At most stations on this line there is a signal cabin at each end of the station, but only one signalman, so he cycles between the boxes when a trains passes through!
Next will be pictures of our ride on a steam special train to Nova Gorice. 18 tunnels each way and countless bridges! Riding in a 4-wheel coach behind a 2-10-0!
Here is a link to a map of the part of the system covered by our travels. The red section shows the non-electrified route operated by the GM diesels and diesel railcars. The red section is the route we rode down to the coast on all electrified tracks. http://www.andersleymodelrail.co.uk/forums/SZtravels2007.jpg This covers approximately the western half of the country.
Alan, absolutely fascinating, even though there is no steam and no picture of you with a beer, nor of your lovely wife. Actually you have one of her which she will probably berate you for. Seriously, great coverage. Miska has a super lens on his camera. :teeth:
Oh... no problem, Alan. I posted and then felt that maybe I had just hijacked your topic, so I am glad to see you liked the explanation. I absolutely LOVE your pictures. Your series from the industrial yard in Britain was a huge eye-opener for me, and I am always happy to see something related to trains that isn't North American. I love the North American stuff and live and breathe it all the time I am out foaming or downstairs modeling, but I like seeing trains from all over the world. I wonder if those trains would have crossed over during the Cold War. I know that Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia, and Yugoslavia was technically a Communist country, but I believe relations were a little warmer than, say, between East and West Berlin.
Thanks Jim. There will be steam, a picture of me with a beer, and pictures of Irene. Yeah, Misko carries two Canon SLR's, both with big lenses - as he is a professional photographer, I hate to think what his equipment cost!
Cool. I wish we could get new phones in Maine too. We need an Alan Beer Gallery from the past. Charlie
Seeing the long hood end repeatedly made me realize that it doesn't look like a tunnel motor so much as an MP15AC. Many GM export models have intakes like that. This one is a GT26C - I think. I'm not good with export models. http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=147838 http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=125654
Nova Goriza=The Slovenia side of gorizia in Italy Alan, You are making me home sick. My mother was from Gorizia and I spent a lot of time there as a child. We used to go to the border fence and watch trains on the slovenian side as the border fence was basically a wrought iron fence. I recall years later putting my hand through it and thinking how strange it was to have my hand inside a communist country. We also took many day trips into Yugoslavia to go hiking. As a child I used to hear stories about the Allied bombing of the station that is now in Slovenia. They would also try to bomb this large stone bridge where the Goriza line goes into a canyon, but never succeeded. My family lived just a few houses up from the station. They had to flee to the Izonso river to live in the caves at night to avoid the bombers. One day my mother spotted a bombed out railroad coach in the yards. she realized that the sprung seat would make a perfect bed for her dolly, so she snuck into the station past the German guards and stole it for her doll. It was only after her mom tanned her hide for sneaking into the station that she realized that she could have been shot dead being in the train yards since the guards all had shoot to kill orders. Sorry, I just had to retell some old recollections. Like I said, you REALLY made me feel homesick. As you can attest, the Slovenians are all really good people. Did you get to eat any of those chivapchichi (greasy sausage meat things)? Those are so good. Also, Did you get a good snort of the local poison... Slivovitz? MMMM... Slivo. You got some awesome shots there. Even my favorite OBB 1044's are represented! I'm starting to wonder two things. 1. It seems like SLO is a good prototype to model for people who miss Era III-IV European stuff as it seems to have all ended up there. 2. Will Alan's layout get a face lift and end up being a Slovenian Proto layout anytime soon? Thanks again for the pics. Awesome stuff!
Pleased it rekindles memories for you geeky. We are told that one of the major passtimes for Slovenes is hiking in those wonderful forests and mountains. Well over half the country is covered with forests! Did not have any chivapchichi (Irene has to watch her cholesterol!), but if the Slivovitz is like scnapps, we were given some one evening in the hotel - we downed it in one swig! That hit the spot! It would be a really great country to model The trains are varied and the scenery stunning. Lots of lovely small stations on single track lines, or double track electrified lines with sweeping curves through the mountains. Trouble is, I am not aware of any SZ models being available. As their locos are from surrounding countries, they could be done if decals were available, but not sure about the wonderful "Reagans" (GM export model). If I ever find one I will definitely have an SZ train (or two) running on my layout from time to time.
Steve, you are so correct! When awaiting a train, all you can hear are birds singing. The stations are mostly surrounded by trees and hills - idyllic.
This is the church on the island in the lake. It must have been photographs thousands of times while we were there!
