Album 2012 from Jon Searles

London St. Pancras Station, London, England (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:29 +0000

This is yet another shot of the spectacularly restored, and originally spectacular, London Saint Pancras Station, now St. Pancras International. That trainshed must have been one of the bigger jobs, as I remember when it was caked in soot back in the 1990's.

French Soldier at Calais Station, Calais, France, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:28 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Even today, a station is maintained at Calais. The last time I had ridden the Eurostar, I had noted a large amount of graffitti on the CTRL, which seemed completely unacceptable to me. It isn't just ugly, but on a high speed line, in the post-9/11, post-Madrid world (not to mention earlier attacks specifically on the LGV system), it indicates an unacceptably low level of security. I'm nowhere close to a security fanatic, but a high speed line, like an airport, must be secure. Apparently, the French government had noticed, too, and put soldiers on the ends of the platforms, complete with bullpup rifles of some kind (probably FAMAS rifles). It's surprising how much vandalism happens completely out in the open, with little sophistication. Often vandals damage stations right under the CCTV cameras, and get onto the lines not with wire cutters or any such commando-like tools or tactics, but simply walk off the ends of the platforms or through gaps in the sound walls. Speaking of that, I've never understood the point of building a wall or a fence if you're going to put gaps in it or make it low enough to step over. It seems like a tremendous waste of money. Ultimately, vandalism is much easier to deal with than we were lead to believe back in the 1980's. It just takes a will, as evidenced by the drastic cleanup of the New York City subway system in the 1990's.

Breakfast on the Eurostar, France, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:27 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This was my second breakfast of the day, actually, as I had also had breakfast on the Phoenix. When I travel, I don't usually turn down food, though. That's real wine on the left, as this was, after all, France.

300 Km/h on the Eurostar, Picture 2, France, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:26 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Here it's easier to tell we're in France. The large number of tracks is the giveaway, as well as the land even flatter than Belgium. Other than on the Shinkansen system, there aren't any other networks that I can think of as well suited to highballing as the post-1990 SNCF LGV system.

300 Km/h on the Eurostar, France, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:26 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

The Eurostar doesn't really pick up speed until it's well out of Brussels, although I don't know off hand if this was before or after crossing into France and taking the CTRL at Lille. I've just said "France," for the sake of convenience. The Eurostar is, at least, a French train. That we were at full cruising speed was and is, however, obvious.

Eurostar Logo, Bruxelles-Midi, Brussels, Belgium, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:25 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I didn't get a picture of the ICE that took me to Brussels, as indeed the novelty of high speed trains has partly been wearing off lately. However, it occurred to me that the last time I had taken the Eurostar, one of the greatest high-speed trains ever, I hadn't taken any photographs. I made a point this time of at least taking a few.

Koln Hauptbahnhof, Koln (Cologne), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:24 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This was one of my next shots, giving a view of the trainshed and platforms in Koln Hbf very early in the morning. It was still dark, as you can see. The 401 Class ICE in the next platform wasn't my next train, but I would take an ICE next, to Bruxelles-Midi.

PKP #615170900109 in Koln Hbf, Koln (Cologne), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:23 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This was early in the morning in Koln Hbf, where we arrived. As far as I know, this wasn't our train, as this PKP sleeper is on it, and the train didn't go through Poland. I really don't remember. I took this photo just because I don't have too many photos of PKP sleepers, or for that matter Polish equipment generally.

Berlin Ostbahnhof at Night, Picture 2, Berlin, Germany, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:22 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Here's a shot of the mostly empty platforms in Ostbahnhof in the wee hours of the morning.

Berlin Ostbahnhof at Night, Berlin, Germany, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:21 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I woke up during the switching move in Berlin Ostbahnhof, and took some cameraphone shots. I was surprised to see a DMU in service so late a night, although it may have been on a training run. It's also possible that there really are 24-hour local services into Ostbahnhof, but generally local services throughout Europe are cut back during the night to accomodate freight and MOW trains. I'm not sure of the class, but it appears to be a 646. At first I thought that it was an EMU, since we were in electrified territory, but none of the EMU photos on the European Railway Server seem to match it.

Couchette on Deutsche Bahn, Bohemia (CZ), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:20 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

These are the couchette accomodations on DB. I don't remember if I had a first class ticket, but the linen would suggest that. Unfortunately, by the time I reserve the first class tickets are often the only ones left. Luckily, they're only marginally more expensive than standard class, in sharp contrast to first class airline tickets.

Departing Praha Hlavni Nadrazi at Night, Prague, CZ, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:19 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

As usual, I switched to rail transport as soon as I got back to Europe, and ceased to have any problems. This is the departure from Praha Hlavni Nadrazi on EN456, the "Phoenix," which is operated jointly by Ceske Drahy, Deutsche Bahn, and Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The train terminates in Amsterdam Centraal, but I would change in Koln.

Flughafen Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt Airport), Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:19 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is Frankfurt am Main airport, the main, literally, airport for Frankfurt, Germany. I don't know if that Boeing 747 is a 400 or an 8I, but Lufthansa were the launch customer for the 8I, and the next time I was in Frankfurt there were quite a lot of them already. This is in spite of the fact that Lufthansa have also bought a fleet of Airbus A380's. Many newspapers lately have referred to the "aging" 747-8I, and claiming that Boeing will soon discontinue them. However, as journalists often don't do their homework, they ignore that if a platform is the basis for what is "aging," then the 737, never criticized by them, is even more "aging," having been introduced two years earlier, in 1968. The 737-900 and the 747-8I variants of these aircraft, however, are arguably state-of-the-art, and much more reliable than the much touted (but just as criticized) 787-800. Boeing have slowed 747 production, which may make short-term business sense, but it seems like they should be working on fixing the 787-800, rather than releasing the new 787-900 before the older one is ready, or pouring money into the 797, which hasn't even flown yet (in spite of some hoax photographs). Officially, in fact, the 797 is still the "7x7," as it isn't even an official catalog item yet.

Molson Canadian Beer in Lester Pearson Airport, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:18 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I don't usually drink Canadian beer, but this was an exception, as I was in Canada. I've always been surprised by the lack of head on this one. I don't know if that's typical for Molson Canadian.

Hancock International Airport, Syracuse, NY, USA, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:17 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is Syracuse Hancock International Airport, but I took this photo to try and capture the Air Canada Beechcraft 1900 in the background, which I knew would be working my flight. These are the smallest commercial aircraft (although not the smallest aircraft overall) that I've ever flown on. The aircraft in the foreground is, if I'm not mistaken, a American Airlines Canadair RJ700.

Agway, Clinton, NY, USA, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:16 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is the Agway store in Clinton, NY. Agway are a chain of farm supply stores, so this one isn't very remarkable, except for what you notice if you look more carefully. The whole building looks like a railroad station or freight house, and this is untrue but close. Prior to 1957, the parking lot was a yard for the New York, Ontario & Western Railroad, or O&W, and this building was owned by a freight customer. Naturally, it was built to hug the line for easy delivery and/or transshipment, like most railroad customers' buildings, and for that matter most if not all freight houses. Naturally, in the old days the O&W would have used very large snowplows.

Microsoft Train Simulator Add-On Boxes

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:15 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I'm posting this shot mostly for later use. These are some of the add-ons that I have for Microsoft Train Simulator, all of which I love. Still, I would like to relocate some of my others for the Northeast Corridor, which were mostly freeware. Unfortunately, with the aging of the original MSTS, I'm not sure of their availability or compatibility, although these payware packs, being old, are perfectly fine.

Toronto Link (Air Train), Edited Version, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:14 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is two flights later, in Toronto Lester B. Pearson Airport, where I was stranded. Say what you will about Amtrak, but their delays are generally limited to about 16 hours. Airlines will delay you for days. In this case, though, I got my first look at Toronto airport's "Link" air train, seen here. These trains are cable-operated (ultimately electric, I'm assuming) and driverless, and seem to use unconventional rails, albeit two of them, meaning that this isn't a true monorail. The right of way is described by Wikipedia as an "Elevated Steel Tube Truss." The system was built by DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car in 2006, and the system's route length is only 1.47Km. The speed limit is 43.2 Km/h, which doesn't actually matter since it isn't human-operated. Wikipedia alleges as of this writing that the system is currently shut down to make it easier to build the Union Pearson Express, a conventional heavy rail link with Toronto Union Station.

Praha Letiste Vaclava Havla (Vaclav Havel Airport), Ruzyne, Prague, CZ, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:14 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This was my first photo of Ruzyne Airport after its name change to Vaclav Havel soon after the former president's death in 2011. You can just barely see the changed lettering on Terminal 2. Correct me if I'm wrong on the Terminal, but I could not have been in Terminal 1 as my first flight wouldn't be out of the Schengen area.

Caroline, Cafe na pul Cesty, Pankrac, Prague, CZ, 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:51:13 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This photo is very blurred, but I figured it conveyed the hardcore punk scene quite well, if only in the emotional sense. I took this at Cafe na pul Cesty, and although you can't recognize them, the band were Caroline.