Being the obsession with 350s in TSW, wouldn't surprise me if a Northern 350 shows up at some point when they eventually end up in service with Northern
Just ran across this show and I think it's humorously fitting Has anyone seen it? Oh Doctor Beeching! (British TV show from the 1990s about Hatley Station set in 1963 at the time they were shutting down lots of branch lines) I think this is the steam locomotive in the show (#46521) that they actually drive on screen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Ivatt_Class_2_2-6-0
Took a road trip to Connecticut for some hot dogs yesterday with my wife and our friend, and decided to stop into Thomaston for a train ride at the Naugatuck Railroad. It's been a while since I've ridden, and my first time up to Torrington since the Mass. Bay trip. We all had a great time, and I was really impressed with how far the operations have come since I first started riding when I was a kid (and the girls really appreciated the bar lol). The updated gift shop in the station is great, and there's a surprisingly good selection of model train supplies there at decent prices. We will deff be back soon, especially once 529 is back on her feet!
Thanks cloudy! The weather made for some good lighting, I am by no means a professional photographer lol. The Railroad Museum of New England (the ones who run the Naugatuck Railroad) are a fantastic group, and well-worth the ride if you ever find yourself in the northeast.
Not sure this counts, didn't know who this guy was, but wow if he doesn't represent the majority of us here =-)
[media] He's a good sport. Alisha: "It's great being a role model for a whole generation." Francis: "I hope to maybe be in Train Sim someday." Maybe we'll catch him trainspotting or on the super realistic football fields in the Thames Valley Branches Route. ;-)
Took a ride to Grand Central yesterday to check out the Red Caboose model shop on 45th Street. Weather was iffy, but otherwise not a bad day for a train ride (and an excuse to grab some Magnolia's cheesecake and banana pudding). The Red Caboose was cool, and had a ton of stuff packed into such a small space. Prices on some things were a little high, but they also had a bunch of older European and Japanese trains in various scales, plus some custom and brass New York transit pieces. I popped down to Grand Central Madison while I was there as well, having not had a chance to visit the new and modern-looking terminus yet. Continued on next post...
So I was at the Bahnmuseum Koblenz and I have to say, that it is amazing. They have several 120er including the first one, on display, and you can get in close contact with her. They have the last complete TEE train with gas turbine (which is dismantled unfortunately). But the interior is crisp for its age. If you have some million Euros to spare, you might help the museum for its restauration. There is more rolling stock, like a lot of cars from the Rheingold, and older IC. You can see the "Kanzler-Waggon" in its 70ties configuration (Willy Brandt and Helmuth Schmidt). In short, it is amazing!
Not a great shot, but we visited Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont California that has an open air train.
In March 2026, JR Hokkaido retired its KiHa 40 railcars from regular passenger service. So, I went out to take a few quick shots on the Hidaka line (Tomakomai ⇄ Mukawa) shortly before their retirement. Now that we're finally close to having the KiHa 40 in TSW, I thought would be nice to share them. This was the only 2-car unit on the day, lead by No. 1759. A rural train station of Hama-Atsuma in all of its grand splendor, filled to the brim with amenities... (i.e. a wooden bench to sit on, timetable, some generic info posters and... well... that's about it). For the rest of the day, at least as long as I was able to stay there and the weather stayed decent, the line was traversed by the same unit, No. 1809 in its Southern Hokkaido version of 'Bounty of the Sea' special color scheme. A short video of No.1809 departing Hama-Atsuma, heading to Tomakomai. It's still possible to see KiHa 40 as part of special trains (such as sightseeing trains) and the South Hokkaido Railway still runs them regularly between Hakodate and Kikonai. I'll probably post a few more KiHa 40 pics when I have the time to dig them up from my archives...
This just popped up in my news feed this morning... https://www.trains.com/pro/passenge...y-to-offer-commuter-service-in-pilot-program/ The SVR is going to start a pilot program running connecting trains intended for commuter use. I think it's a cool concept, and would be interesting to see implemented more with other tourist and heritage railroads around the world.
Went out today to grab a photo of Network Rail TRU 950001 as it passed through South Yorkshire. I'd got a photo of it back in the early 1990's when it was still relatively new so thought it only right to grab one at the end of it's career. Here she is firstly at Newport, Wales in the early 90's and then today passing north through Kilnhurst on 2Q08 the 0815 Derby RTC to Doncaster C.H.S. This was the first day of the unit's last week in Yorkshire before it's planned withdrawal in September 2026.
