Time in Spain was to be shared between Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid. Valencia was visited briefly; the goal there was to head out of town to 'La Tomatina'... I can only recommend that NOBODY bother doing this... ever. Barcelona then received the most time and Madrid got one night.

We landed in Barcelona from Athens and headed straight for Barcelona Sants. We had a connecting train from there to Valencia in 'Preferente Class'. This happened to be first class and was purchased very cheaply!

Before we knew it we were speeding south to Valencia.

Valencia

The rail system around Valencia was quite nice, it seems they had recently extended the high-speed there and built a new station (or were in the progress of converting an old one.) The old Valencia Nord station was also very impressive.

As the main goal was a daytrip to La Tomatina in Bunol, there wasn't much time to check out the freight yards in the south.

Barcelona

I'd seen a lot of freight action near Tarragona from the train to Valencia and wanted to check it out. A day was spent on the rail around Barcelona and, due to a late start, I decided that Tarragona was a little too far. Instead I made it half way south through to Sitges and Cunit.

There wasn't a freight train to be seen and hardly any high-speed stock, mainly just standard EMUs floating around. I therefore decided to go to Martorell in the north of Barcelona where, via google maps, I'd seen that freight, passenger and high-speed converged.

Fortunately I chose to stop through Garraf on the way through. This town is on the coast just above Sitges and has a beautiful old station building. There is a tunnel to the south and it all provides a great backdrop for shots.

Especially when a high-speed consist comes through...

At Martorell I was instantly greeted by a freighter heading west.

I then wandered from the station to the high-speed line around one kilometre north. I only had to wait 5 minutes to see a train bolt past.

I then returned to Martorell station and was greeted by a SEAT Car Carrier.

I'd also seen via google maps that there was a nice tunnel/castle/vineyard area one stop east of Martorell. The station was known as Castellbisbal and was easy to get to. I caught the next service east and wandered up to the road overpass of the high-speed.

I then wandered back to the station.

When I last expected it a freight came through heading west.

And that was it for the daytrip...

Madrid

The final trip was 'Touriste Class' to Madrid. This was on the ICE-3'looking rolling stock from Barcelona Sants to Madrid Atocha. The service was non-existent compared to First Class, but the train was great. Unfortunately the track condition along the way lead to a few rollercoaster-like experiences. At one point we even had to hold on to our drinks! I couldn't believe they were running the train at 300km/h over the rough patches.

The final stop was Madrid Atocha. This was a newly rebuilt station, full of concrete. At least it was quite clean.

We stayed near a station called 'Principe Pio'. It seems to have two sides, one which they have rebuilt with the other falling into disrepair.

And that was it... the next day saw a flight to Hong Kong. They've since stopped freight to Hung Hom and so there was no real advantage to chasing trains. I vowed to do more upon returning to Oz.

Larissis Station (aka 'Athens Central', 'Larissa Station')

This is where everything starts to get very confusing; there is no direct Wikipedia reference to this station and, depending on which site you're browsing through, everyone has a different name for it. I've come across two reasons for this: firstly most people translate the Greek language into English differently and secondly it seems that the area used to have two stations for two different destinations. Peloponnisou, the second station, was closed in 2005, but I can't determine when the new Larissis station development started. Either way, as you can see below, it hasn't finished.

As I arrived a DMU was departing the original Larissis Station. The station was quite busy as the train was approaching.

The yard was looking pretty dismal... the track had been skewed to allow more point installations and there was a lot of material lying around in stockpiles.

I then did a lap of the area to see what had become of the new development. A track machine and a rail train were stabled in the empty platforms. I don't know how long 55-213 had been parked there, but there was absolutely no evidence of work being carried out at the time.

At the other end of the station you could see the tunnelling that was partially in use. It was also made obvious that there was a lot more work to do on the station.

Finally, the underpass to the shopping area and Metro station had some nice artwork of days gone by.

That was it for Athens... the rest of the time in Greece was spent driving a Nissan Micra in Santorini on the wrong side of the road.
The next stop was to be spain; it was finally time to use the Renfe tickets I'd previously purchased.

The city of Istanbul of two sides, separated by the Bosphorus River. It turns out that the western half is known as the 'European Side', as it's phyiscally a part of the continent of Europe, and the eastern half is therefore the 'Asian Side'. Locals don't actually use the terms as above; they simply say 'opposite side' depending on the context of the conversation.

Sirkeci, the European side

Right next to the Blue Mosque is the Sirkeci Railway Station, the end of the line for the railway coming from Europe. It used to be the initial station/final destination for the Orient Express when it was still in operation. Turkey does not yet have a rail tunnel from the European to the Asian side and so travellers must transfer to a different mode of transport here to continue their journey east.

Turkey operates a varied amount of electric rolling stock, most of which can be seen at this station. At ~8:00am each morning the international train will also arrive bringing in tourists from far afield. In the end, I failed to take a shot of the actual station itself... I seemed to have been too keen on the trains this trip rather than the infrastructure.

Speaking of infrastructure... freight trains do actually have a method of getting across the Bosphorus. Turkish Railways still operate a train ferry from Sirkeci to Haydarpaşa Station. The boats seem to be able to carry around 6 wagons; unfortunately I never got to see one in transit. Note that the last shot below is from the platforms of Sirkeci station. You can see the pipe train in the background which had been taken off the ferry in the few hours that I'd been on the other side of the river.

Haydarpaşa, the Asian side

It was nice to finally see some infrastructure and rolling stock after a pretty quiet western side. Haydarpaşa Station is the final station on the eastern side and all services heading into Turkey and further initiate there. There are a lot of loco-hauled passenger services and that means there is a lot of consist rearranging in the yard. There is also quite a bit of freight action visible as the ferry terminates just north of the station.

And then you have the other end of the train ferry... The final shot below was taken as our ferry was back to Sirkeci; there is now a different load on the boat.

Halkali, back on the European side

I had google maps'd this location and saw a freight yard. It was the last freight yard before the line narrowed into Sirkeci station and seemed to have a lot of rolling stock. I jumped on an EMU from Sirkeci which took 40mins to get around to the yard. Once there, there was not a sound to be heard... no one was working in the area and then the call-to-prayer came over the PA system. This was the final stop for the service I was on, so I held on to my train 'token' (they used coins as tickets in Turkey) and waited to return on the same consist.

Fortunately, while I was there a rail tractor shunted a ballast rake. There was also a rail consist stabled without locomotives.

And that was it for Turkey... the next stop was Greece.

Split

I'd seen from Google Maps that Split had a main railway station on the water and the line seemed to be the southern-most point of the entire Croatian system. There was quite a bit of freight infrastructure around the base of the harbour, but it was hard to tell from Google if it was still in use.

We landed by plane from Berlin and caught the bus into town. The single line could be seen paralleling the highway, but there was zero traffic. Closer in to town there was a selection of freight stock around an industrial plant, but the larger freight yards further into the city weren't visible from the road.

Split wasn't high on my railway-viewing list; the main reason was to check out the beaches and the town. Therefore the shots taken below were all done within a 20minute segment at Split Station at around 7am on a Wednesday.

First up was 2062 110 shunting the autorail into the station platform.

Next 2062 038 departed with a passenger service, presumably North.

2062 110 then ran back around to it's consist.

DMU 7122 001 arrived with a whole bunch of backpackers... this service gets close to the airport... they may well have been smart enough to only take a taxi a short distance and a train the rest of the way.

2062 110 then shot off north.

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik used to have a connected railway line... but... politics prevailed and it was cut off in 1975. It was narrow gauge too! They also used to have a tram in the city, but this was cancelled around the same time.

The beaches though... the beaches are fantastic! Take an island tour... amazing. Unfortunately, the 'old town' is a bit of a disappointment. The shops are all nastily commercial and you have to pay to even get on the city wall.

Zagreb

This place was great... I hadn't expected much from Zagreb; all the reviews were that it was a drab city from the dark ages, but this turned out to be its charm. The city has a railway line through the south and also a large tram network.

There's a funicular tram and also a cable car up in the north which wasn't running the day we were in town.

The main station is known as Zagrebački Glavni kolodvor (Zagreb Main Station). All local and regional railway services start from this location meaning it is quite busy at all times of the day. International services also arrive/depart here and there were often a lot of annoyed backpackers hanging around for late trains.

I then headed west via Tram to the next station along the line. I can't remember the exact name, but it's definitely not in use anymore. The most action seen was the red diesel shunter heading further west.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the abandonded? freight yards to the east of Zagreb Station. There are some interesting 'garden' communities here where it seems everyone gets a plot of land and a shed to grow small crops. The line to the west is also quite busy!

I also took a trip out to Dugo Selo (further east) to see what would pass through. It was a pretty desolate station, but there were people waiting for the train. A loco-hauled service paused briefly in the yard, but it seemed to just collect papers from the station master. Passengers did try to get on it though, obviously faster than the EMU.

The final afternoon was spent at the main station... there's always something going on.

They also even pay respects to bygone eras via a plynth out the front.

The entire album from Croatia is available here.

Bochum

Being located in the North-Rhine area, Bochum is right in the mix of the Ruhr area known for it's large industrial complexes. From the train, this was immediately obvious; we passed freight train after freight train heading in and we also saw a lot of freight yard infrastructure. I was more than impressed with what I saw and was even happier to find a large freight yard in the middle of Bochum.

Checking in to the Ibis Bochum City was painless and the view was straight onto the train tracks... Unfortunately, due to 'non-smoking rooms' the window was sealed to prevent air-con wastage. I therefore headed straight out for a lap of the station to see what was going down. It turns out there is a good view of the platforms in the afternoon light from the south-west of the station... there also happens to be a carpark with minimal fencing that you can take some good shots from.

Proceeding onto the station platforms produced some better results. Due to the multitude of private operators involved, it seems that tickets are all checked on-board trains rather than having gated platforms. This meant that there was easy access to all platforms.

It turns out that the DB loves the loco-hauled end-cab-control system as well. The whole concept is that the motive power is all in the locomotive at one end, but the train can be controlled from the far-end passenger car as well. This would never happen in Australia as we have very strict operating rules; I also wouldn't want to be in an accident where you have an extremely heavy (not to mention powerful) locomotive pushing tin-foil cars in to eachother. Then again, having the loco hit something first means the passenger cars have free will to fly around... I suppose the point is not to be in an accident at all!?

From the station I continued on-foot around the yard to the north-east. There is a branch from this yard further north-east, but it looked pretty abandoned. Google maps shows that there are cars and relatively new-looking infrastructure... I didn't follow the line to confirm this.

Instead I continued around to a road-bridge over the east-end of the yard. Here came fun! After a few passengers services at the south end of the bridge..

I then heard a diesel pulling in to the yard. Here I saw a V90? diesel shunter pulling a small consist into a loop. It then proceeded to run around, getting ready to pull the consist back in the direction it came. In the meantime though, 3 other trains came through; two continued on, but the third dropped more load for the shunter to pick up and continue on with.

I'd spent a good few hours on the bridge and decided to return to the hotel... Fortunately there's good visibility of the rail all the way back.

The rest of the time in Bochum was spent checking out the city. It's quite old and, I suppose cold? It's hard to explain, but it was the underlying theme to the rest Germany as I was to find out. There wasn't much graffiti around and the buildings were quite clean, but the architecture was all very similar and there was a lot of concrete. Fortunately the people were very friendly and accepted our very limited knowledge of the German language. There also happened to be a festival on in the middle of town which went on well in to the night.

A 24-hour trip to Berlin [aka 'The Comedy of Errors']

This was always going to be one of the highlights of the time spent in Germany. The goal was simple; start from Bochum, get as far down the Rhine as possible and then intercept the overnight train and travel to Berlin. What happened in the end was nothing short of disastrous but, in the end, was a great trip and a good story to tell. We boarded a train south from Bochum and started our journey. There was meant to be an initial stop in Cologne, but a late start saw us skip this and head straight for the Rhine.

Wuppertal

As the train was snaking through Wuppertal I noticed a large amount of infrastructure looking something like a monorail track. It wasn't until I saw the vehicle hanging from it that I wished I'd stopped. Unfortunately, Wuppertal hadn't been on my radar for a visit, but if I'd known that monorail existed, then I'd have definitely checked it out!

It turns out it's called the 'Wuppertal Schwebebahn' or 'Wuppertal Floating Tram'. It was built over a century ago and, although it's had a lot of 'modernisation' work, still carries 25 million passengers a year! Wuppertal was built through the valleys alongside the Wupper river of which actual monorail was built suspended above.

St Goarshausen

After switching to VIAS GmbH at Koblenz, we proceeded across the Rhine in the direction of Frankfurt. The goal was to stop at a river-side station somewhere down the line to eat and check out the scenery. This railway has an interesting mid-way 'terminal' style station at Wiesbaden. The trains then reverse and head on to Frankfurt where they then turn around and bounce back to Koblenz.

I still don't remember why I chose St Goarshausen as a location for lunch and freighters, but it did pay off in the end... unfortunately it was also the place of initiation for the proceeding comedy-of-errors. We got off the train in a hurry, which vaguely reminds me that the location was chosen quite randomly, and made it down to the Rhine. Here we ate lunch and saw the tour buses and boats proceeding up and down the roads and river. All was swell until I got up to walk back to the station. It was time to see what ran on the line and it wasn't until I went to pick up my two bags that I realised I only had one! At that point I remembered that I'd thrown my 'carry on' bag on the rack above us in the train and had not remembered to take it back down as we were getting off.

It occurred to me that there was not much I could do after a few deep breaths... We paid for lunch and headed back to the station. Unfortunately it was well-abandoned and all the numbers to call weren't working from my Dutch Lebara sim card. The next VIAS train wasn't for an hour... so... I took photos of freighters as I had the camera around my neck.

The next service came and we boarded, waiting for the conductor. After checking our Eurail pass, we asked her what we should do. It was Saturday and her answer was to call Lost&Found on Monday. She was also finishing shift at the next stop and a new conductor coming on might be able to help. Unfortunately he spoke less english, asking if we spoke french.

We ended up at the terminal in Wiesbaden where we were meant to switch to DB and head on through to Freiburg. Unfortunately, without my bag (containing train tickets for the overnight train), we weren't going anywhere fast. The goal at Wiesbaden was then to find a station office and determine what the best plan of attack was. 5 minutes before arriving we decided that we might also continue on VIAS to Frankfurt, as the train we were originally on should have been cleaned prior to turning around?

We chose to alight at Wiesbaden and headed to the ticket counter to find an office. We expected that they could call Frankfurt to check the train we'd been on... I'd taken a photo of the train and knew the actual loco number. As we approached the end of the platform I noticed another VIAS train (amongst all the DB stock) was hanging in platform one. It had already bounced back from Frankfurt and was about to head off for Koblenz! I passed my luggage to my friend and bolted for it... I still feel sorry for the passengers waiting to depart as I stormed through the carriage looking for the shelf that I'd left my bag on. Unfortunately, it wasn't there.

Meanwhile, my friend had intercepted the conductor who was just finishing his shift and wandering down the platform. The language barrier had prevented him from getting the message through, but I rocked up and just used sign language to describe my bag. He all of a sudden realised what we meant and took me back to the drivers compartment. It turns out he'd seen it on the shelf at Frankfurt and put it in with the driver, expecting to return it to Koblenz and store it there. I could not believe my luck when he returned my bag back to me with my laptop, camera lenses, phone charger, train tickets, travel documents, etc... etc... in it.

We then jumped on the next train south towards Freiburg; the goal was to have Dinner in Worms.

Stuttgart

Not Freiburg you say? Not Worms either? I still can't give you the correct answer as to how we got here. We printed the 'travel advice' from the DB machine showing the connections... we went to the right platform... we got on the train that we thought was to take us in the correct direction and we ended up in Stuttgart. Now that I look at the map I realise that we headed south-east instead of due south.

It was getting to late afternoon and this foul-up meant that we wouldn't make the night-train intercept at Freiburg! I went to the station office and told the attendant my dilemma. I suggested Karlsruhe as an alternate intercept point and she indicated this would be fine... I also then assumed the train conductor would be informed. We then caught the next train to Karlsruhe after a snack.

Karlsruhe

We got here in good time for the intercept... I decided to practise night-time photography and tinkered with my camera.

We had a full meal at the station and, before we knew it, the night train was approaching.

We boarded the train and attempted to enter our cabin... it was locked. I let out a yelp, but then tracked down the conductor. He looked at my ticket and grunted... disappearing somewhere in the wrong direction. Before long he returned and proceeded to give me an ear-full about being late and informed me of their policy on re-selling rooms if the original passenger no-shows more than 2 stations beyond there original joining point. It turns out that, now when I look at a map, we should've continued further south to Offenburg... although I can't remember if that would've been possible. I think the lady at Stuttgart would've recommended that if it had been the case?

Either way, he pulled out his keys stating that he thought our cabin was no longer available... whilst still walking us towards it. He unlocked the room and we all saw that it wasn't occupied. He then continued the rant that we should have gotten on earlier and that we were making his job difficult. I explained the story and he stated that the DB station staff had no ability to contact train conductors if/when there are issues. We thanked him for his help and he went on his 'merry' way.

After 3 fails, we finally had somewhere to sleep and were on the way to Berlin.

Berlin

So... 0700 hours... off the train to Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Amazing station! How the hell do we get to Rosa-Luxemborg-Platz? It's amazing how dependent you get on technology... specifically data connections on mobile phones and google maps. We navigated the maps and jumped on a train to Alexanderplatz. This turned out to be another great station. We then transferred to the U-Bahn and ended up at the correct station. It was now 0800 and we dropped our bags... it's Sunday... turns out nothing is open!? So...

This city needs to be re-visited... there's a lot more to check out!

This city surprised me... I was expecting somewhat of a metropolis, Amsterdam being the capital and all. Instead it's a beautiful canal city with fantastic architecture, despite some of the houses leaning towards canals or other buildings.

Nederlandse Spoorwegen [aka 'Dutch Railways'] (Official site) is the national railway operator and provided us with all the transport requirements we needed. Multiple trips were taken out to random locations and the trains were always fast and on time.

Amersfoort

Just south-west of Amsterdam, Amersfoort is an interchange station for anyone wanting to head north/north-west. We used this interchange on the way through to Groningen. A modern EMU was caught from Amsterdam Centraal but then the connecting train was a Koploper to Groningen! Checking out this model of EMU was high on my priority list!

The Koploper looks very similar to the JR West Thunderbird (683 Series) and the standard 183/485 EMUs as well, but I'm not too sure who copied who. I also bought a model of this in HO by Lima; I'll post on that at a later date.

Groningen

My grandparents are from this area and it had to be visited... getting here by Koploper was an added bonus. Groningen is known for its high student population and universities. We had lunch in the town square and checked out the shops; there was a better selection there than the capital of Australia

Veendam

The Museum Railway S·T·A·R runs from Staadskanaal to Veendam and this wasn't far away from Groningen. We took the DMU from Groningen to Veendam and intercepted the first run of the SL for the morning from Staadskanaal. Note that this service has only just been re-connected to Veendam. The train used to stop one station short until June this year (2011) when they re-extended the service.

The STAR Museum Train had to cross a canal when coming from the south (Stadskanaal); a manually-operated bridge is turned into place when required.

We then took the next DMU back to Groningen and then connected to a return service to Amsterdam.

Venlo

The final day was spent taking the train from Amsterdam Centraal to Bochum, Germany. This was extremely easy and fast. There were three connections in total, all with no issues or delays. Venlo was the last stop before switching to the German railways and was a hub for freight train drivers to change shifts. There happened to be a constant procession of freighters pausing for 5 minutes in the yard, coming in from both directions.

You can find the whole album here.

As per usual, I'd google-mapped NY prior to coming and new that there wasn't much freight action on the island. I had seen a few yards on the the east coast of Long Island near Brooklyn and had decided that would be a first stop once I had time.

Car floats and empty lots on Long Island

I thought we all called them train ferries or rail ferries, but it turns out they're known as car floats in America. The New York New Jersey Rail, LLC run one from Bay Ridge to New Jersey on-demand. Turns out that when I visited there was no demand whatsoever, to the point where I was actually sure that the whole site had been abandoned. It wasn't until I google'd today that I realised it is the end of the Bay Ridge Branch owned by the Long Island Railroad....
Actually, as I'm writing this I'm seeing conflicting information on Wikipedia as to what carfloat service is actually still in operation...

I then walked north to the other visible yard on google maps but it turns out the photos are old and the yard no longer existed. I turned east to see the subway depot near 9th Ave Station. It was pretty cool, nice diesel maintenance equipment, but I'd failed to take any good photos.

CSX: The Bronx

This was a fun trip... on my last day in NY I decided to venture north to see a yard just across Harlem River. At the time of research I'd neglected to check suburb names and so just went for it, on foot. I found the CSX depot with quite a lot of rolling stock, random Amtrak services shooting through and a track gang working.

I walked the length of the yard south after coming from the intersection at Baretto Street. In the distance there were two CSX locomotives doing some minor shunting. Fortunately I waited around long enough for an Amtrak service to bolt through.

The next part was meant to be a leisurely stroll across to the large junction of the Metro North and Amtrak railway near 149th Street 'Grand Concourse'. As I crossed the streets I started feeling slightly conscious... it wasn't until I saw a portable police turret keeping an eye out on an intersection that I realised a tourist should probably not be walking through the district with a large camera hanging around their neck.

Metro North and Amtrak near 149th Street

This area provided a nice amount of action. Around 1 train every 5-10 minutes in both directions and from both Metro North and Amtrak. Although the sun wasn't in the best position, and there were a lot of fences preventing clear shots, it was a good location to just relax in the high 20-degree temperatures + humidity.

Harlem River

I then walked south and crossed Harlem River. There seems to be a lot of freight infrastructure on the northern side, including a low-lying viaduct allowing the trains to traverse the border of the northern shore. The main Metro North rail bridge is also a great backdrop.

Harlem-125th Street Station

This is one of the first stations on the south-side of the line on the bridge shown previously. Therefore it carried the expresses and locals stopping at this station. Fortunately the sun was in the right position for anything heading south. It was a pretty busy location and the foyer of the building was amazing.

And that was it for New York... the next day was Amsterdam...

California

The goal was simple... fly the red-eye A380 from Melbourne to LAX, jump in a hire-car and make it to San Francisco the 'scenic way'. A few days would then be spent in San Francisco before returning to LA via the inland route. This would include Yosemite and a few of the larger railroad junctions as seen from Google Maps.

San Luis Obispo

The Pacific Surfliner (I think?) happened to arrive just as we did. There were a few UP Locos stored as well... maybe for banking? The town was great, unfortunately we didn't check out the coffee; there were quite a few lively places around the station to do so though.

The pedestrian bridge at San Luis Obispo was well designed. It provided a great view of the station and yard too.

I had always thought that the Bachmann models of the Amtrak cars were just cheap and didn't include side-frames on the bogies... turns out they're actually like this in reality... not the prettiest view.

Paso Robles

The next stop via Highway 101 was Paso Robles. Not much happening here at all... I nearly expected to see the same Amtrak train coming through, but it seems that we beat it way too easily. The station has a Sushi shop built in, but the prices weren't what we were willing to dish out despite paying the US$.

Quarry Lake (east of Watsonville)

An accidental detour saw us visit a quarry near Quarry Lake. The initial plan was to divert from 101 to check out the seemingly large junction at Watsonville, but the weather and time wasn't on our side.

Caltrain Station, San Francisco

Caltrain is a loco-hauled/control-cab operating passenger service from San Francisco (right next to the baseball stadium) down to San Jose. Turns out there's a few great restaurants next to the station in San Fran and whilst waiting for dinner I had a few minutes with a friends camera to check out the yard. Fortunately the sun was also in my favour.

As you can see, it's a terminus; they'll end up in the water unless the dig or build over to Oakland. Unfortunately I didn't get to see any of the trains in action, nor ride one, but it's something I'll go back again for.

Trams/Trolley buses in San Fran

I was quite impressed to see the trolley bus routes in San Francisco. I had never actually seen any running and the biggest shock was the lack of noise. I'm used to diesel buses here in Australia and the electric versions are bloody quiet. I imagine it could even be a safety issue if no one can hear them coming?
Another impressive feature was that the trams used one of the trolley bus wires where they shared paths. Of course, the bus would not pick up the other polarity from the ground, so they needed two wires in the air. Trams, on the other hand, only used one and so you'd see, at intersections, trolley buses and trams banked up behind each other.

San Francisco Cable Car Museum

This is a must-see for any rail enthusiast. Sure, the they're not exactly 'trams', but the techonology behind the system is awesome. This Museum actually still acts as the motive power source for the cars. The cables are turned here to pull the cars up the gradients. The cars are controlled by levers where the driver can choose to detach from the cable and apply brakes... i.e. allowing them to stop at 'stops'. Hence the cables are perpetually spinning, or during hours of operation anyway.

And then... the Cable Cars...

The world-famous cars that run on the cables are a tourist trap. The ticket price is 4x a standard fare and the queues to ride them are usually large. The cars to move quickly, but I imagine there's a limit to the amount of cars on the cable at once as you'll often see the drivers at the end stops waiting for the other cars to climb the hill. Pretty frustrating as someone in the line waiting.

As for the ride, the gradients are awesome and the passing is pretty dangerous... hang of the side if you dare, but keep your head in!

Oakdale

A random stop through Oakdale on the way to the Yosemite National Park found a random caboose and the Sierra Railroad's Dinner Train. Not much was happening around the yards, so I didn't hang around long.

Fresno

The initial perception of Fresno indicated little railway infrastructure and life... fortunately I was wrong. After a little false navigation following disused lines I came across 'South Railroad Avenue' which followed the main line. It turns out that there's a junction and then the BNSF depot. Finally some real american horsepower. Santa Fe had always been my favourite railroad (first model train, etc...) and it was nice to see them, although in the amalgamated BNSF livery.

The last miles on Interstate 5

After Fresno the countdown was on to get back to LA before midnight. The plane to NY was leaving early the next morning and we needed some time to check out Hollywood. Along the way back there were a few freighters hanging around loading sites, one was from Golden State Feed and Grain and another from Rail America.

And that was it... New York was next.

An apology: I'd traveled here last year whilst in Japan and had completely forgotten to write up the experience. Hopefully I haven't mis-recollected too much of the following information

I'd seen the freight operations in Chichibu online in multiple places, but wanted to go and check out the 'rolling museum' for myself; as it was one of the many private railways that I had intended to visit and one that I had the freight timetables for.

The Chichibu Railway

The Chichibu Railway (Official site, Japanese only) is a private railway in Japan which runs west from Hanyu Station to Mitsumineguchi Station via Kumagaya. The railway operates both passenger and freight (limestone) services. It's rolling stock consists of many handed-down locomotives and multiple units.

Getting to Chichibu from Osaka

Since I'd been visiting friends in Osaka, I wasn't in the best location to be getting to Chichibu early enough for some of the freight operations. Fortunately, Japan still has quite a few overnight services and one of these, the Kitaguni, would get me to Nagaoka in time to transfer to the Shinkansen to Kumagaya.

The Kitaguni departs Osaka Station just before 11:30pm each day and arrives at Niigata just before 7:00am the next morning. The service is operated by dedicated 583 Series EMUs and has multiple types of sleeping accommodation. I chose the cheapest bed, but I don't recommend this. See the photo below; I was in the top bunk and you get only a single peep-hole for a view.

Nagaoka to Chichibu

We stopped at Naoetsu Station briefly on the way through to Niigata. I grabbed a few photos before we continued on to Nagaoka.

At Nagaoka Station I transferred to the next southbound service to Kumagaya. I had breakfast at the station and then found the Chichibu platforms downstairs. Tickets were purchased from a vending machine and I chose to travel to Takekawa. This station is west of the branch that runs to the Taiheiyo Cement Factory and is the first place to see traffic heading east-bound.

Upon arriving at Takekawa I found several of the electric freight locos stored in the yard. This was to be an ominous sign, as it seemed most of the services I wanted to see that morning weren't running.

I walked a lap around the yard and the station and checked out the surroundings. Takekawa is a very quiet little suburb, but the locals seem to be used to railfans hanging around. I greeted one or two people who didn't seem too upset with me loitering around and taking photos of the infrastructure. I was also greeted by around 30-odd small children on a school excursion crossing the pedestrian bridge.

After walking about 3/4 of my lap the 'express' EMU passed and I got a shot of it from the level crossing east of the station.

I looked again at my timetable and realised that there was to be another freight coming in and so positioned myself on the station island platform. I watched as one of the staff inspected (and tightened) the handbrakes on a rake of limestone hoppers (WAKIs).

The level crossing west of the station then sounded. The previous passenger train east-bound had already passed and so I realised I was finally going to see a freight movement.

In came locomotive 504 with a small rake of limestone hoppers. It stopped on road closest to the platform and another engineer jumped on the front. They then left the hoppers and trundled down the rails towards the factory.

That then ended my brief tour of the Chichibu. I returned to Kumagaya on the next passenger service and took the Shinkansen into Tokyo. The rest of the afternoon was then spent with friends in Akihabara.

As per usual, with any freight railway in any country, any timetables available must be taken with a level of doubt. The paths set for trains are only really useful when there is a train to be moved. I had a feeling that there were too many stored locos in the yard and this turned out to be true; as out of the 5 movements to be seen in time timeframe I was there, only one ran.

Either way, I was more than content with seeing preserved locomotives still operating and was also impressed with the other hand-me-down rolling stock on the Chichibu.

Oh! That's right, I was also there to see the Paleo Express, which was meant to run on that day.
...It didn't...

Canberra

This trip started early at Kingston Railway Station in Canberra, ACT on Wednesday the 29th of December. This station (note that we are in Australia's capital) sees no more than 3 passenger train departures per day and 3 arrivals. These are even staggered so that every second day you can leave in the morning and afternoon, alternately with morning and evening on other days. Randomly inconvenient and it gets worse; the trip to Sydney (Central Station) takes around 4.5 hours. Meanwhile, if you are wanting to buy tickets for Country Link trains, I can only recommend to purchase them at Queanbeyan Station as it's run by the staff of the ARHS ACT and they get a commission.

Either way, we got off on time and stopped at Queanbeyan 10 minutes after leaving Canberra.

We then arrived at Bungendore around 30minutes later. As I had worked on the ARHS ACT trains, I knew I had enough time to grab a few photos as the whole line from Canberra to Goulburn still uses the 'staff' system. This meant that the driver had to exchange staffs in each of the signal boxes along the way.

At Tarago, the same thing had to happen and so I checked out the station. This was the final station on the Goulburn-Canberra branch before the train was to enter the "Main South". After this there were not going to be many other photo opportunities.

Sydney (aka. CityRail)

We arrived at Strathfield Station at some time after 10:00am after leaving Canberra at 6:43am. I then had about 6 minutes to change platforms and get onto a northbound express service. This service was to be run by CityRail which is the Sydney electric train network operator. They also run DMU services on non-electrified track.
This northbound train was to terminate at Wyong, but that was good enough, as I knew that there were freight services running over the "Main North" to keep me entertained there. I'd stopped by Wyong around 3 years ago and had seen a nice couple of RLs carrying freight southbound... unfortunately, we were well short of Wyong when the freighter stormed past, doing a great speed up the Cowan bank.
The CityRail fleet consists of all sorts of electric trains, but the northbound long-distance routes are covered by "V" sets (I believe) and they are ancient... Fortunately they are extremely comfortable and are even decked out with toilets and mildly-functioning air-conditioning. Really quite retro!

I therefore got off at Wyong and waited for the next service to Newcastle. I would only travel as far as Hamilton which is three stops before Newcastle and is the first station which intersects with the Hunter Line. Here I would transfer and then travel on the diesel service to Victoria Street where I was to stay overnight.
The DMUs used on the Hunter Line are two-car and I think nearly everyone of them had a flat-spot on one wheel somewhere.

Maitland and surrounds

Now, once in the heart of coal-country, it wasn't going to be too long until a coal train was to come hurtling past; it ended up being three, straight after each other. From what I gathered, the trains gave around 10 minutes minimum between each other when travelling in the same direction; but the paths were already clear well before.

After realising I could see coal trains all day, I packed up the camera and checked in to my hotel. Once settled, I then headed back to Warabrook Station and checked out the action. This station is located between Islington Junction and the other triangle (Koogarang Junction?)... although the double-triangle is probably known as Islington Junction. Either way, coal trains would be entering from all directions and I wasn't disappointed.

So, random light engine movements, but no coal trains... it turns out I could see them, but none were coming from the Newcastle direction. I therefore jumped on the next westbound train and got off at the next station past the triangle: Sandgate.

Day two

I was to catch the 6:65pm XPT from Maitland Station to Brisbane and therefore had the whole day to check out what was happening around the Hunter. I dumped my bags at Maitland Station and then proceeded to loiter at random points between Maitland and Newcastle. Fortunately, as soon as I'd sorted out my luggage, an 81 class + 2 48s rolled in with a grain consist. It turns out they were not going anywhere until the next DMU was through (thanks for that information from the drivers!) and therefore I took a few photos at Maitland Station and then waited for it at Sandgate.

At Sandgate, the main line is elevated over the coal lines to Koogarang Island. I was told by the grain train drivers that they were to change onto the main line and proceed through to Broadmeadow yard. This meant that they would come over the hump... of course, I didn't make it to the platform end to get the 'perfect shot'... but it worked out OK anyway...

I loitered at Sandgate and was lucky to see QRs new liveried 50 class.

The rest of the afternoon...

It was too hot by 11:00am to be hanging around in the sun and so I travelled on to Newcastle and swam at the main beach. Afterwards I ventured back to Broadmeadow Station to see if there was anything interesting going on. Broadmeadow is at the mouth of a maintenance/storage yard for locomotives and wagons. Unfortunately I only got to see a coal train passing through.

Back to Warabrook Station

I had been on to a good thing the day before, and so I though I would return to see what else was moving around.

Overnight on the XPT

I'd done this once before, back in 2000 or so, and I can only imagine that I'd forgotten how difficult it was to sleep upright. We ran on-time all the way, but the track wasn't as smooth as it could've been.
Meanwhile, the view as the sun was setting north of Maitland was beautiful. Rolling green pastures and lots of stock roaming around or running from our train. Unfortunately, the sun set pretty quickly and the reflective tint on the outside of the windows meant that there was next to zero visibility.
Lights were out at 10:00pm and most people tried to sleep (some with very loud music in their earphones.) Sleeping wasn't too easy though, as there were stations all throughout the night and people were getting on and off the train, dragging their luggage and making enough noise to wake all the light sleepers up. Even better was the fact that the guy next to me wasn't meant to be there, so at 11pm we all had to shuffle around when the actual passenger arrived.
After a random amount of sleep, then sun started rising at 5:30am and the view from the train was undeniably suburban Brisbane. A lot of the houses we passed backed on to the railway line and didn't care much for fences. We finally arrived at Roma Street Station and then I transferred to the Gold Coast Line to Nerang.

Final words...

Until Australia cares for passenger trains... CountryLink will be the only option for east coast travel. The line has been primarily built for freight trains and therefore there is no regard for speed or smooth travel. They have done a lot of improvement work over the years, but again, population and demand is lacking to make any more of it.

I would recommend this trip be done during daylight as opposed to overnight. The view is spectactular and having had the sun up during the entire route would have been great. The only other way to do it would be via a sleeper compartment, but the cost will be quite prohibitive for the foreseeable future.

Location

The Eizan Electric Railway originally only had one main line from Demachiyanagi Station in the north east to Yase-Heizan-guchi, further north-east. This line was opened in 1925 and provided a gateway to Mount Hiei, a popular tourist destination in Kyoto. The branch to Kurama was opened in 1929 and has proved popular ever since. Both lines terminate at transfer stations where passengers continue travel on cable cars.

From 1978, Demachiyanagi Station was cut off from other forms of connecting transport when the Kyoto City Streetcars stopped running. Fortunately, in 1989 the opening of the Keihan Oto Line re-connected Demachiyanagi with a large transport network and made it easily accessible once more. The Eiden network had seen lower ridership in between 1978 and 1989, but it soon became popular once more.

Rolling Stock

The Eiden's rolling stock inventory consists entirely of EMUs running at 600VDC. The Deo 700 Series is a single-car EMU which usually runs along the Main Line.

The Deo 800 series is a 2-car EMU which usually runs up to Kurama.

And then my favourite, the Deo 'Kirara' 900 Series. This model was released by Kato and I have it in both the Maple Orange and Maple Red. It also received a prize (can't remember the exact name, 'Lauriel?') for it's design. It's internal seating allows the passengers to sit sideways and view the scenery along the route. It also has high observation windows.

Stations and Facilities

Ichiooji Station

Shugakuin Depot

Iwakura Station

Kurama

After getting off at the final stop, passengers transfer onto the Cable car and end up at Kurama. Here you'll find a temple and an onsen. Be careful though, I visited here in Winter of 2005 and it was very slippery and dangerous! (Then again, I'm probably just from Australia and don't understand snow )

Sightings

I'd seen the train in Japan when I was there in 2008 but hadn't even thought of travelling on it.

A ticket in hand

My next trip to Japan was to be in 2009 and I was determined to get on the train. I hadn't had many spare nights in Japan and the train had been booked out between Osaka and Sapporo on the nights I did have spare. This didn't deter me though, as the reverse trip wasn't booked out. Of course, I then had to get to Hokkaido first and I therefore took the Nihonkai (another sleeper train) to Higashi-Muroran (Hokkaido) and intercepted the Twilight Express as it returned to Osaka. I wasn't able to get all the way to Sapporo in time to meet the Twilight Express there. Higashi-Muroran was pretty cold; although it was the start of the Japanese summer, Hokkaido was still in the low teens (degrees) and I wasn't prepared.

The Nihonkai had arrived on time, giving me a 2 hour stop-over in Higashi-Muroran. There wasn't much rail traffic and so I ran to the nearest katsu curry restaurant to have my favourite dish. On returning to the station I didn't have to wait long to see those familiar blue DD51 diesels arrive. Of course, the lighting was dismal and my digital camera had no chance of catching them moving... I also had no time of getting to the front of the train to take a still shot.

First impressions

Upon entering the car (I was in a B Class Sleeper) I was presented with beautiful wooden walls and very well kept rooms. As you can tell, I settled in pretty quickly... I'd also brought a few goodies on board. The conductor came in quite soon after to say hello and to apologise for not being able to speak English. Fortunately, my limited Japanese meant we could work out all the formalities: the coin-operated shower was in the Salon Du Nord car, dinner was in allocated time slots: 7pm,8pm,9pm (if I remember correctly) and finally I had to choose what 'type' of meal I wanted for dinner and breakfast? Japanese or Western... I wasn't on the train for Western food!
I then realised I wasn't alone in my cabin and started making new friends. Soon enough another conductor came and found me and offered to change me into another room (still a B Class 4-person) but with me being the only occupant. I couldn't turn down their hospitality and so obliged.

Salon Du Nord

Once settled in I decided to wander around to see what the train had to offer; The first target was the famed "Salon Du Nord". What I found was an amazing observation car beautifully fitted out with very large windows and two TVs. The channels were selectable, but of course, everyone had to agree to you changing the channel ... I do believe I watched the same movie 3 times whilst on my trip... but I didn't mind as I was mainly staring out the window.
The car also included the coin-shower and a vending machine. You could also go to the dining car next door and order 'from the bar'. I happened to have a very lovely couple of obaachans talk to me and ask me about my travels... it was quite difficult trying to converse in my broken Japanese and recall all the polite grammar forms; but it made the trip even more enjoyable. It made me laugh when they didn't believe that there were people from other countries taking the relaxed approach on a sleeper train because they liked trains... I was glad to change their perceptions.

Dining

I, unfortunately, did not take a full shot of the dining car, but I can assure you it is as tastefully fitted out as the rest of the train. The staff are fantastic and I even had my waiter ask where I was from and what I was up to. Then then offered drinks and the menu which had quite a lot of options. I, if I recall correctly, had a very lovely dish of Japanese Karaage (fried chicken.)
For breakfast I was greeted by the same staff and selected the Japanese breakfast option. There was no menu to choose from, as it was a set breakfast and I was asked to take a seat, admire the great view and await the meal. All of a sudden I had 5 dishes on my table and all I can say is yum!

I then bought my souvenirs; available from the dining car menu and returned to my room.

Other classes

I had chosen the 'shared' cheaper B Class sleeper rooms, but you could also have a completely private A Class sleeper room. This included a 1-seater sofa/couch which folded out into a bed. The A Class carriage also included a small communal room at one end.

Twilight Express operations

Now comes the fun part of the trip. Both trains, regardless of direction, have an engine swap half way on their journeys. Actually... I lie... over the trip the train encounters a total of 4 engine swaps, but you can't get out and watch the other 3 of them.
The engine swaps are:

• Twilight Express EF81 from Osaka to Tsuruga
• Twilight Express EF81 from Tsuruga to Aomori Depot
• Unknown (I didn't get to see it) EF from Aomori Depot to Hakodate Depot
• Double Blue DD51 from Hakodate Depot to Sapporo

The reason for the swaps are very simple. Hokkaido isn't 100% electrified, so the diesels are required. They use two for on-time running more than gradient climbing. The diesels can't enter the Seikan Tunnel (Honshu to Hokkaido) and so the unknown EF (a stainless steel version) is for that section. The EF81s are then used for the rest of the trip, mainly for brand-recognition

Southbound engine swap: Tsuruga

So, after a sound nights sleep, we arrived in Tsuruga with a warning that we'd have to stop over for 10minutes whilst they swapped the engines. We (as they pretty much expected we were all train fanatics) were allowed out to take photos but were to return to the train as soon as the buzzer was heard.
Who could resist? I got out of the train and got to the front to see our first engine (EF81 113) already detached and heading south to the depot. I then walked further down the platform to take a shot of our train next to the Thunderbird that had just arrived. I could not believe the dirtiness of our consist; I hadn't expected an EF81 to cause that much build-up on the passenger car, but it could have been caused from the entire trip.
EF81 104 then started approaching to couple up to the train. It had been sitting in the yard ready to come up as soon as 113 had cleared the points. As soon as it 'clunked' onto the train and the air flowed the buzzer on the platform went off and everyone cleared back on to the train.

Final stations to Osaka

As we got closer and closer, more and more passengers departed at certain platforms. The train was actually scheduled to only stop at stations that passengers had designated to get off at; which is now quite obvious, as it was never going to pick any up. I had booked all the way through to Osaka, but was considering getting off at Kyoto... Unfortunately we were held up due to 'unfortuante circumstances' and I ended up just relaxing in the Salon Du Nord and getting back to Osaka an hour late.

Since this trip I've now also travelled on the Hokutosei and the Kitaguni. I still recall the Twilight Express as being the most memorable and stylish... but will endeavour next to get onto the Cassiopeia.

Noda, Osaka

Full gallery here.
As I was staying near Noda(JR) Station on the Osaka Loop Line, I was able get an elevated view of it from the building stairwell. Fortunately, this station is located between the Ajikawaguchi branch and Umeda, so I got to see the freight pass through, as well as the express services to Kansai Airport and Wakayama.

Southern end of the Umeda Freight Terminal

The west-most track of the Umeda Freight Terminal is used as a single-track bypass of Osaka station between Nishikujo and Shinosaka. Freight trains to Ajikawaguchi and all expresses to Kansai Airport and Wakayama (and further) use this track. Note the second last photo which shows the speed limits for a variety of express trains which travel this section of track:

Noda Hanshin Station

The Hanshin Railway runs from Umeda to Kobe. It is underground from Umeda Station before climbing above ground before Noda Hanshin Station. It does this just before the Osaka Loop Line, which travels over the top.

Noda JR Station

A favourite, Noda JR Station allows you to see for quite a while towards Nishikujo along some very straight track. This provides some great shots at full zoom of the loop line trains and other expresses heading south.

Yodogawa Bridge

This bridge provides a connection east of Osaka City for freight trains from Suita to Kudara in South Osaka. There have been rumours that it will also soon get it's own passenger service. The line is currently being upgraded.

Suita Station, Osaka

I walked back to Suita Station from Yodogawa Bridge hoping to see another service pass along the line; unfortunately the scheduled trains never arrived. Either way, once at Suita there was action in every direction.

Koyasan

Full gallery here.
I travelled with a friend on the back of his motorbike up to a temple in Koyasan, but on the way we stopped at a Gusto Restaurant near Nankai Mikkaichicho Station.

Nishi-Akashi Station

After spending a night in Ako City, I took my time returning back to Osaka and stopped by Nishi-Akashi Station. This is on the main line between Kobe and Himeji and sees a lot of freight passing through. Since it is a larger station, all passenger expresses stop, but the freight trains pass... so you knew when and where to look for them. Note that the first shot is from Ako station of the local to Himeji and the second and third are from Himeji Station.

After a quick trip on the Tokaido Line, I arrived at Yoshiwara to find a DE10 in the yard. I later realised that this was the marshalling area for the freight that then gets taken by the Gakunan railway.

I caught the next service through to Hina, as this was the best location at the time to see the most freight movements. I'd gathered this via the 2010 Japan Freight Timetable (but you can also get the timetable here.)

I was greeted at Hina by some archaic looking machines. After around 15minutes of checking out the area, the boom gates came down and then I saw 5 WAMU wagons coupled together and rolling towards me. One of the shunters was hanging on the back and one was in the middle. The guy in the middle all-of-a-sudden jumped off the consist and then jumped back on as the cars kept rolling. I then realised there was no engine attached as the shunters grabbed the handbrake on the wagons.

Before they'd dragged that rake to a hault, the engine (which may have given them a push... it was out of sight) then came through the crossing and coupled up to another rake of WAMUs.

Unfortunately, this was then the total of the freight action seen on the Gakunan Railway itself. But before I returned to Yoshiwara, I checked out the area. There's a few abandoned carriages around the station.

I then waited for the next service back to Yoshiwara. I must note that the passenger services are spaced half-hourly and they give you a good deal of time to check the area out.

Back at Yoshiwara, I checked my freight timetable and saw that there'd be a JR service arriving shortly to drop off cars for the Gakunan Railway. There were also to be other services passing, so I grabbed a bite to eat and waited.

I then returned to Osaka, taking the Tokaido Line to Shizuoka and the Shinkansen from there. You can find the complete photo album for the Gakunan Railway here.

And yes, I failed miserably to stick to the timetable I had previously wanted to follow. I'd slept in and therefore got to Minoakasaka around 1100 for the 1108 JR service. It was still definitely worth the wait. Below are a few of the good shots (including some of the Yoro railway.) Note that I walked from Ogaki to Minoakasaka and I do not recommend this, it's a considerable distance.

Here's a link to the full album.

Note that once the JR engine has detached, the Seino diesel hooks and pulls away very quickly, they have no other traffic on their line and don't wait around!

I then proceeded to run back to Ogaki as I'd realised there was no JR passenger service at 1200 and there were also no visible taxis (I should've asked the station attendant!). On the way I dropped my camera battery, ruined my feet due to my sandles and missed the ~1300 Yoro Railway service. I then jumped on JR and got to Tomida to see the cement trains. If only I'd gotten up on time!!

Once in Tomida, I got to see one cement train leave and then two JR oilers pass... not as much as what the timetable would have indicated should have passed. There was a strange bogie-carrying-maintenance-car on the Kintetsu line though! I soon returned back to Osaka.

Link to Banetsu West Line on Wikipedia

The West Banetsu Line (磐越西線 Ban'etsu-saisen) is a rail line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama in Fukushima Prefecture to Niitsu Station in Niigata Prefecture. The name "Banetsu" refers to the Meiji-era province of Iwaki (磐城) and the ancient province of Echigo (越後), which the East and West Lines together connect. "Sai" means "west" in Japanese.

Main SL Banetsu Web Site

SL Banetsu Monogatari-go is a special express train that runs on a 126-kilometer track from Niigata to Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima. On an approximately 3.5-hour ride, it stops at 10 stations on the way to Aizuwakamatsu and at nine stations on the way back. Passengers can enjoy a one-way trip to either destination or a round trip on weekends and holidays mainly from April to November. This steam locomotive is a C57-180 type train that was in service from 1946 to 1969. By restoring and repairing the train that had been stored at an elementary school in Niitsu City, its routine run on the Banetsu line began in April 1999. The interior of the train and the uniform of the crew are designed in a style unique to the Taisho era which is also the period when the Banetsu line was opened. The track located along the Agano River runs in a beautiful natural setting. The train stops for approximately 10 to 15 minutes between two of the stations, allowing passengers some time to take pictures. While fully enjoying seasonal scenery with features such as fresh green leaves and crimson foliage, you can experience a pleasant ride on an old-fashioned steam locomotive.

Photos

Timetable

Just for anyone wanting to catch this train, here are some pointers to grabbing tickets:

The train runs usually twice each weekend, sometimes only in one direction, see the website and follow these notes:

• The current timetable is here
  • [Green] 新潟～会津若松（往復運転）
    Niigata to Aizuwakamatsu RETURN trip.
  • [Pink] 新潟→会津若松（片道運転）
    Niigata to Aizuwakamatsu one-way ONLY trip.
  • [Yellow] 会津若松→新潟（片道運転）
    Aizuwakamatsu to Niigata one-way ONLY trip.

As for the 'busy' periods:

• Standard weekends are 'boring' for locals, so there's usually no direct hurry to get tickets.
• The XMAS Special is ridiculous and getting tickets is impossible.

My experiences with SL Banetsu

• Saturday 27th June 2009
  • Had Japan-wide railpass, went to Tokyo Midori no Madoguchi office the day before and reserved my seat. (very easy with basic Japanese)
  • Arrived at 9am to Niigata station and heard an announcement: People wanting to travel Aizuwakamatsu should use Platform 1 (SL is Platform 9 or so.)
  • Asked station attendant, showed ticket, and he told me "today SL nai."... no reason was given.
• XMAS Special Saturday 19th December 2009
  • Had Japanese friend in Australia call JR Tokyo office on 16th November 2009 to reserve tickets, no luck, they said you can do it online.
  • Created account with her assistance on JR East ekinet: Could see SL Banetsu on other days but you can only book one month ahead.
  • Came to 19th November 2009 and there was still no visibility of XMAS SL for 19th December 2009.
  • Had friend call Japan again, they said it could not be booked online and over the phone bookings required a "view plaza" credit card.
  • Requested another friend in Japan to get tickets in person at Tokyo station. He couldn't make it for a week and was to get them on the 28th of November.
  • Australian friend called again on 26th November and ALL 3 XMAS special trains are fully booked.

My recommendations

• If you are going for a special service (there's a few in November and the XMAS specials in December) then go to Tokyo Midori no Madoguchi the morning of the day one month before the travel date. You can only book them one month before, and I'm not sure, but I'd wouldn't be surprised if there is a queue.
• Even if you have a ticket in hand, you should probably call Niigata station, or someone else in charge, to be certain that the SL is running on your day of travel.

My plan of attack now

• Saturday 19th December 2009
  • Catch the Shinkansen to Koriyama and then the Banetsu line via Aizuwakamatsu to Shiokawa.
  • Take a photo of that damn SL even if it kills me.