report to be produced

Three lines converge on Volary, a small town in the heart of the Sumava, the mountainous region in the south-west of the Czech Republic that borders Germany and Austria. There are a couple of freights that run all year round and, in summer, when tourists flock to the area, there are a few loco hauled passengers as well. Volary had been on my list of places to visit for a long time and I finally got round to going there from 5 to 9 August 2009.

go to report

It had been almost two years since I’d photographed at Praha hl.n. and in the meantime, the new northern approaches have been completed and the platforms under the overall roof have been rebuilt. The station is at its best in the morning and evening light so the long days of early July seemed a good time for a return visit. I had also hoped to photograph some diesel hauled freights in the Kladno and Kralupy areas, north of Praha, and on the Nymburk – Mlada Boleslav line but that didn’t work out.

go to report

The Mühldorf Star isn’t somewhere in the far reaches of the galaxy, it’s actually a radial network of diesel worked lines in the south-eastern corner of Germany. As well as having a number of loco hauled passenger trains, several different classes of diesel can be seen on freight and many stations still have semaphore signals. This report covers a three-day photographic trip to the Mühldorf area in late May followed by a couple of days on Germany's most photogenic main line, the Allgäubahn, photographing diverted diesel hauled EuroCity trains.

go to report

It had been a whole year since my last visit to CDland and, as usual, quite a few operations had changed in the meantime, not all for the worse either. This trip combined some of the new opportunities, both diesel and electric, with return visits to a few old favourites and filling in some gaps in my photographic coverage.

go to report

The closure of Austria’s Arlberg line for a week in April meant that several freights and a couple of overnight passengers were diverted via the Allgäubahn in southern Bayern, one of Germany's most scenic main lines. This was an opportunity too good to miss and I spent five days there photographing the diversions as well as the regular traffic.

go to report

A trip to photograph diesels on scenic lines in the north-east of China, starting with the Tonghua-Hunjiang area then Fushun, Bei'an, Mudanjiang and finishing on the Beijing-Longhua line. As well as the diesels, there are a few industrial electrics on standard and narrow gauges and a handful of steam locomotives as well.

go to report

Engineering work on ÖBB's Arlberg line for much of August led to the diversion of freights and overnight passengers to one of Germany's most scenic diesel worked lines. The Allgäubahn normally hosts a good number of locomotive hauled trains and the diversions added even more variety. It was just too good to miss!

go to report

The main aim of this 20-day trip was to fill in some gaps in my coverage of Czech diesel worked lines. In the event. I couldn't resist revisiting some old favourites as well. My travels took me to the Brno area then on to Ostrava for class 754s, to the Jesenik line for class 749s, 751s and old railcars, more 754s around Trutnov and finally the 753 hauled freights around Liberec.

go to report

The Albacete - Murcia - Cartagena line in south-eastern Spain is still worked by diesel locos including the last dedicated Talgo machines of class 354 and the new class 334s. There's some heavy freight to and from the industries at Escombreras as well. This wasn't the busiest line I've ever visited but splendid scenery and good light contributed to a successful trip.

go to report

This report covers a two week photographic trip to the Czech Republic in autumn 2007, visiting four rather different diesel and electric lines across the country. I started with the loco hauled weekend trains on the scenic line from Praha to Cercany before moving on to Olomouc where some old class 141 electrics are enjoying a new lease of life. Next on the agenda was the Jaromer - Trutnov line with its diesel hauled fast passengers. The trip ended with an old favourite, the Karlovy Vary - Chomutov line, my first visit there since electrification.

go to report

Class 753 diesels disappeared from most parts of the Czech system several years ago but Liberec depot has kept a handful in service for working freights on the scenic line to Zawidow in Poland. This report covers a short trip to the area in late summer 2007.

go to report

The Allgäu region of southern Bayern is an excellent place to photograph trains. DB's red class 218 diesels look great working through the beautiful green hills on local and long distance trains and the ALEX class 253s on Oberstdorf trains add a bit of variety. In summer 2007 it was better than usual as three pairs of München - Zürich EuroCity trains were diverted over the Allgäubahn while their usual route via Memmingen was closed for engineering work. This report covers a short trip to the area in early August 2007.

go to report

It had been a couple of years since I’d visited the Tyniste nad Orlici – Mezimesti line in the north of the Czech Republic but an increase in the number of freight trains prompted a return visit in June 2007. There was also the opportunity for a first visit to the nearby Jaromer – Trutnov line, which now has regular loco hauled fast passenger trains and turned out to have a lot of photographic potential.

go to report

A final visit to the scenic Letohrad - Lichkov line before electrification work started. This was one of the few routes left with diesel hauled heavy freight traffic and recent vegetation clearance had made it a real photographic treat. Four days were also spent on the splendid Hanusovice - Jesenik line, which has seen a resurgence of loco haulage this year.

go to report

This visit to China started with a few days photographing modern traction around Beijing, including SS4Gs on the busy Datong - Qinhuangdao coal line and 8Ks on the Fengtai - Shacheng route. The remainder of the trip was spent in the North-East visiting three of the surviving steam-worked colliery systems at Jixi, Hegang and Zhalainuoer.

go to report

This report describes a short spur-of-the-moment trip to the Czech Republic. The intention was to spend 3 days on the Brno - Jihlava line, a route with a reasonable level of locomotive haulage, nice scenery and plenty of open locations suitable for low winter sunshine. In the event there was no sun so most of the time was spent travelling around, checking out photo opportunities and covering new track.

go to report

With no QJs on the Jitong Railway this autumn, my thoughts turned to photographing China's diesels and electrics. Steam is now confined to industrial operations and I was beginning to miss the excitement of photographing big trains on scenic main lines. China has a remarkably varied modern traction scene and those used to seeing nothing but QJs, JSs and SYs might be surprised at the plethora of different diesel and electric classes in use.

go to report

The Hanusovice - Jesenik line in Northern Moravia was always a top priority for a return visit after my first trip there in April this year. It's a superb piece of railway with good scenery, a variety of traction including vintage class 831 and 851 railcars, a few class 749 hauled passengers and freights worked by unsilenced class 751s, several of which carry a glorious red and blue livery.

go to report

In spite of a huge DMU building programme, there are still a fair number of diesel hauled passenger trains in some parts of Germany. The network of secondary lines in the Allgäu area of south-western Bayern sees more diesel haulage than most these days. This report covers a short photographic trip to the Oberallgäu, the scenic area around Kempten, Immenstadt and Oberstdorf, in July 2006.

go to report

Praha is the hub of the Czech rail system and sees a variety of classes working heavy freight and passenger traffic on the electrified main lines radiating from the city. A few less heavily trafficked lines are still diesel worked and see some loco haulage. This report describes a photographic trip to the city in late June 2006.

go to report

A two-week trip concentrating on the scenic Hanusovice - Jesenik and Letohrad - Lichkov lines in the hills of the north-eastern Czech Republic where class 749s and 751 locos mix with old class 831 and 851 railcars.

go to report

Turkey was on the path of the 29 March total solar eclipse and that was the main reason for my visit. The trains weren't ignored though and I spent 3 days by the lineside on the Ankara - Kayseri and Kayseri - Ulukisla lines.

go to report

A trip to photograph diesels and electrics in the snow around Ceska Trebova during the January 2006 big freeze when temperatures plummeted well below -20°C.



go to report

Diesel hauled freight trains are becoming increasingly difficult to find in the Czech Republic but two lines to Poland still carry fairly heavy traffic hauled by double headed diesels. This report details a two week photographic trip to the Letohrad - Miedzylesie line and the Liberec area in early autumn.

go to report

The Brno - Jihlava line is notable for its frequent loco hauled passenger trains and excellent scenery. Brno's colourful fleet of class 754s share passenger duties with class 742s and a selection of railcars, some more acceptable than others.

go to report

Sometimes the weather stays dull and wet for days on end and there's nothing to do but travel around, exploring new lines and seeking out new photo locations, while waiting for the clouds to clear. This was such a trip.


go to report

Plzen's blue, white and yellow class 754 diesels can be found working passenger trains on the line to Domazlice. The line's north-south orientation and the concentration of traffic early and late in the day make it an ideal candidate for a midsummer trip.

go to report

A wet weekend attempting to photograph trains in Praha. In spite of the poor weather, a few breaks in the cloud did permit a number of reasonable photos, particularly around Praha hlavni nadrazi (main station) with its superb overall roof. In total, more than ten classes of diesel and electric were seen in and around the city, varying from the latest pendolino EMUs to the ageing class 141s.

go to report

A return visit to the Liberec area to see the last concentration of class 753s at work on freights to Zawidow in Poland.




go to report

A longer trip to three different, scenic, diesel worked lines in the Czech Republic, starting in the north with the last class 753s working freights in the Liberec area. Then came a visit to see the class 714 and 742 hauled passengers on the Nachod to Mezimesti line, further east, and finally the colourful class 754 worked passengers on the Brno - Veseli nad Moravou main line in the far south.

go to report

A short trip to the Tisnov area west of Brno, covering the diesel worked line from Tisnov to Zdar nad Sazavou via Bystrice nad Pernstejnem and the electrified Brno to Havlickuv Brod main line.


go to report