#2025-09

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I'm only posting this on Tumblr I think, because it's peak geekery... After returning from Japan, I wanted to order some model trains, specifically limited express trains I'd travelled on. At first it was four, one from each main island, but I decided to go two further and get one from each JR! And as I was travelling on rail passes, I kept the reserved seat tickets to prove it.

I don't know how I'm going to put them on exhibit yet, but I want them with the tickets and with a couple of photos from along the route - the rainbow at Higashi-Muroran from the latest post is one of those. The rides were among the most beautiful I've done in Japan (or anywhere for that matter), and to some amazing destinations. So it's a very meaningful collection I'm glad to have gathered.

From left to right:

JR Hokkaidô KiHa 261 (tilting Diesel, introduced in 2007), used in 2025 on Hokuto services between Sapporo and Noboribetsu, and from Sapporo to Hakodate.

JR East E353 (tilting electric, 2017), used in 2023 on an Azusa service from Shinjuku to Matsumoto.

JR Tôkai HC85 (hybrid, 2022), used in 2023 on a Nanki service from Nagoya to Kii-Katsuura.

JR West 283 Ocean Arrow (tilting electric, 1996), used in 2023 on Kuroshio services from Kii-Katsuura to Kushimoto and Kii-Katsuura to Wakayama.

JR Shikoku 8000 (tilting electric, 1992), used in 2023 on a Shiokaze service from Okayama to Imabari, and many times in 2025 on Shiokaze and Ishizuchi services between Takamatsu and Matsuyama, including the Anpanman special.

JR Kyûshû KiHa 185 (Diesel, 1986), used in 2025 on a Kyûshû Ôdan Tokkyû service from Kumamoto to Ôita.

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2025/09/20

World: White room

Avatar: Wolfram

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Details from Hägendorf

Not a lot to say - just enjoy the shots!

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The Ticki Park mystery

Not for the first time, I saw trains in Switzerland with cartoons on the side, with one holding a board: "Magic Ticket - Ticki Park". I'm used to trains being covered in advertising, so I'm thinking "OK, this is advertising for a children's amusement park somewhere in Switzerland, and if they've got carriage-side ads on several trains, they must be big". So I looked it up.

Ticki Park is inside the train.

The Swiss state railway company known as SBB in German, CFF in French, and, yes, FFS in Italian, has child-friendly family spaces on their InterCity trains, indicated by these jolly characters. Double-decker trains, namely IC2000 push-pull carriage sets and RABe 502 Twindexx EMUs, have a small playground inside - some decoration is just visible through the window at the top-right of the above picture.

Single-deck trains like the RABe 501 Giruno don't have such extravagant facilities, but the family spaces are still indicated outside by adorable cartoons, as seen above. When the door opens, it slides to the left and the cat gets closer to the Saint Bernard!

So there we have it. Playing areas aren't new on trains (the French put some in their Corail cars in the 80s, there's JR Kyushu's express Aso Boy! in operation today, not to mention several Japanese Joyful Trains based around children's media like Anpanman or Pokémon also feature them), but I've only seen family spaces like this in regular and widespread service, and with such theming in the livery, in Switzerland.

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Last Sunday's double hike

The weather wasn't as clear and dry as the forecast had said, but it was expected to improve, and I figured that changing skies could make for an interesting atmosphere in Devil's Gorge, Tüfelsschlucht, near Hägendorf. I made a wrong turn at the base, but the signs soon pointed towards the upper section, and I'd recommend going that way: the climb is stiff but it gets the job done, and the path in the hills offers a variation on just going up and down the gorge. The fog was also a plus!

I had the Tüfelsschlucht on my radar for a while, but I needed a weekend because 3-4 hours by train each way from home made it impractical for a day out. It's definitely worth the visit: a lovely stream with the occasional waterfall flows in the sometimes very narrow gorge, and the path is well maintained and comfortable. Picnic under the rocks, that's something I don't do every day!

My destination in the afternoon was half an hour by train from Hägendorf (including the 20-minute connection at Olten): Aarburg. I'll probably talk about the Woogs another time, but this is the town's signature view, with the rivers, church and fortress towering above. I've seen fortresses left in ruin, others restored and coverted into hotels or youth hostels, but this one still serves as a prison to this day! It probably would reject that term, it's a "youth village" for rehabilitating young offenders, but high fences topped with barbed wire give it away...

With Aarburg not keeping me busy for long (for obvious reasons, the castle cannot be visited on a regular basis), I left the fortress heading East, waiting for a sign to tell me how far it would be to save a few francs and walk back to my hotel in Olten. It took a while, but one finally showed up: via the Sälischlössli peak, it was reasonable, so I added another 7 km hike to my morning's similar distance! The view of Olten from the top was worth it.

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Bielersee/Lac de Bienne

On the frontier between the German-speaking and the French-speaking parts of Switzerland, is a town that used to have two official names, one in each language, but now only has one name... in both! They didn't choose, they put them together, so the town is officially known as Biel/Bienne. And it's by a big lake.

Walking down from a pavilion, we reach Vingelz or Vigneules, the north-westernmost area of Biel/Bienne. As its name suggests, it has some vineyards, as well as a small marina, where what I believe was a family was taking turns on a foilboard - if you've never seen foilboard pumping before, it's rather impressive! As expected in Switzerland, the water seems very clean, a joy to see. That said, I wondered if this was the lake where someone put a crazy scary shark statue - it's not, it's in Neuchâtel Lake.

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