In 2018 and 2019, multisystem Vectron 193 318 was used for performing authorization runs on the Infrabel network. Today, it is known among rail enthusiasts as the “Backbone” locomotive – the backbone of the economy, as stated by DB Cargo. It certainly is an awesome appearance. Continue reading Here’s the backbone of the economy
It really seems a long time ago, but only 2 weeks ago it snowing and freezing. Very cold and quite a lot of snow, that’s what winter should be like. Towards the extremes is where the experience begins. During these early spring days, this image seemed like the right one to share. Continue reading Freezing cold
That had been a while, snow at home that stays for a few hours. On January 14th there was a little, on January 16th it felt more like a snow storm. I was lucky to catch some freight trains in these wintery conditions. Continue reading It snows!
The sun is rising slowly above the frozen fields, that will slowly warm up and lose their white tint. A typical view on regional non electrified lines in Belgium since the early 2000’s, but wintery scenes like this are still very enjoyable. Continue reading Frozen warm
The last freight train of the day, headed to Pontresina, passes us at Bever station. We awaited this train before heading home. Weather forecast wasn’t looking good, and because of last night’s accident, we decided to make a stop-over north of Strasbourg. It had already gotten rather dark for this photo – some boosting of the light was necessary to get a decent result. Continue reading Evening freight
An impressive train, consisting of 12 coaches and led by a heavy duty Ge 6/6 II engine has just left the station of Bever. The powerful engine is justified by the climb up the Albula pass – between Bever and St. Moritz the trains run run in a relatively flat valley. The backdrop is what makes the view. Flat valley and beautiful surroundings are probably … Continue reading Flat valley
While the local shunter is still sorting the cars, the return train is already being composed. It all happens with relatively few people, and it goes fast. I wonder if this is a profitable business, considering the number of cars the freight trains carry. Continue reading Ready, set, …
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
When shooting freight trains, we usually look for locations that show a lot of train. Same for this train, but it turned out pretty hard to combine sunlight and a good view… it turned out not to be necessary; 3 cars easily fit within the frame. The train on the photo comes from Chur and has almost reached Pontresina, it’s final destination. Continue reading Almost there
A bit of looking around usually does the trick. Shot from almost the same location, with a tele instead of a wide angle lens, this view is something quite different compared to the previous photo. I prefer this one, by far: it reduces the train more to it’s real size compared to the giant mountain in the background. Look closely and you’ll see that the … Continue reading Proportions set straight
Railscapes 