Thursday 20 October 2011

The New Empire State Express, U.S.A.


The Empire State Express was one of the  passenger trains and onetime flagship of the  New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. On December 7, 1941, the New York Central inaugurated a new, all-stainless-steel streamlined (Budd) train, powered by a streamlined J-3a Hudson steam locomotive. Passengers on the inaugural run, who had expected significant crowds to greet them en route, were very surprised at the low turnout at track side, before they learned later that same day that Pearl Harbour had just been bombed by the Japanese.

Sunday 9 October 2011

Brocken Railway, Harz Region, Germany.

The Brocken Railway is a meter gauge  railway network in the Harz mountain range of  Germany. It runs from the station of Drei Annen Hohne at 542 meters,  via Schierke and the Bode River valley to the summit of the  Brocken, the highest mountain of the Harz at 1,141 m (3,743 ft) and part of the Harz National Park.  Up to six pairs of trains run daily to the top of the Brocken during the winter. Of those, four start and end in Wernigerode. During the summer, services are increased to eleven pairs of trains daily. The fastest train takes 49 minutes to reach the summit. The Brocken Railway is the only HSB line whose regular services are exclusively hauled by  steam locomotives. The steam trains on the Brocken Railway have become popular with thousands of tourists every year, offering convenient access to the top of the Brocken.

Monday 3 October 2011

Locomotives on the Hindenburgdamm Causeway, Germany.


Sylt is connected to the German mainland by the  Hindenburgdamm causeway with a railway line on top. The passenger trains connect Westerland to Niebull or Klanxbull. Hindenburgdamm is an 11 km-long  causeway opened for rail traffic in 1927. Every day, more than 100 trains pass over the causeway, 50 of those ferrying cars (there is no road link to Sylt). Each year, the railway ferries more than 450,000 vehicles over the causeway.