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