Trainspotting Finse, Norway

The web is great for trainspotting, making accessible unusual venues all over the world. One I discovered and got hooked on during the fall of 2010 is the Finse small station on the Bergensbanen in Norway.

 

Below the location in Google Maps.

View Larger Map

From Wiki, the Bergenbanen was a major engineering feat of the last century linking the capitol Oslo with Bergen on the North Sea coast in the west. The Bergen Line (Norwegian: Bergensbanen), also called the Bergen Railway, is a 371 kilometres (231 mi) standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway.^[1] The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, where the passenger trains go, a distance of 496 kilometres (308 mi).^[7] It is the highest mainline railway line in Northern Europe,^[8] crossing the Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 metres (4,058 ft) above sea level.^[6].

Despite its remoteness, Finse is easily accessible and enjoyable from the comfort of ones home via the webcam that provides 24/7 real time video of good quality. The webcam can be accessed by clicking on the screengrab below. Lots of people watching too given the high traffic due to this area being a cross-country skiing mecca. An article in the Telegraph provides a lot more information about the region from a tourist standpoint. LOTS going on there including conferences....[Edit: Apparently the Hoth scenes in the 2nd Star Wars flick, the real ones not the computerized ones, were filmed in the area. Makes sense...]

Click image below to access Webcam

Finse Stasjon webcam page. Clock at bottom left counts down until departure of next passenger train. They don't stick around long. Crossing lights flash slowly (esp. when dark) increasing in frequency when a train is heading towards the station. Trains to Oslo appear from "tunnel" (man-made to protect turnouts...), trains to Bergen from the lower right.

The line is electrified and features a nice variety of modern stock, including the futuristic Class 73 emus.Also seen are various MOW trains, including plows, although the trains themselves seem to be doing most of the work and trains are seldom late, even in the worst weather. Below some images of the variety.

Class El 18 of the NSB on a dreary winter's day and heading towards Bergen.

Class El 18 of the NSB on a beautiful winter's day and heading towards Oslo.

Class 73 EMU, run as 4-car and 2x 4-car consists.

Flashes from the catenary of the night train to Oslo during a blinding blizzard. The train was on time...

CargoNet El 17

Class CE 119 of CargoNet, the Bombardier TRAXX (DB Class 185...)

Unloading the weekly supply train. There are no roads to this area...

Various MOW trains.

JBV (JernBaneVerket, the Norwegian National Rail Administration) Di3a NoHAB diesel

 

Can't wait until the longer days of spring and summer,

nevermind some nicer weather.

Enjoy!

Rheingold, THE TEE (DB Class 103)

Nice footage of the Rheingold pulled by a BR 103 between Emmerich on the Dutch/German border down to Karlsruhe.

Info zum Film hier.

Here a film about the E 03s/103s construction

and another with lots of great shots.

Far From Home – Canadian Pacific in Syracuse

Happened by the tracks at the West end of the East Syracuse Yard and noticed this Canadian Pacific (CP) powered manifest freight. Pulled into the lot and snapped a few shots on my cell. Lead unit is GE ES44AC number 8856. After a minute or two the engines revved up and the train pulled out. Fun to see something more exotic here. The last time I saw CP was when a colleague and I headed down to Binghamton, NY where CP and Norfolk Southern are plentiful. Pictures of that trip are here.

Bundesbahn in 1979/80

Replaced my broken scanner over the break, got one that can also do slides and negatives, and am now having fun (re)discovering people, places, and things I saw in my youth. Among them some railroad pics. First some black and white ones, very grainy and borderline terrible, and thus (almost) verging on artsy. Venues for the first set are between Cologne and Bonn, Germany.

Near Köln Deutz.

Class 110 448 coming into Köln Hbf.

Passenger and railway employee (conductor) at Köln Hbf.

SNCB multi-system Class 18 (here 1801, the first in the series of 60) in Köln Hbf.

Heading past the passenger car yard. Coaches on the right are DR stock,
note also the pointy-roofed Type-Y.

More passenger coaches with the Dom in the background.

The E-lok Bw of Köln. Nicely visible the Class 103 on the left and 110s on the right. Looks like
the 103 is still there based on the picture at Google Maps.

Somewhere between Köln and Bonn.

Plattenbau, Wessi-style south of Cologne in Meschenich-Kölnberg. Also called a Trabantenstadt, these
high-rises were stamped out of the fields...

Typical trackside Shrebergärten/Grabeland - garden plots for the masses, often tucked between tracks...

Love birds in Bonn.

BR 103-147 with TEE in Bonn Hbf.

BR 110 heading west from Konstanz to Radolfzell at Allensbach on the B odensee, summer 1979.

BR 403 EMU being run as coupled multiple units along the Rheintal, June 1981.