This section shows the details of the trip on a day by day basis. If you’re looking for loco numbers or individual workings, you’re in the right place.

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I flew from Heathrow to Praha on Czech Airlines flight OK653. The weather was perfect at Heathrow, bitterly cold and brilliantly clear, but continental Europe was blanketed in cloud all the way from the channel coast to the Czech Republic. Somehow, the sun was shining when we arrived at Praha and I took this as a good omen. It didn’t stay sunny for long and the journey into Praha on the AE bus was under cloudy skies. I normally take the 119 bus to Dejvicka them Metro A to Muzeum and Metro C to Hlavni Nadrazi but, this time, I forgot to bring any change for the ticket machine. The AE was, as I suspected, slower than my usual route due to traffic congestion in the centre of the city. I had plenty of time so it didn’t matter anyway.

The Praha hl.n. rebuilding continues and I had the pleasure of buying my first ticket from the new ticket office, a totally underwhelming experience, particularly as the first class Sitove Jizdenky has been discontinued and I had to make do with the replacement CDNet ticket, second class only and at a higher price than the first class ticket used to be. They didn’t have any timetables at Hlavni Nadrazi and neither did the Pragomodel stall or the information office at Masarykovo. I eventually tracked one down at the Masarykovo ticket office.

My chosen train to Usti nad Labem, EC174, was running late so I travelled on the following Decin train, R776 with 162.011 on the front. I was expecting EC174 to overtake us somewhere en-route but it never did. Praha was having an 011 fest with 151.011 and 350.011 also in evidence.

At Usti, I booked into the Interhotel Bohemia, a multi-storey concrete relic of the communist era but comfortable enough. The hotel is in the town centre, only 5 minutes walk from Usti hl.n. and around 10 minutes from Usti Zapad. The afternoon was spent south of Usti nad Labem-Strekov trying, and failing, to get some sunlit shots along the riverside. So much for the good omen!

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
151011	EC147	12:11 Praha hl.n. - Zilina Passenger	12:10 Praha hl.n.
150011	IC571	12:39 Praha hl.n. - Breclav Passenger	12:39 Praha hl.n.
150203	R629	12:26 Praha-Smichov - Vsetin Passenger	12:39 Praha hl.n.
162011	R776	12:50 Praha hl.n. - Decin hl.n. Passenger	12:48 Praha hl.n.
122031		EB Freight	13:00 Praha-Holesovice
162019	R781	11:24 Decin hl.n. - Praha hl.n. Passenger	13:05 Praha-Holesovice
371004	EC173	06:15 Hamburg Altona - Villach Hbf Passenger	13:14 Roztoky-Zalov
753727 753731 740426 740404 122049 751148 753754		Stabled	13:25 Kralupy nad Vltavou
123024 363066		Stabled	13:45 Hnevice
130021		Stabled	14:05 Lovosice
123016		NB Hoppers	14:20 Prackovice nad Labem
371201	EC175	08:17 Hamburg Altona - Budapest Keleti pu Passenger	14:27 Prackovice nad Labem
163095	Os6416	14:18 Lysa nad Labem - Usti nad Labem zapad Passenger	15:50 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163092	Os6413	16:03 Usti nad Labem zapad - Lysa nad Labem Passenger	16:10 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
123008		SB Freight	16:12 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
123012		NB Hoppers	16:20 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163257	Os6454	16:04 Steti - Usti nad Labem zapad Passenger	16:46 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
122053		NB Car Carriers	16:50 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163095	R723	16:47 Usti nad Labem zapad - Kolin Passenger	16:54 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163259	R718	15:15 Kolin - Usti nad Labem zapad Passenger	17:01 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163075	Os6455	17:03 Usti nad Labem zapad - Steti Passenger	17:10 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163094	Os6418	16:18 Lysa nad Labem - Usti nad Labem zapad Passenger	17:45 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
753720 753717 740510		NB Oil Tanks	17:51 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
123005		NB Freight	18:07 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163259	Os6417	18:03 Usti nad Labem zapad - Lysa nad Labem Passenger	18:10 Usti nad Labem-Strekov
163096	R720	17:15 Kolin - Usti nad Labem zapad Passenger	19:04 Usti nad Labem-Strekov

The day dawned dull and wet and was forecast to stay that way. I left Usti behind 163.257 on R715 towards Kolin to look at some spots. It was good to see 121.055 at Polepy as I was beginning to wonder whether any of these old engines were still in traffic. Any hope that the weather might brighten up soon faded so I decided to spend the day investigating some new lines and covering some new track.

At Vsetaty I changed to 854.035 on R1139 to Neratovice where 809.434, on Os19510, was waiting to take me over the first bit of new track to Kralupy nad Vltavou. This line sees regular freight traffic but I didn’t find any inspiring photo positions.

My plan was to continue from Kralupy to Slany, Louny, Postolprty and Zatec but the train from Kralupy was a bus so I had to replan. Conveniently, there was a connection from the next northbound express at Lovosice that would take me to Postolprty on the train I’d intended to connect with at Louny. 162.038 left Kralupy on time on R774 and all went well to Roudnice nad Labem where EC171 was seen heading south with a 123 (or possibly a 122) dragging the dead 371 and train. We crawled from Roudnice to Lovosice, taking well over 30 minutes to cover the 18km, instead of the booked 13 minutes. The connection at Lovosice wasn’t held so I had the best part of an hour’s wait.

753.773 pased the station with a southbound freight while I was waiting. I wonder where that came from or was going?

The next train to Postolprty, Os16922, left with 809.140 at the front. At Louny, the 809 was swapped for 810.653 but otherwise the journey was uneventful. 809.495 took me on to Zatec zapad on Os6515 and back all the way to Most on Os6516. Apart from the 2km from Zatec to Zatec zapad, the whole route from Lovosice to Most was new track. The line from Zatec to Most was of interest as it’s electrified and it’s double track much of the way, implying that it was once an important line. Few sources of freight traffic seem to remain with the power station at Pocerady being the only rail connected industry of note. No electric locos were seen. In fact the only locos seen en route from Lovosice to Most were an unidentified 742 at Louny and 742.088 at Pocerady.

From Most I took R609 to Bilina with 363.129 and changed onto Os16519 to Usti nad Labem with an 810. This train takes the more direct line, via Uporiny, rather than the slightly longer route via Oldrichov, Duchcov and Teplice used by most passenger trains. The line via Uporiny is double track and electrified but there don’t appear to be any sources of traffic online between the outskirts of Bilina and Trmice, the last station before Usti nad Labem. Although I didn’t see any freights, the infrastructure appeared to be in good condition and well used, so maybe the line does see some through freight traffic. Viamont have a depot at Trmice, stuffed with diesel locos of various classes. A little further on, Usti nad Labem depot’s scrap lines contained a number of ex-Liberec 753s but 187 and 301, which I’d seen in action in October last year, weren’t obviously among them.

It was still raining when I got back to Usti.

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
163257	R715	08:47 Usti n/L zapad - Kolin Passenger	08:42 Usti n/L zapad
163092	Os6408	06:57 Lysa n/L - Usti n/L zapad Passenger	08:48 Usti n/L zapad
123012		NB Car Carriers	08:50 Usti n/L-Strekov
163094	R710	07:15 Kolin - Usti n/L zapad Passenger	09:02 Sebuzin
121055		NB Light Engine(s)	09:21 Polepy
854035	R1139	07:52 Tanvald - Praha-Vrsovice Passenger	10:00 Neratovice
854032	R1140	09:16 Praha-Vrsovice - Tanvald Passenger	10:00 Neratovice
753752 751148		Stabled	10:24 Kralupy n/V
162019	R779	09:24 Decin hl.n. - Praha hl.n. Passenger	10:39 Kralupy n/V
371005	EC378	05:50 Wien Pratestern - Ostseebad Binz Passenger	11:03 Kralupy n/V
162038	R774	10:50 Praha hl.n. - Decin hl.n. Passenger	11:19 Kralupy n/V
123xxx? 371xxx	EC171		11:47 Roudnice n/L
162053	R613	08:12 Cheb - Praha hl.n. Passenger	11:54 Hrobice
122016		NB Hoppers	12:06 Bohusovice n/O
753727 753736		SB Hoppers	12:15 Lovosice
162037	R610	11:31 Praha hl.n. - Cheb Passenger	12:28 Lovosice
371002	EC173	06:15 Hamburg Alt. - Villach Hbf Passenger	12:30 Lovosice
123025		NB Hoppers	12:41 Lovosice
753773		SB Freight	12:43 Lovosice
122016		NB Hoppers	12:45 Lovosice
122008		SB Empty Stone	12:46 Lovosice
742xxx		Stabled	14:30 Louny
742088		Stabled	16:03 Pocerady
742190		WB Freight	16:23 Pocerady
363129	R609	14:12 Cheb - Praha hl.n. Passenger	16:30 Most
163095	Sp1696	15:47 Usti n/L hl.n. - Chomutov Passenger	16:34 Most
743005 742372		Stabled	16:45 Bilina
740505 740509 720604 753723 730631 730612		Stabled	17:22 Viamont depot, Trmice
122001 122044		Stabled	17:25 Usti n/L Depot
751080 750079 753352 753073 753141		Dumped	17:25 Usti n/L Depot

Another grim day but at least it wasn’t raining. I went to Usti nad Labem-Strekov in the morning to check out some photo positions, getting distracted by a barge going through the locks on the Labe. What caught my attention was that its engine sounded just like an unsilenced 751. Traffic on the railway wasn’t as heavy as expected and there seemed to be more freight on the line on the opposite side of the river. After a couple of hours I went to Litomerice, where there seemed to be even less freight traffic. By midday I had given up hope of getting any sun and decided to go exploring.

My first move was to go back to Usti nad Labem-Strekov to ride the line up the east bank of the Labe to Decin. Although the passenger service is worked by 810s, the line is double-track and electrified and used by a significant number of freights. The biggest surprise of the day came while we were waiting to leave Strekov. The factory on the east side of the line adjacent to the station was using a steam locomotive. admittedly it was a fireless but it was still a steam loco working in 2010. Back on the Decin line, a few potential locations were noted between Male Brezno and Techlovice.

From Decin, I took R1162 to Usti nad Laben hl.n. This is one of the Liberec - Usti trains booked for loco haulage and produced 750.160. From Usti I headed west to Most to check out the electrified loop from Most to Oldrichov via Louka v Litvinova. The line to Louka diverges from the main line a couple of km west of Most station and soon reaches PJ Most, the main marshalling yard for the area, adjacent to Most-Kopisty station. The yard and depot contained several diesel and electric locomotives. The line then becomes single track and, a little further to the north, runs alongside the huge Litvinov petrochemical complex, again rail served. Towards the north end of the complex, close to Most-Minerva station is a Unipetrol loco depot with around a dozen locos in evidence, mainly 753.7s. Unfortunately I only got one number, 753.718. The Most - Litvinov tramway also passes through the area and may give better views of rail operations within the complex. Passenger trains from Most tend to leave the electrified line at Louka v Litvinova and head north to Moldava v Krusnych horach. With a name like that, I had to go and have a look.

The contrast to the industrial grime between Most and Louka couldn’t be greater. The line enters beautiful broadleaf woodland shortly after leaving Louka and climbs through the trees for 16km to Dubi where trains have to reverse to climb the last 9km to Moldava. There aren’t many clear spots but occasionally the forest thins enough to allow glimpses of the grimy industrial towns way below. The station at Moldava is 780m above sea level on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere and high enough to be in the clouds when I visited. It’s also right on the German border, literally. The border signs run along the north side of the station yard and the line used to cross into Germany 300m further on. The second surprise of the day waiting at Moldava in the form of M240.0057 (820.057) on a special that left shortly afterwards.

Back down at Louka, I continued to follow the electric line east towards Oldrichov, travelling on an 810 working a Litvinov - Louka - Oldrichov - Teplice service. The Czech Rail Atlas shows numerous coal mines once connected to the line but all appear to be closed with very little evidence remaining. No obvious sources of freight traffic were seen. The line can’t be much use as a through freight route either, being single track with few passing loops. From Teplice, I travelled back to Usti on the main line.

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
163098	R717	10:47 Usti n/L zapad - Kolin Passenger	1053 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
163076	Os6806 /6807	07:28 Decin hl.n. - Most Passenger	08:00 Usti nad Labem zapad
163093	Os6407	08:03 Usti nad Labem zapad - Lysa nad Labem Passenger	08:00 Usti n/L zapad
163092	R715	08:47 Usti n/L zapad - Kolin Passenger	08:54 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
163257	R710	07:15 Kolin - Usti n/L zapad Passenger	09:01 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
123006		NB Hoppers	09:08 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
130001		NB Rails	09:22 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
122021		NB Hoppers	09:30 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
123021		SB Car Carriers	09:38 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
642148	Os17275	08:24 Dresden Hbf - Litomerice mesto Passenger	10:02 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
163257	Os6409	10:03 Usti n/L zapad - Lysa n/L Passenger	10:10 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
130023		SB Freight	10:19 s of Usti n/L-Strekov
163093	Os6412	10:18 Lysa n/L - Usti n/L zapad Passenger	11:29 Litomerice mesto
122016		SB Coal Hoppers	12:12 Litomerice mesto
122002 123014		NB Freight	12:25 Litomerice mesto
122046		NB Freight	12:29 Litomerice mesto
163259	Os6411	12:03 Usti n/L zapad - Lysa n/L Passenger	12:29 Litomerice mesto
122005		NB Freight	12:33 Litomerice mesto
163092	R714	11:15 Kolin - Usti n/L zapad Passenger	12:47 Litomerice mesto
223081		Stabled	13:47 Decin vychod
742377		Stabled	13:50 Decin vychod
371002	EC175	08:17 Hamburg Alt - Budapest k p Passenger	13:57 Decin hl.n.
371004	EC174	05:28 Budapest k p - Hamburg Alt Passenger	14:02 Decin hl.n.
471018	Os6820 /6821	14:28 Decin hl.n. - Most Passenger	14:16 Decin hl.n.
740445 740545 742515 740898 T4783001 372007 750235 189013		Stabled / Light Engines	14:16 Decin hl.n.
750160	R1162	12:27 Liberec - Usti n/L hl.n. Passenger	14:16 Decin hl.n.
162011	R612	13:31 Praha hl.n. - Cheb Passenger	14:42 Usti n/L hl.n.
363062	R612	13:31 Praha hl.n. - Cheb Passenger	14:43 Usti n/L hl.n.
753212		Dumped	14:53 Usti n/L Depot
363083	R617	12:12 Cheb - Praha hl.n. Passenger	14:57 Chabarovice
122002		WB Freight	15:21 Bilina
740721		Stabled	15:21 Bilina
363045		SB Freight	15:42 PJ Most (Most Yard)
121030 724711		Stabled	15:43 PJ Most (Most Yard)
753718		Stabled	15:45 Unipetrol Depot, Most Minerva
820057		Moldava v Krusnych horach - ? Special	16:50 Moldava v Krusnych horach
363125	R607	16:12 Cheb - Praha hl.n. Passenger	18:50 Teplice v/C
122039		WB Freight	19:06 Usti n/L zapad
753715		EB Oil Tanks	19:06 Usti n/L zapad

There was some blue sky outside very early but it had gone a few minutes later and showed no sign of coming back. Photography seemed pointless so I set off towards Praha via some more new track, not entirely successfully as it turned out.

From Usti, my route took me to Most then to Louny, Rakovnik and Praha Masarykovo. The Most to Rakovnik section was all new track except for the short section from Louny to Louny predmesti that I’d covered a couple of days earlier. The fly in the ointment was the replacement autobussy from Hrivice to Domousice. Oops, should have checked on the CD website.

At Usti, EN459 arrived on time behind ÖBB 1216.240, followed ten minutes later by EN457 running around 90 minutes late with DB 180.013 dragging dead 371.005. This was the second time in three days I’d seen a failed 371 being dragged on an international service. No wonder ÖBB want to run 1216s through to Dresden.

Os6850/6851 was a 471 unit but the other two Decin - Most trains seen were 163 hauled. My train from Most to Rakovnik was an 814 unit and I was disappointed to find that it was as noisy and rough riding as an 810. Previous trips on 814s had been on brand new units that gave the impression of being a big improvement over the 810s. Maybe they’re not such a big improvement after all. No locos were seen between leaving the main line east of Most and arrival at Rakovnik.

There was some sort of event at Luzna and the museum was crawling with visitors. A steam loco (looked like a 434) was passed a couple of stations out on a train of 4-wheel coaches.

After arrival in Praha, I spent an hour at Hlavni Nadrazi, finally getting a shot in full sun, albeit of a light engine. Then it was off to the airport for the flight home. It appears that we just missed the ash cloud, which had already closed most of the UK’s airports and shut Heathrow a couple of hours later.

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
1216240	EN459	19:44 Zürich HB - Praha hl.n. Passenger	09:36 Usti n/L hl.n.
162037	R779	09:24 Decin hl.n. - Praha hl.n. Passenger	09:39 Usti n/L hl.n.
371xxx	EC176	05:35 Brno hl.n. - Hamburg Alt Passenger	09:40 Usti n/L hl.n.
642646	Os17275	08:24 Dresden Hbf - Litomerice mesto Passenger	09:43 Usti n/L hl.n.
180013 371005	EN457	04:57 Berlin Ost - Praha hl.n. Passenger	09:46 Usti n/L hl.n.
753716		SB Gas Tanks	09:52 Usti n/L hl.n.
163259	Os6810/6811	09:28 Decin hl.n. - Most Passenger	09:56 Usti n/L hl.n.
163075	Os6848/6849	09:04 Most - Decin hl.n. Passenger	09:57 Usti n/L hl.n.
163092	Os6409	10:03 Usti n/L zapad - Lysa n/L Passenger	10:00 Usti n/L zapad
123010		EB Freight	10:01 Usti n/L zapad
753066		Dumped	10:02 Usti n/L Depot
471xxx	Os6850/6851	10:04 Most - Decin hl.n. Passenger	10:25 Duchcov
363129	R613	08:12 Cheb - Praha hl.n. Passenger	10:34 Bilina
121030		WB Coal	10:59 Most
742362 742369 742153		Stabled	13:11 Rakovnik
742165 714216		Stabled	14:14 Kladno
162054	R624	10:46 Vsetin - Praha-Smichov Passenger	15:23 Praha hl.n.
749162	R1252	15:34 Praha hl.n. - Crake Budejovice Passenger	15:35 Praha hl.n.
371001	EC175	08:17 Hamburg Alt - Budapest k p Passenger	15:40 Praha hl.n.
151007	EC144	07:26 Zvolen os. st. - Praha hl.n. Passenger	15:50 Praha hl.n.
M262056	Os	15:54 Praha hl.n. - Praha-Zlicin Passenger	15:54 Praha hl.n.