The last day of the trip. It was misty first thing and I hoped it might clear to blue sky for a while before the next band of rain arrived during the afternoon. First stop was Cerveny Kostelec where it was quite atmospheric at first. R848 from Trutnov arrived 45 minutes late with a scruffy 750.162 on the front, so clearly there was a failure somewhere. By this time my atmospheric shot of a train looming out of the mist past a silhouetted tree had deteriorated into a dull shot of a dull train in a dull landscape. Meanwhile 742.184 had arrived from the north light engine and then returned with four empty wagons, taking advantage of the path left clear by R848.

Rather than waste the day just watching the comings and goings in the gloom on Table 032, I decided to have a look at Table 041, from Hradec Kralove to Turnov via Jicin. This line is a country backwater if ever there was one but it does have some semaphores, attractive stations and quaint halts. The Hradec Kralove end couldn’t ever be described as scenic but it’s not totally unattractive either. A few passengers on the line are booked to be loco hauled by class 714s and 714.217 and 714.219 duly appeared on their booked workings. The only other passenger train I saw was worked by an 814. Given the rural nature of the line it was a surprise to find a pair of 753.7 at Hnevceves. These belonged to AWT, formerly Viamont and were stabled in a fenced compound opposite the station. There was no sign of any traffic for them to work.

Then it was back to Praha Airport for the flight back to Blighty, catching a last glimpse of an 810 near Slany. As trips go it wasn’t the worst I’ve done but it was frustrating much of the time due mainly to the unsettled weather. The time spent on the Trutnov line and in the Brno area didn’t yield a lot although there were a couple of reasonable shots. Jesenik was the highlight by a long way. Even with the reduced volume of loco haulage this year, it’s still the top Czech line in my book, although you do have to wait longer between trains.

Cerveny Kostelec

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
742.184		SB Light Engine	08:39
754.061	R849	06:10 Praha hl.n. - Trutnov hl.n.	08:53
742.184		NB Pick-Up Freight	09:17
750.162	R848	08:41 Trutnov hl.n. - Praha hl.n.	09:58 (45 mins late)
742.210	Os15408	09:10 Jaromer - Trutnov hl.n.	10:04
810.545	Os15409	09:36 Trutnov hl.n. - Jaromer	10:19

Hnevceves

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
753.723 753.724		Stabled	11:50

Jerice

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
714.219	Os5527	11:33 Jicin - Hradec Kralove hl.n.	12:19

Horice v Podkrkonosi

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
814.053	Os5508	12:04 Hradec Kralove hl.n. - Turnov	12:45
714.217	Os5509	11:33 Turnov - Hradec Kralove hl.n.	13:17