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shenanigan87 — Flamselvi

#17 #18 #class #el #electric #flams #gradient #locomotive #lok #norway #norwegian #railway #railways #state #steep #train #vonat #zug #lokomotive #norwegen #flamsbana #baureihe
Published: 2016-07-31 19:30:32 +0000 UTC; Views: 817; Favourites: 26; Downloads: 6
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Description And the next shot of the Flåmsbana, seen here after leaving Flåm, following the river Flåmselvi before commencing the steep climb towards Myrdal. It's the same train as seen in the previous shot , with the other class EL 18 locomotive leading of course. And as every train, this one is also completely overflowing with tourists from the currently docked cruise ship.

Apart from taking boat tours along the fjords, this railway is the only real attraction that this little village has to offer, being among the most visited attractions in Norway. Riding the line from terminus to terminus takes roughly 50 minutes, with stops at intermediate stations where nobody usually gets on or off, probably intended for ramblers/hikers or being leftover from a time when this train mainly served the passenger and freight needs of the village, rather than tourism. The other stop is Kjosfossen Station, from where you can't actually go anywhere. It's just a short platform wedged between two tunnel portals, intended for tourists to take photos of the waterfall of the same name. It's kinda funny, since the ends of the train are still inside the tunnel, only the cars in the middle can be used to exit, making some jostling necessary.

In terms of photography, this was also one of my attempts at including more landscape, using a road bridge to get the river into the shot. I'm sorry about beheading the trees in the background, but there was also higher overpass for the main road that limited how much space I had upwards, even when squatting as low as possible.

Still, I quite like the outcome.

Also, I'm now back home in Germany, having driven 1340 kilometers (833 miles) in one day. That's a longer drive than from here to Budapest, a route we often drove back before there were cheap flights! What made it easier though was the 5 hour break in between while sitting aboard the ferry from Norway to  Denmark, as that was a much quicker route than driving through Sweden and over the Øresund Bridge again. With the tolls for the bridges, it would have cost almost as much as the ferry ticket! And I just love the fact that Germany doesn't have a blanked speed limit. In all of Scandinavia (and the rest of the world), even with empty roads at 3 in the morning, you're usually not allowed to go faster than 120-130kph on motorways, which does become tedious on long journeys. So traditionally, after crossing the border, I kept it floored for a bit, just to feel that rush of only being limited by my car's modest power output, rather than by speed limits. Right up to the moment of mom getting scared, limiting my speed to around 160kph (100mph). Still, that was an okay speed to be traveling at. And it's cool that you can just pass a police car while going that fast, not having to worry about getting pulled over. No matter how much it would save lives, and the planet, and despite how rational I try to be most of the time, I'm vehemently opposed to idea, mostly from green politicians, to introduce a general speed limit on the German Autobahn. I usually don't drive fast during my daily commute, and I've been known to trail slow moving trucks to get my average mileage up to 73mpg, but sometimes, you just gotta go fast. I also love that you don't have to pay any annoying tolls for using the Autobahn in Germany, something that politicians also want to change, despite assurances from Mrs. Merkel that it would not happen if she'd be re-elected. Oh well, we all know politicians can't be trusted.
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Comments: 9

Tigrar [2016-08-03 19:27:52 +0000 UTC]

Ah, eine schöne Maschine und interessante Landschaft!


Diese auch gut umgesetzt, die markanten Baumkronen oben rechts ganz drauf würden es mmn noch n wenig verbessern.

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shenanigan87 In reply to Tigrar [2016-08-03 19:32:40 +0000 UTC]

Dankeschön! Ja, die hätte ich auch gerne mit drauf gehabt, aber leider war genau auf der Höhe eine andere Brücke im Weg... x)

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Tigrar In reply to shenanigan87 [2016-08-04 17:19:25 +0000 UTC]

In dem fall: Brücke gut versteckt!

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County1006 [2016-08-01 10:27:23 +0000 UTC]

Lovely shot and I like the train livery. I share your view of politicians! Sorry to hear about the bad things that have been happening in Germany.

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shenanigan87 In reply to County1006 [2016-08-02 20:46:00 +0000 UTC]

Thanks mate!

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County1006 In reply to shenanigan87 [2016-08-03 10:34:32 +0000 UTC]

Pleasure!

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Varinki [2016-08-01 07:15:51 +0000 UTC]

How many hours did that take? A few weeks ago I had to drive 406km to visit some relatives and it took 6 hours. It would have taken about 5 if we hadn't stopped every so often. Still only 96km was on a motorway and the max speed limit is 100kph.

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shenanigan87 In reply to Varinki [2016-08-02 20:45:19 +0000 UTC]

I honestly don't remember. I just remember that my parents needed 12 hours for the 1200km trips to Budapest, while I did it in 10 thanks to being able to go fast in Germany (half of the way is through Austria and Hungary).

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Varinki In reply to shenanigan87 [2016-08-03 06:35:24 +0000 UTC]

Yeah. I wouldn't mind driving on the autobahn. As a general rule of thumb I've found that here an average speed of 70kph is about as good as it gets. Especially when driving a large top heavy SUV that needs a wheel balance.

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