I’ve been reviewing hundreds upon hundreds of photos for my book on European Railway Travel.
Here’s a view I like but it didn’t make the cut because I’m using a similar angle that works better. It was one of several views that I made on film, although was also working with my digital cameras that day.
This pictures the famous ‘Hanging Viaduct’ in the Mosel Valley near Bullay.
Exposed on Fujichrome Provia 100F using a Canon EOS3 with 100mm lens.
Two years ago I visited this unusual railway construction with my friends Gerry Conmy, Stephen Hirsch and Denis McCabe.
Among the distinctive features of Germany’s Mosel Valley route is the Hanging Viaduct southwest of Bullay.
To avoid a circuitous loop in the Mosel, this double track electrified line crosses the river on a combined road/rail bridge and punches through a ridge. Upon exiting the tunnel, the line clings to a steep hillside populated with vineyards supported by an unusual curved Hangviadukt, a ‘hanging viaduct.’ (A sort of half-bridge, whereby half the structure is built into the hillside.)
Earlier this month, Denis McCabe, Gerry Conmy, Stephen Hirsch and I made a visit to this famous structure, photographing it from a variety of angles.
The railway cooperated by running a variety of trains. Footpaths through the vineyards and surrounding areas offer many vantage points.
In addition to mainline trains, a branch railcar traversed the viaduct in each direction hourly.
The famous Hanging Viaduct looms above the vineyards like some ancient wall. Lumix LX7 photo.A freight bound for France rolls westward over the Hanging Viaduct. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.DB electrics about enter the tunnel at the east end of the Hanging Viaduct near Bullay. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.A branch railcar meets a DB regional local train on the Hanging Viaduct. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.Signs offer location advice.A viewing platform at the westend of the viaduct offers this view. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.Sun and clouds made for dappled light. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.An express passenger train from Luxembourg catches the sun. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
Some Irish friends and I spent a week in the Mosel and Rhein Valley regions to photograph special trips organized for the 175th anniversary of German railways.
On this day, April 7, 2010, I exposed this view of a double-headed iron ore train crossing the Mosel on the big bridge at Bullay.
Exposed at Bullay, Germany with my Lumix LX-3.
Sometimes, as photos age, the ordinary train you caught while waiting, seems more interesting than the extraordinary train that you’d set out to capture in the first place!
