Q: What is a draisine? A: A draisine (English: /dreɪˈziːn/) is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel or own user, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure. I have a fascination of abandoned railway tracks along the countryside. It was an amazing, idyllic, and perhaps a … Continue reading Draisine on an abandoned railway track.
Railway turntables are one of the less-covered components of the classic rail era. In the steam engine's days of glory, they were heavily used to turn(change the moving direction/face of the) locomotives. Two years ago, I got a chance to view(in-action) a hand-driven, nano-turntable. Near the end of the video, note the operator unlock the … Continue reading A (nano) turntable – LIVE
Railfanning/Trainspotting is a well-known hobby and one of it's subsets is photographing classic railways - steam locomotives and coaches, classic trams and so on. Being born and brought up in a town which doesn't have rail connectivity even today, the only glimpse of railways I got in childhood was when I visited my maternal grandparents … Continue reading Classic trainspotting: Prelude
Given its population and the geographical area, Sweden has a considerable railfanning population. I got a chance to take a ride in a vintage train pulled by a handsome steam engine named 'nummer 5 Thor'. Viewing 4-axle, 41 ton, 8 kg coal/km, water 100 litres/kmService years: 1909 - 1964 https://youtu.be/CAch5mY4Mv0 Taking a break. https://youtu.be/fA0l2WX4I0I Getting … Continue reading Steam Engines: ‘Thor’
Steam-engine driven trains are still widely run during the Swedish summers, and are beloved. Having said that, keeping them running even for a 4 months takes humongous efforts. These old beasts need to be repaired, refurbished to ensure they are safe and runnable during summer. The volunteers work on weekends during the long Swedish winters … Continue reading Steam engines resting for the winter
Life is about being kinetic 