A visit to Portugal’s national railway, Comboios de Portugal (known by initials ‘CP’) proved rewarding and photographically productive.
After arriving at Lisbon airport, I visited the rural station at Riachos T Novas in Golega. This place is a gem. Classic manned station building with freight sidings and all the trappings of another era, but very few of the intrusions of modern construction (in other words, no wire fences, overbuilt footbridges, etc.)
Locals gather on the platform at Riachos T. Novas station. April 2. 2014. Exposed with a Lumix LX3.A sand train was being loaded on the siding when I arrived. As the last car was filled, the crew made an air-test an pulled away—Not a minute wasted. Lumix LX3 photo.
The station is on the busy double-track electrified mainline between Lisbon and Entroncamento. This carries a variety of freight and passenger trains, including through trains to Porto, and Spanish border crossings. Trains passed every 10-15 minutes.
At one point the sky opened and rain fell hard for few minutes. When it passed, a double rainbow graced the sky for a few minutes. My images of a suburban train with the cosmic weather were exposed on Fujichrome and remain latent pending processing.
A classic clock keeps time at the station. Lumix LX3 photo.A local electric pauses to discharge passengers, its windows reflecting a dramatic sky. Canon EOS 7D photo.
A camera club was snapping all angles at the station at Riachos T Novas, Golega. The passing CP container train was just one of their many subjects. Exposed with Canon EOS 7D with 200 mm.A potted plant displays the CP logo, which reminds me of the old Irish Rail logo, except in royal blue instead of orange. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.Storm clouds over the old freight house/goods store. Where was the camera club now? They’d jumped a train when it started to rain. Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens.
You need rain for a rainbow. This one held in the sky for several minutes. Lumix LX3 photo. (And yes, I caught a train under it, but that’s on film!).
Interestingly, when I first arrived, a local camera club had descended en masse and was snapping away at everything. Unfortunately for the club, they departed before the rain and thus missed the glorious evening light! This was pity for them. By contrast, I worked through the best light and made the most of it.
A double-headed empty coal train blitzes the station at Riachos T Novas, Golega bound for the port of Sines, south of Lisbon. Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens.Evening light makes for a nice study of the class railway station. Canon EOS 7D photo.The village beyond the station was pretty sleepy. Lumix LX3 photo.Another northward container train passes heading toward Entroncamento. Canon EOS 7D photo with 200mm lens.
Stay tuned for my further exploration of Portuguese railways.
