On a misty winter evening, HSL Belgium hauls a train of brand new cars from Zeebrugge towards Magdeburg. For this picture I had a hard time keeping the camera lens free of moist. I had to warm it up in the car until right before the train came to prevent it from fogging. High atmospheric moisture on the cold lens surface risked to totally blur … Continue reading At the tree farm
The weather during the first weekend of January 2025 is bang-on. On Sunday morning I caught this empty car train towards Gent, in crispy winter conditions. The empty train will be loaded again at the Volvo factory in the port of Gent. Later this week, it will head south again. Continue reading Almost at the car factory
Why wait for another train when the weather turns bad? Well, because every once and a while you just get lucky. Like in Ancy-sur-Moselle on April 17, 2024, at 16:12. One hole in the massive rain clouds lit the tracks at the exact right time. Continue reading One hole is all you need
Day 2 of 2025 saw sun and clouds. When this train to Gent passed me, I saw mostly clouds. It wasn’t as bad as a few hundred meters more towards Lokeren. There, sun and rain added some spectacle to the photo.Timing is everything, as a few minutes earlier the foreground scene was also lit by the sun. And a few minutes after this shot, I … Continue reading Timing is everything
A couple of years ago I moved to De Pinte. I was excited to get to live close to a relatively busy railroad. There were some nice photo locations close by, perfect for the few daily freights. Unfortunately, a bit more than 1 year after the move, a bicycle highway was built. Including light masts and a shiny green fence. Fortunately the railroad wasn’t the … Continue reading The spot that used to be
Fall is not only the season of the colored leaves, but also that of the short days. On November 25, 2019, a few minutes before sunrise in Gent-Sint-Pieters, I pictured Lineas 186 346. It is finding its way through the southern entrance of Gent’s main passenger station. Kudos to the maintenance crews keeping this complex installation in good working order. Continue reading Short days of fall
In November ’99, there were no signs yet of the big changes that the Belgian rail freight scene would undergo during the next 5 to 10 years. There’s no sign yet of any private operators, nor any modern traction. Crossrail would only start running 4 years later, and the 77 series diesel locos were still in an early stage of testing & delivery.We see SNCB … Continue reading Steel from the past
Our yearly family holiday was in the north of Istria, where we could enjoy sun and sea, and visit towns like Poreč and Rovinj. We were also located rather close to Koper, and this led me to spend 1 full day on the Koper ramp between Koper and Črnotiče. I kicked off the day right after sunrise in Dekani. Here I met fellow holidaymaker Björn, … Continue reading Holiday between Koper and Črnotiče
Last Saturday, we got some spectacular weather conditions in Flanders. Huge rainclouds, alternated by blue sky. Much possibilities for the light to be not that great, so I had to hope for good timing. Fortunately, there was more freight traffic than usual near my home town due to detours, increasing my chances. The first photo I made was bang on. I had to hold on … Continue reading The sunny escape
Winter 2023-2024 wasn’t one of the best. Understatement. It seems that this second half of March is finally getting a bit better. Therefore a small selection of recent dark photos, to prepare for the times when we get homesick for those short dark days. You’re welcome. Continue reading Are the dark days over?
Railscapes 