Vlad's a Naughty Boy!
by Phil Cooper
Hello again, let me apologise if there are more typos than usual in this blog but I’ve suddenly developed cataracts and I am awaiting surgery which apparently involves getting an injection into my eye! I am not looking forward to this butchery at all but I need it because everything I look at is blurred so I am trying to get it right -just for YOU. Today we’re going to start with some news of REAL railways before a very smooth transition into the modelling world. I know you keen REAL modellers like to look at the real stuff for inspiration ENJOY!
CYBER ATTACK ON POLAND’S RAIL SYSTEM
Some trains were brought to a standstill for a few hours
Polish intelligence services are investigating a hacking attack on the country's railways, Polish media say.
Hackers broke into railway frequencies to disrupt traffic in the north-west of the country overnight, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported on Saturday.
The signals were interspersed with recording of Russia's national anthem and a speech by President Vladimir Putin, the report says.
Poland is a major transit hub for Western weapons being sent to Ukraine.
Saturday's incident occurred when hackers transmitted a signal that triggered an emergency stoppage of trains near the city of Szczecin, PAP reported.
About 20 trains were brought to a standstill, but services were restored within hours.
Stanislaw Zaryn, a senior security official, said Poland's internal security service ABW was investigating. "For the moment, we are ruling nothing out," he told PAP.
"We know that for some months there have been attempts to destabilise the Polish state," Mr Zaryn added. "Such attempts have been undertaken by the Russian Federation in conjunction with Belarus."
I’m going to jump in here and be a bit political. This is very obviously Putin! When will the Russian people and generals find their bollocks and dispose of this cowardly tyrant. The little bully should be answering charges of
War Crimes in Ukraine
SWEDEN-NO BOOKING OFFICES NO QUEUES
With talks of cutting the numberof booking offices in Britan, Swedish Railways says it scrapped station sales to ‘eliminate unnecessary cost and offer an attractive price’
Stockholm Central Station
Stockholm’s grand central railway station feels like a Scandinavian cathedral: a shrine to mobility in the northern world. Devotees of the rail network enter a vast and extravagantly decorated ticket hall – which, in decades past, will have marked the inspirational start to many adventures by train.
You will be aware that train operators are proposing mass closures of rail ticket offices at stations in England. Many disability campaigners as well as the RMT union are implacably opposed to the idea.
The government insists that service to the passenger will actually be increased, because staff will be taken from behind a glass screen and will be better able to assist travellers who need some care. The RMT says it is a job-destruction scheme that will trigger 2,300 redundancies
NOT MY RELATION, HONESTLY
Kirklees Magistrates Court heard that Tom Cooper had produced a child's cheap day return ticket for the trip, but admitted that he was 21.
The court was told that a fixed penalty notice had been issued, but remained unpaid.
Cooper, of Braithwaite Drive, was fined £220 and ordered to pay £150 costs, an £88 victim surcharge and £35.20 compensation.
BEST TRAIN JOURNEYS IN EUROPE
1. Oslo to Bergen, Norway
Connecting Oslo and Bergen is the fairytale Bergen Line. Take it in spring or autumn, and the voyage plays out like a living painting of all four seasons, as blustery flower meadows and lush valleys fade into icy forests of pine and glittering lakes. It’s a journey that’s quite possibly up there with the best in the world. It makes little difference which way you travel – views are equally OTT in both directions, on both sides of the tracks – but start in the morning to ensure you get a full day of views on the seven-hour trip. Ticket prices are generally quite affordable, but onboard food will set you back, so pack snacks.
2. Belgrade to Bar, Serbia and Montenegro
Often referred to as ‘the Balkan Express’, the 11-hour (on a good day) jaunt from Belgrade to Bar celebrates civil engineering and natural majesty. A whopping 435 bridges are traversed as the train trundles from the Serbian capital to Montenegro’s largest port, working as a time machine through the twentieth century in these parts. That means socialist architecture in Užice, modern ski resorts in Kolašin and the rapidly developing tourism of Montenegro’s southern coast. The last stretch is particularly stunning.
3. Palma to Sóller, Majorca
The electric train line that links Majorca’s capital, Palma, with the northern town of Sóller was originally built to ship oranges across the island. Its vintage wooden carriages rattle out of central Palma, through the city’s hinterlands and across the great dry plains of southern Majorca. After a stop in Bunyola, it’s a steady climb into the foothills – followed by the sudden pitch black of the Sóller tunnel. And then comes the best bit: a winding route through the lush peaks of the Serra de Tramuntana, with incredible views over Sóller’s distant church, before the final descent. The whole trip only takes an hour, leaving plenty of time to catch the heritage tram down to Port de Sóller and cool off in the sea before the return leg.
4. Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog, Wales
The small mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog has fallen on tough times with the demise of the slate mining industry, but the little steam railway that connects it with Porthmadog harbour is a gorgeous route showing Wales at its most magnificent. Most of the journey snakes through Snowdonia National Park, with plenty of stop-off options for travellers with time on their hands. The Ffestiniog Railway Company is also the oldest independent railway company on the planet, another layer of awesome to this gorgeous experience.
5. Zermatt to St. Moritz, Switzerland
If you’ve high expectations of an experience named ‘The Glacier Express’, get ready for them to be exceeded and then some. This mountain marvel connects the resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz, and the panoramic views make this one of the best ways to embrace all this dramatic landscape offers. The seven-and-a-half-hour journey traverses 291 bridges, 91 tunnels and a whole lot of beauty.
6. The Brocken, Germany
Another gorgeous journey from base to summit, The Brocken Railway picks wide-eyed passengers up from the settlement on the edge of Harz National Park called Drei Annen-Hohne. When the ride is over, those passengers find themselves on top of the world, or at least on top of the Brocken, the highest peak in Northern Germany. The journey is all tight turns, dramatic valleys, snowy vistas and lose-yourself imagery at a maximum speed of 40km/h.
7. Barcelona to Montserrat, Spain
There are plenty of ways to travel from Barcelona to the base of Montserrat mountain, but we’re putting our eggs firmly in the basket marked ‘train’. Actually, that would be ‘tren’ in Catalan, but you get the idea. There is a wide range of tickets available for the journey, though we recommend getting one that covers not just your train from Barcelona and then either the cable car or rack railway up the mountain itself, but also entry into the Montserrat Museum.
8. Fort William to Mallaig, Scotland (obviously these are not in order according to views as THIS would be number 1)
A constant on lists of the world’s most beautiful train journeys, Scotland’s Jacobite Steam Train is an 84-mile stunner traversing the magic of Scotland from Fort William to Mallaig. Booking ahead is an absolute must but totally worth it, as the journey transports visitors across a landscape that takes the term ‘rugged’ and redefines it in that inimitable Scottish way. Some call it the Hogwarts Express after its turn in the Harry Potter films, and you can insert your own magical comment here.
9. Myrdal to Flåm, Norway
Another frequent face on lists of the world’s best train journeys, the line between Myrdal and Flåm in Norway bridges the divide between impossibly cute and absolutely monolithic. That’s Norway in a nutshell, right? The small things are all quaint and idyllic, while the big ones bluster through stunning cliffs, jagged mountains and awe-inspiring scenery. The Flåm Railway climbs a whopping 867 metres into the sky and back, with a short shop at the Kjosfossen waterfall as the cherry on top.
10. Chur to Poschiavo, Switzerland
Switzerland is every bit as spectacular as its reputation suggests it might be. Actually, this place is woefully undersold and the rail route between Chur and Poschiavo is further proof, a jaw-dropping run that takes lucky passengers through the heart of the Swiss Alps. The famous mountains unravel on either side of the train, scenery that tends to see passengers put their cameras down and stare at the wonders at hand. The Bernina Express continues toward Tirano in Italy for those who need even more scenery.
Right onto some photos of the real stuff taken from Facebook contributors. First up we have some great stuff from
Derek Scott.
I love these shots.
I think these photos are set in Scotland (but I could be wrong). The wee West Highland Terrier logo on the side of the Class 37 signify it was based at Eastfield Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD) which is now closed and has been demolished.
Here it is in it’s pomp:
Pic: courtesy of Wikipedia (I nicked it!)
THANK YOU DEREK SCOTT, GREAT STUFF
Now we welcome back man old friend of the blog with some photos of the real railway and his modelling photos. I’m in a playful mood so can you spot what’s real and what isn’t? It’s not easy!
WELCOME BACK
MARTIN POULTER
This next one is real!
Well how did you get on spotting what was real and what was model?. I’ll help you. Numbers 1,2,3,5,6.8 and 10 were real and the others were real too, real brilliant models.
Sometimes I feel like a Real Madrid football manager with my Galactico modellers and here’s a new Galactico
Say hello to MAURICE BROGDEN
Weren’t they fantastic! Brilliantly detailed on an epic scale. Maurice regularly attends modelling exhibition showing his EASTGATE HARBOUR, MUSEUM OF TRANSPORT and MOORSIDE LANE layouts. Say hello when you see him. He’s definitely a galactico!
While I mention galacticos it’s impossible not to mention
NEIL STANLEY
So heres a wee bit of his genius
And that brilliant finale concludes another blog. Many thanks to Derek, Martin, Maurice and Neil for being brilliant. See you all in a couple of weeks.
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The views and opinions expressed within the content are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of Trackside Signs or its affiliates.
