Playback 2012

Last updated on April 14th, 2019

I have visited more than 20 countries in 2012. It is once-a-life experience for sure!
This page is so created to momorize the exciting railfanning experience throughout the year.

January 22nd, 2012, Kosugo pass, Tohoku main line, Japan
January and February are snowy months in the northern part of Honshu main island, Japan. This morning heavy winter storm shut down morning train traffic in Fukushima Prefecture. The traffic re-opened around noon, and I met six northbound freight trains fleeting in an hour. Do you know Japanese freight trains have scheduled diagram with 15-second resolution? And priority of express freight train (like Z-train in the US) is behind any local passenger trains when delayed? This is because the railway tracks and stations/sidings are owned by passenger train companies.
EH500-37, Japan Freight Railway Co.
Built 2005.11.15 by Toshiba Co., 134.4t, (B_o-B_o)+ (B_o-B_o), 4,000kW/AC20,000V 3,400kW/DC1,500V, 110km/h
(Upload Feb 23, 2013)

January 29th, 2012, Hasama river bridge, Tohoku main line, Japan
A herd of swans see off ED75 113, a 45-year-old veteran along the Tohoku main line. Seven units of ED75 are still in use for freight service after the March 11, 2011 earthquake. It is known they are scheduled to retire on March 18, 2012 for the train diagram change. It will be less than two months ahead. This morning, I woke up early for a difficult challenge to capture ED75 and swans together in a frame. I am very happy to have nailed it around Izu-numa (name of a lake) area, where claimed in Ramsar Covention on wetlands for waterfowl habitat. Lucky sunlight helped me, as well.
ED75 113, Japan Freight Railway Co.
Built 1967.09.23 by Toshiba Co., 67.2t, B_o-B_o, 1,900kW/AC20,000V, 100km/h. Boggy type: DT129G(1st end) , DT129H(2nd end).
(Upload Feb 24, 2013)

February 12th, 2012, Umegawasa - Nitta, Tohoku main line, Japan
It would be my last chance to chase ED75 freight trains before they will be out of use on the March 17, 2012 timetable revision. My idea is to capture ED 75 with swans again. I set my camera along the bank of lake Izunuma. An after-earthquake special oil train 9075 comes around on-time hauled by ED75140, a 44-years-old veteran, with a deadhead DE10 diesel locomotive as the second unit. Nice morning light, good color combination, but no swans along the lake shore.
ED75 140, Japan Freight Railway Co.
Built 1967.09.07 by Toshiba Co., 67.2t, B_o-B_o, 1,900kW/AC20,000V, 100km/h. Boggy type: DT129P(1st end) , DT129H(2nd end). Oil damper location is the only difference between DT129P(ED75140) and DT129G(ED75113, above).
(Upload June 16th, 2013)

February 19th, 2012, South Mojave, BNSF Mojave Subdivision, CA, USA
Arriving in Los Angeles Int'l airport, I checked out a car to visit Tehachapi mountains. It was just before sunset when I found a BNSF manifest diverting from UP Mojave Sub into BNSF Mojave Sub at South Mojave. The train receives the last ray of sunlight while dessert plants feel cool air behind the shadow of Mojave mountains.
BNSF4823, 5299
GE Dash9-44CWs (BNSF4000-5532 are all Dash9s), 4823: Built July 1998. 4399 Built July 2001. Dash9-44CW outline: built during 1993-2004, Wheel arrengement Co'Co', Length 22.3m, Height 4.88m, Weight 192.8t, Fuel capacity 19,000L, Power output 4,400hp(3,281kW), Tractive effort 469.9kN(cont)/631.6kN(start.)
(Upload June 16th, 2013)

February 20th, 2012, Walong (Tehachapi loop), BNSF Mojave Subdivision, CA, USA
It is my fourth visit to Tehachapi pass located 150km north of Los Angeles downtown. I am standing at a vantage point to see the world-famous loop, after visiting Caliente-Bealville in the morning. It is early spring here and the color of mountains are getting green. Meanwhile a southbound intermodal makes a big loop headed by trio of BNSF Dash9s (7525, 4960, 5255). My 18mm lens is a bit too "narrow" to capture the whole loop :-) It is a refreshing sunny day.
Tehachapi loop
Constructed 1874-1876 by Southern Pacific Railway Company, the Tehachapi loop was part of the last and final link of Tehachapi pass railroad line, the first railroad line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. This line climbs out of the San Joaquin Valley and through the Tehachapi Mountains, and had 18 tunnels and 10 bridges. Up to 3000 Chinese laborers from Canton China worked out to compliete the line. It was a primary factor in the early growth of the City of Los Angeles and the State of California. The line is currently owned by BNSF, and belong to Mojave Subdivision (Bakersfield - Mojave - Valley Junction, next to Barstow), South California Division. UP has trackage right between Bakersfield and South Mojave. Some sentences here are cited and modified from the monument "National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark"located on the side of Woodford-Tehachapi Rd. near the loop.
(Upload June 23rd, 2013)

February 21st, 2012, Del Mar, BNSF San Diego Subdivision, CA, USA
Just enjoyed the sound of NCTD Coaster commuter trains during the dinner at a restaurant in Del Mar along the Pacific coast. The sunset is really beatiful as above. I have just remembered the beatiful scenary with railrord tracks, and a trainset of Coaster I met in 2006.
(Uploaded June 23rd, 2013)

February 23rd, 2012, PNWR(Portland and Western Railroad), OR, USA
Street running! A single track streches throughout a certain street in Corvallis, OR. I could not catch any train unfortunately.
PNWR(Portland and Western Railroad)
The Portland and Western Railroad (reporting mark PNWR) is a Class II railroad in Oregon state, which ownes shortline and regional railroad throughout Oregon along the Columbia River (Astoria to Portland), the Willamette Valley (Portland to Eugene) , and the Northern Oregon Coast Range.
(Uploaded November 16th, 2014)

February 25th, 2012, BNSF Fallbridge Sub, WA, USA
BNSF intermodal heads west along the scenic Columbia River Gorge east of Lyle. The traffic was busy in this evening because the line was closed during daytime for stomy wind. I was very happy to see 7575 again after 6 month of the first meet at Ludlow, CA.
BNSF 7575
Built in June 2007, GE ES44DC.
(Uploaded November 16th, 2014)

February 26th, 2012, UP Columbia River Subdivision, OR, USA
The other side of the Columbia RIver is the teritorry of Oregon State. UP manifest heads west at a moderate speed with rainbow as a backdrop.
UP 5149
Built in October 2004, EMD SD70M.
(Uploaded November 16th, 2014)

March 1st, 2012, Nana station, Sukhumvit Line, Skytrain - Bangkok Mass Transist System(BTS), Bangkok, Thailand
It is my first visit to Thailand. The capital Bangkok is modernized much more than I supporsed. The BTS offers well organized frequent service with clean third-rail coaches.
BTS 1112
The BTS Skytrain uses electric multiple unit rolling stock on 1,435mm standard gauge, powered by 750 V DC from the third rail. The rolling stock of BTS Skytrain consists of 35 Siemens Modular Metro trains from Siemens AG, Germany, and 17 trains from Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd., China(CNR). Each set consisted of 3 or 4 cars in 2012, and all sets became 4 car consisit by 29 November 2013. The Sukhumvit line uses 35 Siemens train sets, and the Silom Line has 15 CNR train sets. The 1112 was built by Siemens in 1999 as a motor car with cab for the 12th train set.
(Uploaded August 12th, 2015)

March 4th, 2012, Vidhan Nagar, Kolkata, India
I could not imagine this tram coach is still in use. I encounter her on a narrow but busy road on my way back from Vidhan Nagar Indial National Railway Station. The meet was so sudden, and I supposed this coach was on display only on the unused line. No! I am eventually come to the north-east end of the world-famous Kolkata tram system where a number of unique coaches work for daily passenger traffic.
CTC
CTC means the Calcutta Tramways Company Limited, a government-run company in Kolkata(Calcutta, old name), West Bengal, India. The CTC runs trams and buses in and around Kolkata. The Kolkata tram is the oldest operating electric tram in Asia since 1902. It is also the only tramway in India currently.

March 14, 2012, Kostheim Ost - Mainz-Bischofsheim Pbf, Germany
A freight train slowly heads east after clossing Mainz river on a sunny early spring afternoon. Autobahn 671 streches from bottom to upper right of the image. This lucky shot was taken from an aircraft turning round and round over the Frankfurt/Main airport bofore the final announcement to shut down the electronic equipments..
(Uploaded October 19th, 2013)

March 16, 2012, Unknown Switcher, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
An old RENFE-schime diesel switcher is restored in the campus of Universidad Auto'noma de Madrid(Autonomous University of Madrid). It is located in front of the Cantoblanco Universidad station on the C-4 Suburban Rail LIne in Madrid. The switcher and students enjoy spring sunlight on the grasses.
Cercani'as Madrid suburb-to-Madrid line C-4
Cercani'as Madrid is the commuter rail service in Madrid, Spain, operated by the commuter rail division of RENFE(Cercani'as Renfe). The total length reaches 370 km. The line C-4 connects Cantoblanco Universidad - Chamarti'n - (Sol) - Atocha - Parla toward south, and in the north there are two branches; Alcobendas-San Sebastia'n de los Reyes - Cantoblanco Universidad, and Colmenar Viejo - Cantoblanco Universidad. Here is an image that Trainsets "CIVIA Cercanias 2000" (EMU 465) leaves Cantoblanco Universidad statoin for Colmenar Viejo.
(Uploaded October 19th, 2013)

March 17, 2012, Coppet - Nyon (near Geneva), Switzerland
A classical loco+coach style SBB intercity, rolling along the Lake Reman hastled by Re460, a favorite.
Re460
Popularly known as Lok2000, introduced as part of the Rail 2000 project, a massive project to modernise and improve capacity on Switzerland's railways; Bo'Bo', 15 kV 16 2/3Hz, 4600kW, 230km/h max.
(Uploaded October 19th, 2013)

March 18, 2012, Geneve, Switzerland
A snaky 7-body Flexity Outlook Cityrunner by Bombardier heads north at Gene`ve-Cornavin station on a rainy afternoon. The Geneva tramway network is operated by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG).
Flexity Outlook
A family of 100% low-floor articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, operated in Austria, Pokand, Switzerland(Geneve only), Turkey, Belgium, and Canada.
(Uploaded October 19th, 2013)

March 19, 2012, Grenoble, France
A diesel-hastled French locan train meets SNCF Class Z 26500 double-decker electrical multiple units to the right.
SNCF67355
SNCF BB 67300 series, B'B', 1764 kW, 140 km/h max. Built by Brissonneau and Lotz as mixed-traffic locomotive in 1967-1969. Main base was Chambery. 70 units were made in 1967, and +20 were converted from BB 67000. Max spped was raised from 90/130 ㎞/h to 140 km/h at the cost of lowering Tractive Effort from 304 kN down to 202 kN. Later withdrawn on December 18, 2018.
(Updated April 14th, 2019. Uploaded October 19th, 2013)

March 20, 2012, Nancy, France
Bus or tram? It was a great surprise for me to see a 'trolly bus' transfroms herself into a 'tram coach' ! Tramway de Nancy employs a unique Guided dual-mode trolleybus system for Line 1. The mode changes at Callot stop where monorail track 'appears' at the upper left of the image.
Nancy Guided Light Transit
Nancy Guided Light Transit is operated by the Bombardier Reserved Tracked Rail (LRT) systemby Bombardier.
(Uploaded April 14th, 2019)

March 21, 2012, Paris Gare du Nord, France
SNCF 522240 takes a short rest at her terminal Gare du Nord. Two SNCF Class Z 26500 train sets are seen to the right.'
SNCF 522240
Originally built as 22240, a member of Class 22200 universal electric locomotive, 1.5kV DC / 25kV AC, 4360 kW, 160 km/h max, built isice 1976. Rebuilt to adapt pull-push operation (MUX), and renumbered to 522240. She wares the livery " Gray " also called " Ghost ", which will be repainted into " In Voyage " by April 2013.
(Uploaded April 14th, 2019)

Another overseas railfanning photos will be added here soon.

April 14th, 2012, Sendai depot, JR Freight Co., Japan
It is the first Sunday for me today after coming back from the first-to-third overseas tours. I visited Sendai depot, JR Freigth Company, to see what happend to ED75s after the March 17, 2012, timetable revision. All of the SEVEN units (ED75113, 114, 140, 143, 1004, 1015, 1034) are gathered at the north-west end (right hand side of the image) of the depot where stored units are likely to be held. Then I found all the ED75s are tagged as "Second stage storage." Oh, they would be scrappted soon... Another nine units of EH500 and three units of DE10 are captured in this image, so far.
Sendai depot, Japan Freight Railway Co.
Located north-east of Sendai downtown, Sendai depot is the largest freight loco depot in Tohoku area. Address is 82-1, Tsukamae, Tsubame-zawa, Miyagino ward, Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. It was open on August 2nd, 1999, as the replacement of former Nagamachi depot located south of Sendai downtown. As of February 2011(just before the 3.11 earthquake), the depot held 12 ED75s, 69 EH500s and 20 DE10s.
(Uploaded June 16th, 2013)

August 25th, 2012, Kaub - St. Goarshausen, Rheinland, Germany
This is my 9th visit to Rhine river valley and first visit to famous Lorelay(Germany) rock 120m above the water line. Lorelay is the narrowest part of the Rhine, and is the most famous feature of the Rhine Gorge, an UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The river is busy with heavy water transport including cruise fleet. Lorelay also offers nice train view for both Right and Left banks, as I expected. A northbound intermodal with 28 container car consist approaches Lorelay tunnel headed by DBAG Class185.
DBAG Class 185.0
DBAG BR185.0 is a popular B₀'B₀' dual voltage AC locomotive buit by Bmbardier Transportation since 2001, which is known as a familiy of Bombardier TRAXX 1( Transnational Railway Applications with eXtreme fleXibility, 1st generation) F140 AC1(Freight 140km/h max, Alternating Current power supply electric locomotives, 1st generaton), 5600kW(004-049: 4200kW), 140km/h.
(Revised Oct 19, 2013, Upload July 6th, 2013)

September 28th, 2012, Rzymowskiego, Tramwaje Warszawskie Sp. z.o.o (Warsaw Tramway), Poland
I must have checked the tram route map and the exact name of my destination before starting my short trip from downtown Warsaw to a suburban shopping center. I took bus - Metro - tram - (almost lost) tram - and tram again. In part I enjoyed riding Konstal 13N's and 105Na's but you can imagine how I was happy to find the lights of Rzymowskiego shopping center 1h30min after I left downtown! It was 8:30pm on Friday and the shops were still clounded by visitors. A Konstal 105Na #2001 rounds the corner of Rzymowskiego tram stop right next to the shopping center. Line 18 connects between Z.eran' FSO and S?uz.ewiec. Later I knew another popular Konstal 13N retired by the end of the year I visited.
Warsaw Tramway
Open back to 1866, Warsaw Tramway holds 120 km - long system for 24 lines on 1435mm standard gauge. It is the second largest tramway system in Poland, and operates 750 and more cars.
(Upload July 6th, 2013)

December 14th, 2012, Dogo Onsen(Spa), Iyo Raiway, Matsuyama, Japan
The Crauss 0-4-0 T steam-like diesel locomotive #1 and an old fashoned young lady "Madonna" remind us the famous novel Bocchan(a son from a good family) by NATSUME Soseki who lived in Matsuyama, Ehime, in 1895-1896. Two steam-like engines work for 38 train services max a day since 2001. A trainset is displayed at the siding of Dogo Onsen stn during the break. Currently three "Dogo Madonna" from Dogo Onsen Japanese inn association work for advertisement and brief guide of Dogo Onsen, and happy to join a picture with visitors.
#1, Iyo Railway Co Ltd
Iyo Railway Co. operates three railway lines and five tram lines with 1067mm gauge. Trams and Takahama raiway line are powerd by 600 VDC. The trams lines are operated with 38 street cars, 1 electric feight car, 2 steam-like diesels, and 3 coaches. Two diesel-powered steam replica were built in 2001 for daily tourist services. Original steam engines were mostly from Krauss & Company Munich and used during 1888-1954.
(Upload July 6th, 2013)

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