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
On the to-do list before the end of the year were the evening southbound trains originating from the Hauts-de-France region. It was a very special evening. Upon arrival it was still raining quite hard, and I had to wait some time in the car before being able to go out without getting soaked. During the set-up for the photos, lightning bolts were still shooting around … Continue reading Not so silent night
The Bertschi train from Sluiskil to Antwerp has become less visible again due to, well, no convergence between it’s timetable and the seasonal position of the sun. So I had to bring my own light to brighten up this chemical train. Talk about artificial. Continue reading Artificial sunshine
Here comes the dark season again. As evenings are still relatively mild, it’s perfect to go out to practice more on this type of night shots again.Here we see Lineas 1303 hauling sister 1332 and a semi-filled container train towards Antwerpen. Continue reading The end of the day is near
We spent a recent family weekend in the border region near Montzen. On two occasions I got out to make a few photos in Remersdaal: once during daytime, once during nighttime. Both times I got a mixed freight train from Antwerp to Köln headed by a double Traxx engine. And that’s where the similarities between the two photos end. 4 different liveries, 2 operators and … Continue reading Night and day
Car traffic to the port of Zeebrugge has been booming in recent months. Many car trains drive to and from the port 24 hours per day, operated by almost all freight operators present on Belgian rails. On one of the few dry days we’ve had in weeks, I ventured out into the fields to flash some trains. Besides a Railtraxx and a Crossrail train, I … Continue reading Empties under a starry sky
One quiet evening along the tracks, again typical for the current days: dark, dry, not too cold.Dry is relative though, as I got the car almost stuck in the mud getting here.I was treated with 5 trains in a row: 4 from Zeebrugge, 1 from Ghent. All towards Germany and beyond. Here we see Lineas hauling a train with destination Milan, Italy. It looks well … Continue reading Parade
Last Sunday was worth getting outside. It was dark and cold, but dry, a recipe for a quiet evening photoshoot. The two freight trains that I could photograph happened to be both loaded with GTS containers. One coming from Switzerland and heading to the Belgian coastal port, the other one doing exactly the inverse. Continue reading To and from the mountains
It was a cold cold evening, yesterday. During the waiting, I could see the grass slowly turn white. By the time the two freight trains had passed, my tripods were covered with a thin frosted layer.The first train, hauled by a Traxx locomotive, looks like a train from Antwerp to Dourges. The second one is the most intriguing though. Description of the load was “big … Continue reading Frosty white containers
Autumn season is there: time to get into the night again. I started the new season with a warming up session in Wetteren. Testing a new addition to the gear, and learning more about which spots are suitable for this type of photography. This was a very ice photo to make. Getting the gear set up using feeling only, tweaking location and gear until things … Continue reading A new season has started
Railscapes 