In may 2018, with 3 friends we managed to get a week off duty in order to undertake a trip to Bulgaria. Purpose of the trip: discover what Bulgaria’s railway scene has to offer. Immediately after getting off the plane we headed to Septemvri for an afternoon on the Rhodopen railway, which connects Septemvri to Dobrinishte. It serves for tourism, but is also an essential … Continue reading Rhodopen railway
From Montreal to Quebec, through the french-speaking part of Canada. Peak autumn colors were past already, autumn was sensory present only by rain and cold. The taillight of a freight that we couldn’t overtake anymore made me decide to defy the weather and wait for another opportunity. Lucky me, the passenger train followed quickly. Continue reading Limited pleasure to the senses
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
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
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
Railscapes 