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Month: April 2017

Watching trains along the Franklin & South Manchester in 1935

Watching trains along the Franklin & South Manchester in 1935

Many people have visiting man made marvels on their bucket list. Walking the Great Wall in China, check Paris form the observation deck of the Eifel tower or climb the presidential trail towards the sculptures of Mount Rushmore. For me, seeing the the Franklin & South Manchester Railway, created by George Sellios was ranked high on my must-see list for years. Finally on a nice Saturday in June 2106 the dream became true and I visited the F&SM! A Landmark Layout George…

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Variation in Silver and Blue

Variation in Silver and Blue

I remember, a while ago contemprary rail fans complained about the dullness of nowadays rolling stock. Boxy, fridge like locomotives pull consists in boring paint schemes. The variety in types faded into a few form factors based on standardized platforms. Therefore it’s not worth hanging out at the tracks anymore- let’s stay home and celebrate the good old days on our model pikes. Well, I am sure future generations of train buffs will sing the same song and feel sorry for being born too…

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The “Russian Train” – FINALLY!

The “Russian Train” – FINALLY!

This is a story about hunting down a train for weeks and the final success! The Moscow – Nice Express which operates once a week comes through Upper Austria Friday afternoon on its westward trip and briefly calls at Linz main station on the run back home late Sunday afternoon. I first encountered the unique consist with modern Siemens built cars in a slick grey and red livery during my commute on a Friday afternoon in Linz. Curious about the unusual train I quickly…

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NightJet at Daylight

NightJet at Daylight

This is an addendum to the previous post about the Terminal of the Westbahn in Vienna, Austria. Sometimes when watching trains the avid rail-fan runs into unusual compositions like the one pictured. I do not know the exact background for this train but it might be a transfer run. Anyways, it looks like ÖBB unwrapped a starter train set and put it on the rails along platform 2 just in front of the iconic hall of Wien Westbahnhof. So what do…

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Ballet of trains at Wien West

Ballet of trains at Wien West

The line heading westward from Vienna all the way across Austria is called “Westbahn” and so to say my “home road”. Living in Linz, some 120 miles from the capital, I traveled that route numerous times and, until recently, Vienna Western Station or “Wien Westbahnhof” was the terminal of the trip. This changed in December 2015 when all long distance trains got rerouted towards the brand new Vienna Main Station (Wien Hbf.). Beside of being a hub for ÖBB commuter…

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