Waiting

The view from my seat in the train during a stop at one of the smaller train platforms along the route Zwolle-Groningen.

Travelling

A train ride means being online non-stop for many of us.

View from the train

View at the countryside during the train journey from Zwolle to Groningen. Happy weekend!

Safety first

 

Even though March is on the doorstep it is very cold here -for our standards anyway-; this morning at 11 a.m. it was still -8°C (18°F) and feeling much colder due to strong winds coming from the east. Brrrr! In the meantime this vehicle is busy mowing the sides of the railroad track as a preparation for the new season of the STAR steamtrain.

Zooming in I noticed the yellow sticker on the side saying: "Zie je mij, zie ik jou" or "When you see me, I see you". A text that can be seen frequently in traffic, like on long trucks. Safety first!

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Zandhazenbrug

On our way to and back from the North Sea coast, earlier this month, we crossed the new Zandhazenbrug near the town of Muiderberg. The name of the bridge refers to an old nickname of the residents of Muiderberg, apparently they were called 'zandhazen' (lit: 'sand hares'), a name soldiers in the army sometimes get.
The bridge is a railway bridge with a span length of 255 m, and is in use since August 2016. It is part of the Weesp-Lelystad railway, known as the Flevolijn.

I'm linking to Skywatch Friday.

In the train

I was travelling by train today.

"Green" train

I happened to travel part of my journey last weekend with a so-called 'green train'. It's a project with which the Dutch Railways (NS) will make all their electric trains ride on wind energy from 2018. Wind mills are built more and more in the Netherlands. As the project is continuing, about half of the trains are already -as we call it- 'climate neutral' by now.

Instead of the usual yellow/blue trains that NS owns, they catch attention for their green train project by using this colourful design.

Train journey

I was travelling by train today from Haren to Zwolle and back. This photo was taken this afternoon, with a nearly empty compartment. Quite different from weekdays!

Grasslands are a common view on this route, which takes just over an hour. Stops along the way are in the towns of Assen, Beilen, Hoogeveen, and Meppel.

More Harrekrammele

Two more items from the exibition 'Harrekrammele' by Machiel Braaksma, currently in the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden. As I mentioned yesterday, Braaksma takes all kinds of household objects to create new things. Isn't it amazing that a thermos, a spoon and spatula make a locomotive...

...and that a battery and safety-pins become a grashopper!

There's more about Machiel Braaksma HERE.

Antwerp Central

Definitely not to miss during a stay in Antwerp is a visit to the main railway station, even if you don't arrive by train. The original station building was constructed between 1895 and 1905.

During a reconstruction between 1998 and 2007 the station was transformed from a terminus to a through station. This allows high-speed trains to travel through Antwerp Central without the need to turn around. The station is now widely regarded as the finest example of railway architecture in Belgium.
I'll show you some more photos tomorrow.

Talyllyn Railway

We took a very nice ride on the Talyllyn Railway, a historic narrow-gauge steam railway. It is running from the village of Tywyn at the Cardigan Bay coast of Wales, through the Fathew Valley. The railway was built in the 19th century to carry slate. When the slate traffic ceased in the 1940's, the future for the railway looked bad. Fortunately the trains and the stations managed to survive. Nowadays everything is run by volunteers, which is quite amazing if you think of it.

On the Abergynolwyn station, about halfway, On the way back the train makes a refreshment stop here.

Even though the average speed of the train is about 9 miles per hour, on the photo it looks like we were speeding ! ;)

passing train

We enjoyed the Spring weather yesterday! This picture is from somewhere in the north east of the province Groningen.

a ride with the steam train

Taking the steam train was also part of the Dickens style-Christmas fair in Stadskanaal, yesterday afternoon.

A steam train leaving is spectacular for eyes and ears!

The Museum Stadskanaal Railway (S.T.A.R) rides on special days between the towns of Veendam and Musselkanaal. Stadskanaal is halfway.

T is for Train

Deze oranje 'Koningstrein' met de tekst 'Ga mee van Beatrix naar Alexander' reed door Nederland ter ere van de troonswisseling op 30 april, en rijdt dus nog steeds! Afgelopen vrijdag stond ie in Groningen.

This orange 'King's Train' showing the text 'Go with us from Beatrix to Alexander' went through the Netherlands in honor of the abdication on April 30, and is obviously still in use! I saw it in Groningen last Friday. 

Linking to ABC-Wednesday