Winter photos in the Alps could use some snow. In lavorgo, temperatures were too high and the white stuff had melted completely. We headed north, back up the mountain pass, to get some colder temperatures (try to explain that to a non-rail enthousiast!). We weren’t very persistent though: we ended up in Chiggiaogna, with another nice snowy mountain view, with warm and dry feet. Was … Continue reading Warm feet
I try not to post more than 1 photo per location; my good excuse now is that I like this spot, and that we got to see a lot of interesting trains here. Soon after the BLS train passed us, we heard a rumble in the distance announcing the next one. SBB’s 11626 has been decorated with a “mustache”. We were lucky to catch the … Continue reading Too interesting
In the previous post, I promised it would be better. While driving down the mountain, temperature increased and the snow disappeared quickly. We noticed the BLS train we photographed before, riding slowly and coming to a halt. That meant we had a chance to get a better picture of this train. We chose a famous location, but one I hadn’t been to before. And yes, … Continue reading Second chance
You try a location and try and… sometimes, it just doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. Walking up and down the hill, forward and back again, I couldn’t find a place where the tracks and surroundings came together nicely. It could have been the combination between closely spaced catenary poles, light poles from the nearby road… We were about to leave to … Continue reading The train does it
South of Airolo we found another nice spot, and as always we waited for some freight trains to pass. One of the 3 we saw was carrying Winner Spedition trailers from Wuppertal to Piacenza; a 937km trip by car. Continue reading Winner!
Almost an extinct species: one of the last remaining green engines in front of the regional train to Lugano was a beautiful distraction from the freight trains. It has just exited the Gotthard tunnel, highest point on the line, and will start the downhill journey to Bellinzona after a short stop at Airolo station. Continue reading A dinosaur
It was a short hike to get to this spot, where we got a great view with Chli Windgällen filling the background. It looks like a mountain with a view, doesn’t it? Maybe an idea for next year’s hiking trip. Continue reading Chli Windgällen
Sometimes you need to take a risk to get the shot you want. This is a viewpoint from the side of the road, but standing in a normal position there’s a cable hanging in the view… so lying down on the road was the only option to make this image. Only shortly before the train was at the right spot though, our ears the most … Continue reading Sharp senses
Winter sun takes a while to rise, but its warm light makes the waiting worthwhile. It’d better, since temperature was also pretty low and wind was blowing. Fortunately, there were plenty of interesting trains riding up the hill. Like this one, straight from our home country: SBB’s 11683 and a sister haul train 40243 from Antwerp Oorderen to Gallarate, seen here at Wassen. Continue reading For the homesick
Going abroad always means some kind of adapting to a new environment. No different when we went out shooting along the Gotthard railway in the last winter before the opening of the new base tunnel. We were completely off as to when the sun would actually light the tracks, not thinking about the high mountains and wintertime. The dark valley was still nice to see, … Continue reading In the shadows
Railscapes 