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
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
Human beings have autopilots when it comes to doing what you really want to do. And so I was able to continue making photos, albeit a bit slower than before. We were expecting a freight train to Samedan and decided to wait for it at Bever station. We also knew from yesterday’s observations that click to read the rest of the story, and for more photos
Before yesterday evening, I had never sat on a serious sledge before. Down in Bergün we had decided to first do the hard track, considering the elevator was about to shut down for the night. After that, we could ride the easier, and lit, track, with the Schlittelzug as many times as we wanted. Not so sure this was a good decision: in one of the curves of the hard track I lost control of the sledge and continue the story on the blog
Seeing the sledges slide off the hill earlier, we decided that we had found the perfect evening activity. We weren’t sure of opening times of the tracks though, and in the meanwhile we had gotten quite far from Bergün. That’s the moment you decide to call it a day, make the last photo and turn around.
The last photo of the day was this RE train to St. Moritz, hauled by RhB’s most recent locomotive: the last one of the Ge 4/4 III series.
Back in Bergün, we were right on time for click to continue reading
The search for photo opportunities became harder as the forest became more dense. No big deal though, getting there is half the fun; that is one of the reasons this hobby has become a passion. Right on time for the next freight train up the mountain we found this view on one of the Albula railway’s many typical bridges. Loco 626 is in charge of … Continue reading Through dense forests
Initial plans for this trip focused on the Gotthard railway. When wheather turned out to be better in the eastern part of Switzerland, I was happy to propose the Rhaetian Railway, on my photo-bucketlist for a long time already. We hadn’t prepared for shooting photos in this region, but in Bergün it all came together. We left the car in town and hiked into the … Continue reading High and higher
Trains were following each other quickly. We headed back towards Alvaneu station for the next passenger train to Chur. This was also the time that we were getting really hungry, so after making the photo at Alvaneu station we headed to Filisur for breakfast/lunch. Continue reading Too busy to eat
Next train was following quickly after the previous one, so we decided to stay around. We positioned ourselves a bit higher to get a better view of the valley. Right on time, Regio Express 1125 from Chur to St. Moritz passes us. I was wondering what this spot would look like at night, and went to work. The result below – I find it a … Continue reading Day and night
Railscapes 