Thursday, 30 October 2008

class 350/2

Video clip of 350231 on a test run at Rugby yesterday.Best viewed with sound off due to fellow enthusiast auditioning for a re-make of the laughing policeman! Enjoy.

Thursday, 16 October 2008

Thank you , BBC4

They say that nostalgia isn't what it used to be, but BBC4 dished some up tonight, great viewing.
Great footage of Btitish steam and , to top it all, an interview with some steam age spotters, in which the unique, sublime FROZEN JUBBLY was mentioned!!
What next ? Lyons individual fruit pies? (Blackcurrant and apple of course)

Good night.

Tuesday, 7 October 2008

by popular demand!

ok , here's more swiss rail video.

Aigle ,30 july 2008, passenger train stopping ( only just!?)
Have any other visitors to Switzerland noticed the speed that stopping trains enter platforms?

this clip demonstrates what i mean, but when i was at martigny the day before,i really thought that the stopping trains weren't going to , if you see what i mean.

Thursday, 25 September 2008

Switzerland -Yes,Its yet another video clip !!

OK here we go, its Switzerland again, its Aigle again, its 30 July again,this time a car transporter train.

Once again. no idea where from or where to!
If anybody has any gen on these trains,please use the comments facility.

Ta.

Wednesday, 24 September 2008

Switzerland-another video clip!

another video clip from switzerland, this time its an infrastructure (ballast) train passing through Aigle on July 30 2008


Sunday, 21 September 2008

Swiss update,video clip

Decided to post videos on my blog,when time permits.
Would like to put them on my website http://www.rugbymidland.com/ as well but my total web space allowance is only 50mb!
Anyway , here goes.
Clip shows a freight train passing Martigny,Switzerland on 29 July 2008.
Sorry , dont know where its going or where it had come from!

Tuesday, 5 August 2008

a week in switzerland

Decided to update blog with notes on our recent hol , including some photos (click the images to enlarge them) so here goes.

Sat 26 July . Picked up at home by our holiday Co. Got to Dover after quite a delay-detour via new Olympic site and Blackwall Tunnel due to severe M25 congestion.Had to wait for a feeder coach to arrive at Dover so that other passengers could join us-eventually got the 5pm ferry instead of the 3pm. We were already scheduled for a late arrival at our overnight hotel near Reims but in view of getting the later ferry,the driver advised us that the ferry was the last chance of a full meal today.
Anyway wifey ("P" in this blog ) had a very nice ham and chicken salad for main and a mixed fruit salad for pudding. I opted for an excellent fish, chips and peas for my main course followed by half a bottle of a very passable red wine for pud!
After a millpond crossing we sat back on the coach and relaxed- arrival at overnight hotel was just before midnight.

Sun 27 July Set off for Switzerland , scenery got better and better and became quite dramatic as we approached the Swiss border .Last part of journey was quite breathtaking (Aigle to Les Diablerets)
Reached our hotel in Les Diablerets well in time for evening dinner .


outside our hotel



general views of Les Diablerets -note the snow up top


Monday 28th July Day out on our coach , trip to Montreux , then on to Lausanne for a paddleship trip on Lake Geneva back to Montreux,finishing off with a guided tour of Chateau de Chillon.Absolutely wonderful-glorious weather (31c) and stunning views everywhere-yes and even trains to photograph!



Lake Geneva (Montreux)




Station at Montreux

me on station!




Ship at Montreux, en route to Lausanne where we boarded for the return to Montreux



Freddie Mercury statue on shore of the lake


Tuesday 29th July Took the optional coach trip to Martigny then over the border to Chamonix in France with views of Mont Blanc. Scenery was stunning but the road to Chamonix was so steep and winding i was amazed that a coach could get up it! The views down into the valley below were hair raising,with sheer drops the likes of which i have never seen before. P refused to look at the view for much of the journey and i cant say that i blame her!










3 views of the station at Martigny


To give an idea of the height achieved to reach Chamonix see the pic below.Make sure you double click to enlarge it and look towards the lower right.You will see Martigny far below.

Well , not long before this piccie was took,thats where we were!!



Layby somewhere very high up.Vertigo inducing view , only a few idiots like me actually got off the coach to take photos!!!


Chamonix was a delight but v.hot (around 30c). wandered around town , checked out a bar for cold lager etc.






2 contrasting views from coach window,on the way to Chamonix



Chamonix



Chamonix Mont Blanc station





Video Clip-The rack railway Chamonix-Martigny

Wednesday 30 July Free day today so we used our Free Local Access Cards as part payment for the scenic rail ride on the metre gauge ASD line (Aigle-Sevey-Diablerets). Great views and pleasant trip-more excuses for some railway photos.On returning to Les Diablerets,it had the audacity to rain! Despite this,photos were taken.




Aigle- View of the bay platforms where ASD and AL(Aigle-Leysin) trains arrive and depart,both services use track laid into the tarmac road at this end of their routes.


Aigle -Main line train

ASD train approaching Les Diablerets.

Thursday 31st July -Todays inclusive coach tour was Gstaad-(exclusive ski resort) , then Gruyeres (visit to cheese factory included ) then Broc (visit to Cailler-Nestle chocolate factory included)
Once again ,an absolute scorcher , lunch at Gruyeres where P and I dined in a pleasant restaurant garden- lovely ham and salad baguettes and (for me ) ice cold beer.
Gruyeres,although famous for cheese ,is undoubtedly one of the quaintest places we have had the pleasure to visit.

Gstaad



Gstaad station.Engineering work includes lift and subway to new 2-line platform plus some sidings to left of the picture.Sounds very familiar.Will the work overrun at Christmas?




My new friend taking a drink!!







Gruyeres station


Gruyeres -the main (only?) street


Gruyeres-Cafe garden on left is where we lunched.

Friday 1st August - Our coach took us to Geneva,including another boat trip on Lake Geneva.Today was Swiss National Day, a major Bank Holiday with many shops shut so the lake trip killed some time but was very enjoyable. After the boat trip we walked from the lakeside to have a look at the main station.
NB , the obvious route to go is down the wide fashionable cafe society Rue du Mont-Blanc,
but not P and me! Tip-If you have The Rough Guide to Switzerland with you like we did, then read it BEFORE a trip.We walked a 100m or so along the lake and went to the station via Rue de Monthoux.I remarked to P about the vast number of eateries en route,serving every cuisine imaginable but P didnt seem to want to linger. Well I thought the scantily clad girls leaning on walls were tourists catching a bit of sun. However , P knew better and the Rough Guide agreed with her. We had strayed into the rather dingy red-light district of Les Paquis. We dined at Mcdonalds instead!!
Returned to Les Diablerets via the southern shore of the lake ,ie into and out of France ,and stopped for a short time at the delightful French lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains, the place famous for Evian water.

Anyway, some photos below to finish the blog, as next day and Sunday were the travel home days,similar to last Sat and Sun in reverse but with much better timings.












Geneva's main station, the Gare de Cornavin



the famous fountain - Jet d'Eau


Housing estate,Geneva style!




Rue du Mont-Blanc ,Geneva (recommended route from lakeside to main station!)




Front of our hotel,decorated for Swiss National Day




Part of the dining room, the 2 seats left and right nearest camera were ours for the week.They happened to be nearest the bar(immediately behind camera ) but this was sheer chance!







Monday, 30 June 2008

time for an update - heres a short video clip at rugby mid-jan 08 when traffic had been restored