Author Archives: Marcus Wong

Setting sail on the Railklipper

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Marcus Wong

What happens when you send a train out to sea? You get the Railklipper – a vessel built by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) in 2005 to celebrate the country’s maritime history. Photo by Edwtie, via Wikimedia Commons Dutch-language Wikipedia has … Continue reading →

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Sacrificial buffer stops at Munich Hauptbahnhof

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Marcus Wong

Across Europe a common theme at major railway stations is dead end platform tracks ending at buffer stops, with the main passenger concourse behind. But there was one thing I didn’t realise – sometimes the buffer stops are designed to … Continue reading →

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Russia’s ‘robotic fire-fighting train’

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Marcus Wong

As well as ‘conventional’ fire-fighting trains used to put out the flames anywhere conventional fire trucks can’t reach, the Russian Railways have also started rolling out a fleet of ‘robotic’ trains that can be used to fight fires in railway … Continue reading →

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Track laying trains of Russia

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Marcus Wong

My my journey across Russia by train I came across a curious looking piece of equipment parked in a siding – a track laying machine. Called a Путеукладчик in Russian, here is a similar machine at work laying track for … Continue reading →

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Celebrating five years of Euro Gunzel

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Marcus Wong

It is hard for me to believe, but 2018 marks five years since I started this blog. Conceived after my returning from my month long trip to Europe as a way to make share the 19,856 photos of trains, trams … Continue reading →

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Шаропоїзд – a Ukrainian monorail that ran in a trough

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Marcus Wong

Monorails are a mode of rail transport that is yet to break into the mainstream, despite decades of research and development on a wide variety of track standards. Most monorail trains are suspended from a track, or run on top … Continue reading →

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Registration plates on Russian trucks and vans

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Marcus Wong

During my time in Russia I noticed something curious – trucks and vans always had their registration plate number repeated in big letters on the rear of the vehicle.

Registration plate details repeated on the back of Russian trucks Continue reading →

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Fire-fighting trains of the Russian Railways

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Marcus Wong

Russia’s rail network stretches the length of the country, from cities to mountainous forests. Fires can happen anywhere – even in the middle of nowhere – so the Russian Railways have their own fleet of fire-fighting trains, to put out … Continue reading →

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Tram stops in Russia

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Marcus Wong

Tram tracks are quite obvious when they run down the street, but in Russia finding a tram stop can be a tad tricky.

Moscow tram #2095 passes another tram on the reserved track outside VDNH Continue reading →

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Interchange stations on Soviet metro systems

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Marcus Wong

Interchange stations on Soviet designed metro systems are a little odd for anyone accustomed to urban rail networks elsewhere in the world – the platforms for each line are treated as their own station, with their own street entrance, and … Continue reading →

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