Month: October 2021

Olive trees

Olive trees are one of the most characteristic features of the Mediterranean. Olive plantations range from terraced fields in mountainous areas in Greece or the Balearic Islands to huge fields of many thousands of trees in southern Spain or Italy. Their cultivation goes back to the classic antique times of the Romans and Greeks and there are trees which are hundreds, sometimes even more than a thousand years old and have acquired bizarre shaped trunks by many years of pruning. However, their existence is threatened. Since 2013, a tree-killer, a bacterium called xyella fastidiosa has killed millions of olive trees in Italy and is now also traveling to Spain and Greece.

This behemoth on the Greek Island of Lefkada must be more than a thousand years old
The only way of getting rid of the disease is by burning whole Olive forests
Since many farmers refuse to burn their old trees, the disease is very difficult to contain

Railtown 1897

As I mentioned last week Railtown 1897 is a working museum. Think of the roundtable is the lower left as a lazy-susan for locomotives so that engine entering and leaving the roundhouse can line up with the correct track. The locomotive is waiting it’s turn to be rehabilitated, since that’s what they do here. The coach in the background is one used on their excursions. Note the date on the pit of the roundtable, 1922.

Wie ich letzte Woche erwähnte, ist Railtown 1897 ein funktionierendes Museum. Stellen Sie sich den Runden Tisch unten links als einen Lazy-Susan für Lokomotiven vor, damit die Lokomotiven, die den Ringlokschuppen ein- und ausfahren, auf dem richtigen Gleis ausgerichtet werden können. Die Lokomotive wartet darauf, saniert zu werden, denn das wird hier so gemacht. Der Reisebus im Hintergrund wird auf ihren Ausflügen eingesetzt. Beachten Sie das Datum auf der Grube des Runden Tisches, 1922.

Please wake the Ghost Train

Back in Europe, I traveled often by train. Even now, when going overseas on summer vacations, I am always marveled by the slick high speed trains traveling through Europe and Asia. Just simply cool and highly energy efficient. Well, I am in the US since 1987 and never boarded a train. So, I really wanted to change that. After all, global warming is indirectly smoking up California each summer, and some say, California and the US are the leading power towards a carbon neutral paradise, at least that is what we are told.

So, I though a train trip from San Luis Obispo (SLO) to San Francisco (SF) would be cool. It’s a train line with a lot of history, nice scenery, along the coast and coastal mountain range. So, here are my research results: The distance is just 200 miles, or 320 km. There is only one train that goes through without changing over, either to another train or bus. It takes 6hrs and 19 min and costs $45 for one way, but leaves SLO at 15:35 and arrives in SF at 21:54. There is another train/bus combination that leaves early in the morning at 6:55, but arrives after 15hrs and 23min, at 22:18 in SF and it costs $95. Ohh, that ain’t the future in smooth transportation! I guess, I keep on refraining using the train in California and look forward to a high speed train ride abroad that would take only 45 min or so for the same distance.

The speedy train that only takes a little over 15hrs for the 200 miles.

Dear train ghost, please awaken the old steam engines that could travel at 100 miles/hour already 100 years ago!

High Speed Steam Engine Ghost

Railroad theme week

We start in Rothenburgsort, my former place of residence…
…to visit the Hamburg main station.
As a reminder, this was the situation before.
Book tip: Instead of traveling, I’ve spent a lot of money on photo books over the last 2 years. The best investment was buying Mike Brodie’s book, “A period of juvenile prosperity”, 1st edition/first printing, one of the best photo books forever. On the subject of railroads anyway.
…By the way, we are back in Rothenburgsort. Exit on the left.

Verbindung

Züge verbinden Städte und Menschen. Gerade auch im Regionalverkehr werden sie, schon aus Umweltgründen, immer wichtiger. Die Bahngesellschaften haben in den letzten Jahren in moderne Triebwagen investiert, die damit speziell für Pendler immer attraktiver werden.
Trains connect cities and people. They are also becoming increasingly important in regional transport, if only for environmental reasons. In recent years, rail companies have invested in modern railcars, making them increasingly attractive, especially for commuters.

Brockenbahn

Wernigerode im Harz ist eine der Bahnstationen, von denen man mit der Harzer Schmalspurbahn auf den Brocken, den höchsten Berg Norddeutschlands, fahren kann. Es ist keine Museumsbahn, sondern eine reguläre Bahnverbindung. Neben den Dampflokomotiven werden auch Dieselloks eingesetzt.
Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains is one of the railroad stations from which you can take the Harz narrow-gauge railroad to the Brocken, the highest mountain in northern Germany. It is not a museum railroad, but a regular railroad connection. Besides steam locomotives, diesel locomotives are also used.