Chinese steam may be in terminal decline but there are still a few high quality operations good enough to justify another trip. This report covers a very productive three week trip to the north of the country in November 2011, concentrating on the industrial railways at Fula’erji in Heilongjiang, Beitai and Fuxin in Liaoning and Sandaoling in Xinjiang, with brief visits to Shenyang, Fushun and Pingzhuang as well.

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A return visit to northern Bayern to photograph class 232 and 233 "Ludmillas" working heavy freights on the scenic, diesel-worked lines east of Nürnberg. I spent four days on the Nürnberg - Hof and Nürnberg - Schwandorf lines where they cross the Frankische Alb before heading south to Altmühltal for a day of electric passenger and freight action on the Ingolstadt - Treuchtlingen line.

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A brief return trip to the scenic Ceske Budejovice - Nove Udoli line where the class 749 diesels were coming to the end of what may well be their last season. I’d visited this line twice before, in August 2009 and August 2011 but still wanted about half a dozen shots. A visit to southern Germany provided the opportunity to spend a couple of days on the line.

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A two week trip to southern Germany designed to take advantage of the temporary closure of the Oberstdorf branch, which resulted in ALEX running five coach trains over the western section of the Allgäubahn to Lindau instead of the usual two or three coach rakes. In addition, there were EC diversions via the Allgäubahn and visits were made to the electrified Koblenz - Trier and Stuttgart - Singen lines and the diesel worked lines north-east of Nürnberg for Ludmillas on freight.

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With the iconic class 749 diesels due to lose all their booked work in December 2011, a return visit to photograph the class at work on the Ceske Budejovice to Nove Udoli line was a must. There aren’t many loco hauled trains but that’s made up for by the glorious scenery of the Sumava (or Bohemian Forest), an upland area in the south-west of the Czech Republic, bordering on Austria and Germany. I spent five days on the line, from Wednesday 10 to Sunday 14 August 2011.

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A short trip to Germany in early July 2011 for five days of lineside photography. I visited the area south of Koblenz where the busy and scenic main-lines that run along the Mosel and Rhein Valleys cut through a hilly area known as the Hunsrück. most of the trip was spent on the Moselstrecke where the elusive class 181s can still be found working IC trains between Koblenz and Luxembourg.

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The Cote Vermielle is a spectacular section of the French Mediterranean coast, just north of the Spanish border, where the eastern Pyrenees tumble into the sea. The main line from Montpellier to Barcelona threads its way through a series of inland valleys, between vine clad slopes, before running along the clifftops for the last few km to the border station at Cerbere. I’d been here before in May 2008 but poor weather stopped me getting some of the best shots along the coast. I took the opportunity to do a short midweek trip from 23 to 26 May 2011 in the hope of filling some of the gaps in my collection.

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A visit to two more Czech lines either side of a second trip to Slovakia in late April and early May 2011. This time I visited the Liberec - Frydlant - Zawidow line, where class 753.7s haul heavy freights through the Jizerske Hory mountains, and the Sumperk - Hanusovice - Jesenik line, another scenic route with class 754s on passengers and class 751s on freight.

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This report covers a long overdue return to Slovakia in Spring 2011, after an absence of eight years. There were in fact two trips, one in late March and early April and the other in early May. Both trips centred on Zvolen and the diesel worked lines to Vrutky, Margecany and Kosice. The Prievidza - Nove Zamky, Humenne - Presov and Humenne - Banovce lines were visited as well. Electrics were photographed between Zvolen and Banska Bystrica and around Strba.

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A report detailing a few days in the Czech Republic on the way to and from Slovakia. Most of the time was spent photographing class 754 diesels in southern Moravia on the lines from Brno to Uherske Hradiste and Stare Mesto u U.H. to Luhacovice. I also spent a few hours on the busy, electrified Praha - Ceska Trebova main line near Pardubice on the last day.

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The RhB’s oldest locos, the Ge4/4is dating from 1947, are due to lose all their booked work in early March 2011 and are expected to be withdrawn in May. This report covers a trip to Graubünden in late February 2011 to photograph them hard at work in the glorious alpine scenery only a couple of weeks before they were due to finish.

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