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
A new country was added to the Trip Reports section: the United States of America. I will slowly assemble the posts that I am publishing here regularly into a coherent story. Go check it out! And feel free to request more information. Continue reading New in the Trip Reports section: USA
Ludlow was founded in 1883 as a water stop along the transcontinental railroad. When railroad activity ceased in the 1940s, the town survived supplying the needs of travellers of the national old trails road, the future route 66. The opening of interstate 40 in the 1970s meant the end for businesses as people didn’t need to stop here anymore in their faster cars on the faster system. As a result the town was abandoned. Today, only some supplies for interstate travellers remain at the exit ramps.
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
The original plan was to move on east on the second day of our trip. During the break in train traffic the day before though, we walked past a spot that looked well worth trying with morning light. So, after a good night of sleep, we found ourselves back in the hills east of Bealville. Fingers crossed for more traffic than the day before… we … Continue reading 30 minutes of joy
Even if the busy mainline is filled with beautiful viewpoints, you still need luck. After hours of waiting for no train to come, in the burning sun, our stock of water heating up and shrinking away too fast, we had to decide to do something else. Take a break (like what the train traffic did). Walk back to the car. Get a dollar menu at … Continue reading Time for a break
Making photos of the same train doesn’t become boring. For getting this shot, I had to run down the hill a bit and zoom out. The speed of the trains allows it easily… Continue reading More curves
It has been a while since the last post.I haven’t forgotten about the website though. A few minutes ago I published 2 new pages. The first one is a portfolio. Here I will show a few of my best photos. The ones that make me proud to be a photographer. The ones that may even please the eyes of people that don’t share my interest in … Continue reading Portfolio online
Railscapes 