• Polotsk railway station with arriving M62 16-2-2008 The Old East Slavic name, Polotesk, is derived from the Polota river, that flows into the Dvina nearby.

  • Stari Savski Most with ex Basel Düwag car and 3x ex Basel trailer Beograd 29 November 2008 Savski most je najmanji most u funkciji drumskog saobraćaja u Beogradu. Pored drumskog saobraćaja preko njega prelaze i tramvaji.

  • GVU bus at "Oudenoord in Utrecht" on 17 December 2009 21:41 hours & minus 7 Celsius

  • 28 November 2001 a Dong Feng truck in a forrestry village near Ganhe northern China 東風汽車公司

What's new

NS signal box at Valkenburg on 22 December 1979 Here is still The Netherlands oldest station building. Sadly the beautifull box is scrapped. read more »
Unindentified NS DE1 arrives at Schin op Geul station on a cold freezing and foggy winter day read more »
Heerlen two DE1 diesel motor cars and a shunting 600 with semaphore signals and the crossing signal box. All gone ofcourse ... read more »
ZLSM 1289 ex SJ trial run 7 September 1995 read more »
ZLSM 1289 ex SJ trial run 7 September 1995 read more »
ZLSM 1289 ex SJ trial run 7 September 1995 read more »
ZLSM 1289 ex SJ trial run 7 September 1995 read more »
Dover the channel tunnel raillink passenger car terminal 1-10-1999 read more »

Welkom - Welcome

This is a photo collection web site from Peter Velthoen. It contains pictures taken in different countries. It shows you just some of the items I am interested in. It does not intend to have a overall view of rail and tramway's in the world. It will take you along some of the trips that I have made. That it might enjoy you.
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(0001) 4 october 1974 Bergen op Zoom, negative number 0001 the start of thousands of photographs. Today no more films. Only digital images but again with Nikon cameras. Although the start was with old Ricoh, Agfa and a Rolleicord before the first Nikkormat came in. All four are still alive and functionable. See what has changed in the European railway world. Coal has disappeared since that time. No more local deliveries with freightcars. Bergen op Zoom has no rail connection to its industry anymore. Road and shipping have won the battle supported by shortsighted (local) politicians. Railways are no longer shipping agents. They allowed themselves to degrade to run mostly vast amounts from terminal to terminal for third parties.
4 maart 1999 Polen te Sroda. Onderweg met Jan Lemmens en Theo Geuskens with 2 friends travelling by train on a visit in Sroda
photo by Hans Casteleijn 1986 drinking a beer in Gotha
Sept. 2003 visiting Rumania here in the streets off Arad. Photo by Wim van der Ent
3 May 2004 Nottingham - Inside a pub at the Old Market Square a VIG (Very Important Gricer) is spotted holding our order number. The meal was for me very British and tasted good. Thank you Curly.
24 August 2004. near Bai Qi Inner Mongolia, China. Things are changing so fast we in the west can hardly imagine. Within a year this 960 kilometer highway was build and ready. It will hit the number of passengers going by rail. Even on China s new highways (to) much freight is already being moved. A huge oil hunger is being created.
27 August 2004. Reshui getting a hair cut and a wondelfull head and shoulder massage for 35 Yuan taking almost one hour. The rainy afternoon was a perfect moment for this new experience. The blond lady pinned up at the wall we never met in Reshui or anywere else. photo: Bernd Seiler
No spitting please. It will be more difficult to learn all paople not to throw waist everywere. Every street used to have and still often has its open air dump. The smell off garbidge is sometimes everywere. 12 August 2004
31 August 2004 Bai Qi - Ji Tong Rly guest house. Still smoking at that time.
29 August 2004 near Lin Dong China. Moped taxi and rainbow
22 September 1979 less weight and more (black) hair
9 June 2004 travelling through the interesting railway and tramway landscape in the Ukraine. 2 Weeks in a hoteltrain is exciting. photo by Gerard de Graaf
Travellers used to be requested not to do this or to do that. Nowadays it is just forbidden.
DF4 1923 build in 1997 at Jiujianpao line Wladiwostok - Harbin build original in Russian broad gauge. This now Chinese station still reminds about the lines Russian history
2003 England ; Dear Curly
Merelbeke 2 April 2005 at RR crossing on NMBS ground
Inside the Rigi Bahn museum train (Bernd Seiler and Wulf Fuhrmeister) August 2004 Photo by Henry Clemencon
31 March 2002 Boys are making fun of the -Long Nose- who is photographing trains at Tiefa near their home
6 November 2004 an route in a first class train from Cairo to Alexandria with met in a train friend Mohamed. Trains are a good way to meet people and socialize.
May 2005 Valencia - Spain. A small monument for a little girl that died? Trams are part of motorised traffic in many cities. Little children are part of another world. And sometimes things go wrong.
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What is the fun of railroading......

I am sorry that I cannot give an answer on this. It is just something like a fever that got into your body. Sunshine (preferred) or rain one has this thrive to get on the train and go. The ultimate goal being the next station or some place on the other side of this globe. The fun of being there can be the same.
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Wir haben Arbeit We got a job (for you) this sign announces. I never wanted to work for the Railways. I thought it would spoil the fun I had in railroading. Was it right...............
19 Februer 2005 at Oberhausen. The driver watches the conductor to see if he can depart with his S Bahn train to Duisburg.
19 Febr 2005 Three generations Oberhausen Bhf underpass
19 Februar 2005 at Essen Steele Bhf. The usual (ex DR and sometimes nick named Trabi) DB143-830-8 with a S1 service to Dortmund with its train departs.
19 Febr 2005 Oberhausen Hbf. Some Dutch friends and gricers order drinks on a cold day. Just touring by train through the Ruhr=area.
Hmmm ... all those free leaflets with interesting rail information and just 3 minutes to search the DB info shop at Oberhausen. News sniffing.
I am convinced I saw a number somewere ..............
19 Febr 2005 Essen Steele with one of the last DB218 011-5 passing while pulling its S Bahn train to Essen
Theo reading the small letters. It is here on this map ....
19 Febr 2005 driver inside a new DB648 dmu. Troubles with the software as all new trains seem to have for a while ...
19 Februar 2005 bub we managed to reach Fröndenberg. Here we changed trains again. Soon after this picture it started snowing again and temperatures dropped to a chilling level.
Venlo station running boy besides departing Veolia 3118 and ex Noordnet 3222 on 8 Dec 2007 Most people have an affection for trains even if its only to run with for a moment
Jan Theo Alex Armin enjoying Germany the hard way Dortmund 19-2-2005 aphv
Jan Vrijs at Krefeld Hbf tram stop 22-12-2007 aphv
in a Veolia Stadtler 2 car dmu from Nijmegen to Venlo 22-12-2007 aphv
Gregory-Peter inside the SBB-CFF 11852 Ae 8/14 Verkehrshaus Lüzern, CH
The tram simulator Gregory-Peter Verkehrshaus Lüzern, CH what is the fasination with railroads that some carry a life long
Travelling makes appetite growing and in Switserland hotels & restaurants are nearby most railway stations as here in Brig with godson Gregory-Peter and godfather Peter sharing a meal. Railfanning with two is much more pleasant 16 Oct 2009 thank you waiter
Peter walking along the BLS Südrampe Wanderweg on 12 June 2007
At Haythe engeneer talks with visiting school boys.
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Station landscape

When railways started station buildings were places to invite would be travelers to buy a ticket and ride the train. Not todays railway manager's idea. A building is costly, station masters have disappeared and paper tickets are a thing of the past. If you want one buy it at the machine.
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3 May 2004 Nottingham station forecourt. Victorian stations in larger cities often had quiet large covered areas were interchange from coach to the station could be made.
12279 22 Dec 1979 mirror Schin op Geul NL
6 Aug 2005 Barneveld Centrum NL at Levi s snackbar
12273 22 Dec 1979 NS Kerkrade Centrum NL station staf and semaphore signals in those days.
Thaton platform 21 March 2003 Myanmar
031101 Detour information at Utrecht CS for the Amsterdam - Brussel Benelux service nov. 2003. Long time no seen........
30 Aug 2004 Liudigou dubble CJ (6835) passing and satuled by the station master. China
6 Dec 2001 China Weihe 762 mm forrestry Rly. C2 locomotive. Chonghe station at km 50 and -22 Celsius
6 Aug. 2005 NS Barneveld Centrum sales point and village directions.
7 Dec 2001 China DF4 1923 from 1997 with local freight at Jiujianpao on the Harbin Wladiwostok main line. Note the Russian architecture as this line was build by the Russians before 1917.
25 Aug 2004 China Haoluku station Ji Tong Rly, Inner Mongolia. Station shop with chicken shelter for fresh eggs and chickens.
1 Dec 2001 China along the over 130 kilometer long narrow gauge 762 mm forrestry Rly. The token ring change at Xing An km 76 by beautifull sunshine and a mild -25 Celsius day time temperature. The night around this plave dropped over 48 Celsius minus! The toilet in the forrestry cabin was ofcourse outside. I have never seen such glas a like clear skies before!
NS Roermond 26-1-2008 a bookshop coffee flowers French fries and perhaps railway tickets
build under Mussolini but deprived from its swastika Milano Centrale is very impressive 23-6-2007
Poland Witkowo on the almost forgotten narrow gauge line from Gniezno 1-5-2006
3 battered public telephones in the entrance hall at Krefeld Hbf. on 23 January 2011
Modeleisenbahn at its best. Typical for larger german Railway stations are these model railway layouts in scale H0 or 1 in 87 as this one at Krefeld Hbf 0n 23 January 2011
The Bahnhofsmission or the station mission also in Germany here in Krefeld Hbf. on 23 January 2011 Mostly private and church initiative to help people in need at railway stations
Kiev Vokzal 5 November 2011
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Travel

According to the CIA world fact list there are about 1.115.205 kilometers of railway line in the world. From this total 257.481 kilometer is in broad gauge. 671.413 kilometer is in standard gauge or 1435 mm. And a remaining 186.311 kilometer is in narrow gauge. Of this total I have perhaps traveled a few percent so enough kilometers are still there to be seen.
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Iran Rly Premium Class night coach from Tehran to Tabriz 12 December 2006
Dinner with Sieger Lia Cor myself and Huib in Giorgi Giorgadze home stay in Kutaisi Georgia 28 December 2006 photo Huib den Dulk
Isfahan in Iran a every hour departing flight to Tehran with a Fokker 100 on 20 December 2006
11-2-2008 RZD T3 Berlin - Kaliningrad
11-2-2008 RZD T3 coal heated on Berlin - Kaliningrad
11-2-2008 RZD T3 Berlin - Kaliningrad me at stop in Tczew Poland waiting for 2 more cars
Goodbye to Vitebsk, Bylarus Train to Minsk 16 February 2008 ph H den Dulk
Georgian Airlinees Boeing 737 Kakhi Asatiani on 29 September at Schiphol Airport for the flight to Tbilisi
Tbilisi ER2 609 Georgian Railways 27 September 2007
Geroite na Sevastopol waiting to dock at Ilyichevsk near Odessa 5 October 2007
The landing bridge was damaged by the previous vessel so we had to wait 4 days before docking at Odessa - Ilyichevsk still in the distance 3 october 2007
On the same steps that the sailors from the Cruiser Potjomkin, Áðîíåíîñåö Ïîò¸ìêèíin, 1905 stormed the city in the later shot film only. These ukrainian sailors walk up for their memory picture to be taken 27 September 2007
night train Moldova Rly Chisinau - Bukarest with wide body cars 8 November 2011 Chisinau
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Railway people

Most trains do not run by themselves. People are needed to get things moving. Some views of people running the trains on their planned trips.
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1 Sept 2001 Poland ex PKP narrow gauge line 119 at Jawornik Polski and its nice station master
22 September 2001 Poland Zbiersk ex line 305 60 % of the total staff including the director on one picture.
7 December 2001 China Xiaoling after DF8 0120 and 0070 pass the guard still salutes the passing train.
Ruedesheim DB Schaffner 18-2-2005
18 Feb 2006 DB Lukfüher Mainz Hbf
The traffic control at EVB Bremervorde Hbf. 4 June 2005
6 Nov 2004 conductor in a first class coach on the express from Alexandria to Cairo, Egypt
Guard of the sleeping coach, Ukraine 2004
St Joaode Ver narrow gauge in Portugal 12 August 1987 The lady was station master selling tickets and lowering the barriers for the level crossing
ICE Bar Service Germany 26 Februar 2009
Lia boarding the coast express at Tbilisi Georgia 27 September 2007
Rhätische Bahn passengers and Schafner in the train to Oberwald 2 March 2009
Rhätische Bahn Speisewagen 5 March 2009
Rhätische Bahn Speisewagen waitres from Brasil 5 March 2009
at Locivice with its wonderful smiling chef makes a pleasant arrival and almost sad departure
4 August 2004 Gulamanhan Inner Mongolia China - signal man signal man QJ7048 and 6729 wait for departure
Hand operated barriers at Bahnhof Klinge on the line between Forst Lausitz and Cottbus 15 May 2001
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Railroad crossings

As soon as the first train started rolling traffic on crossed road had to be warned for the nearing train. In these days of increasing private traffic the old fashioned barriers still is in use on many places.
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25 August 2004 Ji Tong Rly RR crossing near Haoluku
29 August 2004 near Lin Dong along the Ji Tong Rly inner Mongolia China at kilometer 720 a railroad crossing with farmers.
23 August 2004 Mei Xuanchang with a shunting SY0250 from the local steel mill
25 August 2004 QJ6984 passes a RR Crossing near Haoluku
23 August 2004 mei Xuanchang with SY0356 waiting for the next duty
29 August 2004 near Lin Dong RR crossing at km 720 with a surtain burst of local traffic on the peasant roads in Inner Mongolia
21 Sept 2001 PKP line 308 Narrow gauge MBxd1 204 crosses the road at Krosniewice. The barriers that were worked locally were removed after normal services stopped.
2002 March 31, wheels are crossing the rail road. Tiefa - China
31 March 2002 a railroad crossing near Tiefa-China. Coal mine in the back ground and donkey pulling the car
Road number crossing Krosno's PKP line 333 on the east side from the station
Serbia near the Romanian boarder south of Vrsac an route to Beeograd 29 Nov 2008
Emu Veolia 653 railroad crossing in a street named Weert north of Maastricht 29 December 2010
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Tunnels


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1978 Simplon tunnel northern facade at Brig with on the left the 1905 tunnel and on the right the 1921 tunnel.
1978 Simplon tunnel Switserland.v R-e 4-4 in TEE colours
1978 Simplon tunnel Switserland. Center of the tunnel with its emergency station. Theo Lash among a group of Dutch rail enhousiasts bringing a visit to this unknown and never seen station.
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Underpasses


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Koblenz Hbf 18-2-2006
25 March 2006 Essen Hauptbahnhof
Roosendaal new underpass in old long time out of use tunnel 29-4-2007
Roosendaal new passage with elevators in old tunnel 29-4-2007
Roosendaal new passage in old long time covered tunnel now reopened 29-4-2007
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Signals


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Dead electric Belgium signals Veurs 5 May 2008
Schwerte Rur 14 April 2007 the last larger station with classic signals in the Rur area
old semaphore signals at Krosno Odrz station yard Poland line 333 on 7 May 2008
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Hotels

There used to be a hotel opposite every railway station of any importance. In the time that traveling by rail was the only or most important way of travel hotels were often build near the railway station. Some are still there. Some are rebuild some disappeared and some even returned to their original function being again a hotel like St Pancras in London.
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Bergen op Zoom hotel De Blauwe Vogel tegenwoordig een Apart Hotel. 29 May 2005
4 June 2005 Bremervorde opposing the Hauptbahnhof
Schagen in the province of Noord Holland 18 June 2005
hotel Wilhelmina across the railway station at Venlo NL, 8 Dec 2007
Two hotels side by side: Stations Hotel and hotel American across the railway station at Venlo, 8 December 2007
Maastricht Grand Hotel L'Émpereur 28-12-2007
Ouberge & Hotel van Boxtel in front of the new Boxtel railway station 24 April 2010
Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Lindau, Bodensee 21-5-2010
Near Koblenz Hbf hotel Continental Pfalzer Hof 17 July 2010
Dinslaken Bhf with a DVG car 1005 of line 903 on 23 Januari 2011 and hotel Art Inn
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Signalboxes


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Ternopol Ukraina with ER1262 on 3 June 2004
Krosno Odrz line 333 Poland 7 May 2008
Gubin Poland line 333 on 7 May 2008
old and out of use signal box at Brig Switzerland 17 May 2007
Mei Xuanchang station 23 August 2004
Bochum old signal box near closed freight yard and run down as many places along the property of DB Netz 14 April 2007
Abzweigstelle Halle Nord HNO
28 Februar 2011 Bad bentheim
Bytom - Karb waskotorowej_sygnal_boks
Gliwice - Labedy 4 July 2008
NS signal box at Valkenburg on 22 December 1979 Here is still The Netherlands oldest station building. Sadly the beautifull box is scrapped.
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Rail

The first recorded use of rail transport in Great Britain is Sir Francis Willoughby s Wollaton Wagonway in Nottinghamshire built between 1603 and 1604 to carry coal. Many followed and made from wood. The first cast-iron plate rails came in 1793. The first passenger-carrying public railway worked with horses was the Oystermouth Railway, authorised in 1807. The first steel rails used anywhere in the world were laid in Derby station on the Midland Railway in 1857. This was the first steel rail with a metallurgical structure of those used today. How to fix those rails is another story.
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Line crew PKP Linie at Gubin 7 May 2008
rail Gubin line 333 Poland 7 May 2008
Jordan 9 Dec 2005 near Amman airport territory, the Hedjaz Rly Belgian made Cockerill rails from 1900
In 1847 and 1848 Brunel had a flirt with atmospheric traction. It failed proven unpractical not only because rats at the leather cover at night. GWR museum depot Didcot 22 July 2009 GWR wide track, cast iron rails. On the 23rd May 1892, the last of Brunel s exclusive empire, the 7 feet 1/4 inch broad gauge, was lifted.
Rail bowing device used by the Italian railways 19-6-2007 Museo Ferroviario di Trieste
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