasional brewings. We saw many trains, … Continue reading Brasserie Meteor
The wide plains north of Strasbourg allow straight tracks and fast trains. Here we see a local train that can ride 200 km/h. I’m sure this local doesn’t stop in every small village though. Continue reading High speed lcoal
