A three week photographic trip to Germany, concentrating mainly on diesel worked lines and with the emphasis on freight. The trip started with visits to a couple of busy electrified lines; the Koblenz - Trier line in the Mosel Valley then the Elbe Valley, between Dresden and the Czech border. Next came some diesel lines in the former DDR; the Hoyerswerda - Horka line, north-east of Dresden, and then the superb Reichenbach - Hof line. There was also a quick visit to the Wismut Werkbahn, an industrial operation near Gera. The final part of the trip involved visits to the Mühldorf area and the Allgäubahn (München - Kempten - Lindau) in Bayern before finally returning home via the Mosel.



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This report covers a ten day photographic trip to the Czech Republic in September 2010. Much of the trip was spent on the Hanusovice - Jesenik line where class 754s were taking over but class 749s were still in evidence. The 754 worked Brno - Jihlava, Brno - Veseli, Stare Mesto - Luhacovice and Jaromer - Trutnov lines were also visited.



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A marathon three-week trip to northern China in Winter 2010, visiting the best of the remaining steam operations at Sandaoling, Jixi, Huanan, Tiefa, Fuxin, Beipiao, Pingzhuang, Yuanbaoshan and Hongmiao. Despite the decline in steam working over the past year, we still saw almost 60 locos in steam.



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A short trip to the Rhätischebahn in late summer to fill in some gaps in my photographic coverage of the line. The trip was made more interesting by an unexpected line closure and the resulting freight diversions. There was still plenty of work for the veteran class Ge4/4i electrics despite the arrival of more new units.



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Photos from my recent trip to Dresden and the Elbe Valley have been added to the photo galleries.



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This report covers a short trip to the Dresden area in the south-eastern corner of what used to be East Germany. The city of Dresden is an attraction in itself but it was the line along the scenic Elbe Valley that prompted my visit. This route is busy with loco hauled passenger and heavy freight traffic and the home to a type of electric loco that is difficult to find elsewhere, DB Class 180, also known as CD Class 372.



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This gallery has been updated with new or improved photos from 2006 and new pictures from 2009. The Bebra - Fulda line is a double track electrified route that runs through attractive countryside and carries a high volume of freight, hauled by a wide variety of locos from DB and other operators. In 2006 there were also loco hauled local passenger trains worked by venerable class 110 electrics.



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The Chinese Loco Lists detail the whereabouts of individual Chinese standard gauge steam locomotives over the past 30 years, based on sightings reported by visiting foreign enthusiasts and, increasingly, Chinese enthusiasts. While the lists are far from complete, they do contain information on over 7000 locomotives of more than 50 classes, from industrial 0-6-0 tanks to the mighty QJ 2-10-2s. The list have now been updated to include sightings up to May 2010.



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After ten years a return to the Gotthard Pass was long overdue. The Gotthard is one of Europes busiest freight routes, carrying heavy traffic between Germany and Italy through the heart of the Swiss Alps. While in Switzerland, I also followed a tip off that there were some worthwhile photo positions around Frick on the Basel - Zürich line and had a look at the MGB’s metre gauge line around Andermatt and the Oberalp Pass.



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The western section of the Allgäubahn, from Immenstadt to Lindau, is one of the most photogenic lines in Europe, running through the gloriously scenic Oberallgäu region, just north of the Alps. The line has served as a diversionary route on several occasions over recent years, adding EuroCity passengers and long freights to the usual mix of loco hauled ALEX trains and DB Regio DMUs. This gallery features photos taken on a number of trips from 2006 to 2009.



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The Kempten - Immenstadt line is part of the Allgäubahn, the scenic, double-track, diesel-worked main line from München to Lindau. The The Kempten - Immenstadt section carries regional passenger trains from München, Augsburg and Ulm to Lindau and Oberstdorf, some of them loco hauled as well as a couple of InterCity services and a pair of EuroCity trains from München to Zürich.



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The first of a number of remastered and expanded galleries covering the Allgäubahn and associated lines. The branch from Immenstadt to Oberstdorf carries fairly heavy passenger traffic for a single track route. As well as regular trains from München, Augsburg and Ulm, the line hosts a couple of InterCity workings and a few locals as well. Although many trains are worked by DMUs, there are a good number of loco hauled workings as well.



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A much updated and expanded gallery of photos from the Gemünden - Würzburg line, one of Germany’s busiest and most photogenic freight routes.



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The Strasbourg - Sarrebourg line crosses the Vosges via the Saverne Gap, the narrow twisting valley of the River Zorn that provides a relatively easy route through the mountains for the railway and the parallel Rhine - Marne Canal. Passenger services are operated by TGVs, loco hauled passengers, push-pull sets and EMUs and there are freights hauled by a variety of locomotive types.



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A set of photos taken on the München - Salzburg line between Traunstein and Freilassing in April 2010. The line carries a wide variety of passenger and freight trains including Austrian Korridorzüge taking a shortcut across German territory between Salzburg and Kufstein.



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Photos from three areas covered on my recent trip to Germany have been added to the photo galleries.

Line 740 Gäubahn

This is the Stuttgart - Singen main line where loco hauled interCity trains have replaced ICEs.

Lines 940 - 947 Mühldorf

Mühldorf is probably the best place to see diesel hauled heavy freights in Germany today.

Line 990 Altmühltal

This has to be the best place for train photography in Germany with lots of freights running through gorgeous scenery.

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go to Lines Mühldorf gallery
go to Line Altmühltal gallery

A selection of pictures of the Salzburg - Linz line, taken around Weng and Pöndorf in April this year, has been added to the Austrian Photo Galleries.



Salzburg - Linz pictures

it was time to try and fill some of the gaps in my electric coverage. Usti nad Labem is a busy centre for freight and passenger traffic, with a good variety of loco classes and types of traffic and some excellent photo locations nearby. I spent four days there, from 13 to 16 May 2010, but my plans were scuppered by the weather and I spent most of the time exploring. As a result, this report is more of a description of the lines ridden than of the photographic locations visited.



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My last visit to the Westbahn, the main line east of Salzburg, was almost 10 years ago, when class 1142s and 1144s predominated and class 1010s and 1110s were still fairly common on freights. Things are very different today, in the era of Taurii and Railjets, but there are still plenty of loco hauled passengers and quite a few freights, even on a Sunday. This report details a day trip to the line during my April 2010 visit to southern Germany.



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Although I’d done a few trips to Germany in recent years, there were many lines and locations I hadn’t visited. This trip was designed to fill in some of the gaps and covered mainly new territory with visits to see electrics on the Gäubahn (Stuttgart - Singen) and Altmühltal (Ingolstadt - Treuchtlingen) and diesel freights around Mühldorf. I also managed a day on the electrified München - Salzburg line.



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This report describes a couple of short visits to the Strasbourg - Sarrebourg line, a busy and scenic, double-track, electrified route through the Vosges in eastern France. The line forms part of the Luxembourg - Strasbourg - Basel and Paris - Strasbourg - Stuttgart axes and carries a wide variety of traffic including TGVs, loco hauled passengers, EMUs and heavy freights.



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It’s getting harder to find photogenic, busy, steam worked industrial systems in China. Both the systems we visited in early March 2010 were under threat of modernisation in the near future. The best part of the Jixi system is expected to be electrified during 2010 and Baiyin received its first diesel a couple of weeks before our arrival and a second was being commissioned while we were there. The steam action was still excellent but it felt like the end was getting close.



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This report covers two trips to the Rhätischebahn in January 2010. The first of a large fleet of new EMUs has just entered traffic and the next couple of years will see big changes to the current fleet of locos and motor-coaches. This was probably the last chance to photograph a full winter service with the 60 year old class Ge4/4i locos playing a full part. The weather had other ideas though.



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