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Day 4 in Japan was initially at the Hiroshima hypocentre memorial (being 6 August), then heading for a round trip on some classic Japanese railcars, before a bit of tram spotting (including a 1940 built Osaka tram) in the Hiroshima city centre area. Click on the photo below to view them all Regards, Kieran

Quite common. All the major manufacturers have at some point filed such things in various countries. Alstom did so against Siemens for winning the Eurostar contract, Siemens and Alstom have done the same for the SNCB contract that was awarded to CAF for the AM30 fleet order. All these style of contracts have a standstill period between award and announcement specifically for this in case the contract was given not according to the rules (and it has happened that the contract award was deemed illegal and had to be rerun). Most of the time it's a final throw of the dice to try and win the contract

Day 3 of my Japanese trip, mainly being a transfer day between Tokyo and Hiroshima with some time at Tenjingawa one station out of Hiroshima. Click on the photo below to view them all Regards, Kieran

2 DDs and 1 ICR unless a DD fails

Day 2 in Japan was intended to get some classic photos in front of Mount Fuji near Yoshiwara, but weather prevented that. Instead, a nice wander around part of the Tōkaidō Main Line with some freight movements and more unusual private operator vehicles. Click on the photo to view them all Regards, Kieran

August 2025 saw me substantially expand my horizons by visiting Japan, primarily to be in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the 80th anniversaries of the atomic bombings. Plenty of rail travel though, through the use of the JR Rail Pass. Day 1 was primarily Tokyo based, with a visit to the Omiya Railway Museum and a few other non-railway places. Click on the photo below to view them all Regards, Kieran

22037 I believe is in Grand Central Ex Dublin Links: 0550/0900/1150/1500/1750 (Delayed to 1840)/2100 ex Belfast from Dundalk was 22038 - remains in Dublin/Drogheda 0650/1000/1250/Ety to Dublin eventually was 233+9003 - remains in Dublin 0740/1100/1350 was 22037, remains Belfast Ex Belfast Links: 0600/0850/1200/1450 was CAF - remains in Belfast 0700/0950/1300/1550/1600 ex Belfast from Dundalk/1850 (delayed 1939) was 227+9004 - remains in Dundalk 0800/1050/1400/1650 to Dundalk was 231+9002 - remains in Dundalk

June 2025 was a quite month, with just a few photos from Killester, Connolly and Stradbally along with a couple from Glasgow July 2025 saw the end of the Glasgow trip (over for one night for Iron Maiden), with a visit to the Riverside museum, and a few others in Ireland Click on the photos to view them all. August 2025 will be a busier month! Regards, Kieran

The 2700s were "given up" due to the arrival of 22047-22063 and an economic downturn focusing as much as possible on standardisation was the reasons. Had those extra ICR sets not arrived (and at the time don't forget some Mark 4 sets were stored too, and vehicles rotated through storage) it's more likely they would have stayed in traffic. Then when the economy picked up tenders went out to refurbish the sets, but the price wasn't far off new vehicles (again to an extent factors that were not the 2700 fleet fault).

How else do you work on the engine and generator?

May 2025 was slightly quieter, with just two major trips both related to the Irish Railway Record Society. The first was the Luas Green Line tour, "The Har-Stone Explorer" including a stop at the yet to be opened Brennanstown. The second was a trip to Translink's new Belfast Grand Central station and Adelaide Depot. Plus the usual bits and pieces, with DART+ unit moves as well. Click on the photo below to view them all Regards, Kieran

It was 2 minutes early into Drogheda, a minute late leaving and on-time into Connolly

In late April 2024 I visited Germany for a few reasons, but with a bit of time for exploring by rail. Photos from Hamburg, Hannover, Eschede, Berlin, Niebüll and Dagebüll Mole. Click on the photo below to view them all Regards, Kieran

The middle of March 2025 saw me in Italy and Switzerland. While not a full enthusiast trip in Italy, I did manage to get to Cassino and spend an unintended spell in Milan (my planned route from Rome to Zurich was via Domodossola, but due to the train from Rome being an hour late the more direct route had to be taken). A spin out to Chur and the street running there followed, along with a slow run back to Zurich stopping off (and walking a section) along the way. Click on the photo below to view them all Regards, Kieran

At the beginning of March, I visited the Netherlands for a concert in Haarlem (Unleash the Archers for those interested). Of course I squeezed in some travelling across the Dutch rail network, and instead of flying back from Amsterdam decided to do the more classic train - ferry option (with Eurostar replacing the cross-channel ferry). Click on the photo below to view them all Regards, Kieran