Narrow-gauge train to Cortina d'Ampezzo

Using the groundworks of the 70 cm Austrian military railway and utilising the reparations paid by World War losing Austria to Italy, Ferrovia della Dolomiti, a 950 mm/95 cm gauge narrow-gauge railway had been built of a total length of 65 km from Toblach in South-Tyrol through Cortina d'Ampezzo to Calalzo, where connection to the Italian mainlines was provided. The railway line was opened for civil travel in 1921 and electrification was finished by 1929 with 2700 V direct current.

Photo of the Week: Narrow-gauge Interurban Tram in Slovakia

TREŽ (Trenčinská Električka Železnica) 411 902-0 is a ČKD-built, 76 cm gauge railcar that operates on the interurban tram line between Trenčianká Teplá railway station on the Bratislava-Žilina-Košice mainline and Trenčianske Teplice, a renown bath resort. The line mostly runs next to the road or on the embankment of the creek and passes by scenes of different character: village, hilly countryside, Socialist-era blocks of flats and townhouses dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Trains only operate on selected weekend and are ran by the association TREŽ. The photo was taken during a photo charter at Trenčianske Teplice zastávka.
Learn more about the railway from my recent travelogue about narrow-gauge trams in Slovakia.

Photo of the Week | The V43 at Exhibition

The V43 1110 is exhibited at the University of Óbuda, one of the most renowned districts of Budapest, Hungary and had replaced the V60,003 as a piece of exhibit by the University. The University has been named after Kálmán Kandó, developer of the 50 Hz railway electrification and the V60,003 on exhibit here had been one of the original Ganz-Kandó locomotives developed for the system. The locomotive has been moved to the Füsti - Hungarian Railway History Park and a more common class V43 locomotive has been brought in as a replacement. To date, this is the only V43 locomotive not only as an exhibit but anyway as all other surviving instances had been renumbered class 430, 431, 432 or 433.

La Gruyère

The little train from Montbovon to Palézieux over Bulle in French-speaking Switzerland

After my first post on this blog, which was about the M32 locomotive class of MÁV I would like to show you an example of the other kind of post which is going to be dominant in the contents here: a description of a railway line. As the interests of railfans can be really different I am going to offer a great variety of topics and in contrast to the less-known lowlands locomotive in the previous post here you will be able to read about a railway in the Swiss Alps, and about a region that you have almost certainly already heard about.

The spectacular alpine landscape attracts tourists both by train and with motor homes

Switzerland is known not only for its stunning landscapes but for the many different standard-gauge and narrow-gauge private railways that let you get to some tiny villages by train. The train which has affectionately been called "La Gruyère" is a metre-gauge railway operating mostly in the canton of Fribourg and is part of the company Transport publics Fribourgeois that also operates local bus lines and two standard-gauge railways, one between Bulle and Romon and another one from Fribourg to Ins via Morat. As it is normal in Switzerland, the route of the Gruyère is fully refurbished, allows for comparably high speeds and is used by many locals as well as tourists visiting the region.

The MÁV M32 locomotives

I have spent a lot of time thinking where I should start this blog as there are so many things I could write about - that is the very reason I had decided to start this blog in the first place - and finally I said that it didn't actually matter where I started as hopefully everyone ever visiting will be interested in all the articles. Though it is definitely not going to be the case I will appreciate every reader and every reader feedback as well and I will try to provide a colourful look into the world of the railways of Europe.

When I started railfanning I became fascinated with these little locomotives. Unfortunately, they were not doing much those days anymore so my personal experience is limited and by now they have disappeared completely from active duty.