Network Rail’s £30million refurbishment of Barmouth bridge on the Cambrian Line in West Wales is now complete, it reopened on 2nd December 2023. The work has been some of the most challenging ever undertaken on the bridge, replacing the steel spans with like for like new steelwork. The 154 year old, Grade II* listed single… Read More The reconstruction of Barmouth Bridge
The railway network in Albania didn’t exist before 1949, except for a few isolated narrow gauge industrial & military lines. When Evner Hoxta came to power in 1949 as the Communist dictator he directed a network of lines should be built. They were operated with secondhand stock from other Iron Curtain countries, in barter deals… Read More Rebuilding Albania’s Railways
The popular tv series Railway Roundabout filmed the 760mm narrow gauge line from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia. It was built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire after they occupied Bosnia-Hercegovina in July 1878. There’s a fairly comprehensive list of Bosnian and other former Yugoslavian narrow gauge railways on Wikipedia. You can read some accounts… Read More Dubrovnik to Sarajevo in 1962
The BBC series Railway Roundabout was produced from 1958 to 1962 and included numerous snapshots of daily life on the railways of the UK, and a few featuring Continental Europe. This particular film I’ve just uploaded to YouTube feature the former London & South Western Railway branch line between Axminster in Devon and Lyme Regis… Read More Axminster to Lyme Regis in 1960
Many of the posts over the last few months are from moments of a Winter Interail – Winterrail. I took advantage of last years half price offer and bought a full 3 months pass, but due to various commitments wasn’t able to go until late in the year.Here’s a short compilation of the few bits… Read More Winterrail
This is the ancient trackway of Diolkos, in Corinth, Greece. Archaeologists say it was built at end of the 7th or the start of 6th Century BCE. It enabled ships to avoid the 190 mile trip around the Peloponnesian Peninsula, including the treacherous Capes of Matapan and Maleas. Ancient writers referred to the stone roadway… Read More The first permanent way?
One of the more recently built metro systems in Europe, the 4 line network in Bulgaria’s capital city first opened in January 1998. It currently consists of 4 standard gauge lines with 47 stations, carrying over 300,000 people each day. There’s also an extensive tram network in Sofia, although this hasn’t been enlarged since 1995… Read More Sofia Metro System
A recent visit to Hungary meant I was able to take a look at some of the countries railway heritage. There is a lot on offer, and sadly some of it I didn’t have time to see and some of it was closed due to the time of year – November & December. There’s several… Read More Railway Heritage in Hungary
The extensive network of public transport in Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city, includes the usual trams, buses and suburban railways, along with a rack railway and cable car. Another unique feature of Zurich’s network is the S10 line, which climbs 6.5 miles (10km) to an elevation of 2671ft (814m) on the Uetliberg mountain. Opened in 1875… Read More Uetliberg. The S Bahn on the Mountain
The Wye Valley line ran from Chepstow to Monmouth Troy station, skirting the river and the Wales-England border. A small branch went off to Coleford. The line opened in 1874 and closed to passengers in 1959, with stone traffic from Tidenham quarry continuing until 1992 Today there are still plenty of remaining features visible, the… Read More The Wye Valley Railway
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