McGomez

Take a walk along the old trackbed of the line to St. Albans is the only railway orientated advice I could give. The pubs in what people refer to as the town centre would be best avoided. If they are still open thase days?

There is another Murcia to Madrid container train that runs on Tuesday evenings that also conveys a rake of empty covered steel coil wagons destined for either Bilbao or Asturias. Seen here in the passing loop at Cieza awaiting the penultimate Talgo of the day from Madrid to Cartagena to pass. In this view, the same train is seen leaving Cieza. This was the first time I had seen these "end of train" markers. They usually use 2 flashing red lights on the rear.

Keep the photos of Tarragona coming Ray. I´m enjoying them. Here is one I took a couple of weeks ago. 333.357 is seen slogging up the gradient in the Campo de Ulea, Murcia with the Friday afternoon container train to Madrid Abroñigal yard. Teco Murcia Madrid - Ulea. by McGomez441, on Flickr

Some great photos of Tarragona. I can only supply 1 photo taken on a visit on a Sunday back in 1993. They stabled the locos adjacent to the station at weekends and there was always a healthy line-up awaiting Monday morning. Taken from a similar position as per one of Frutigens images. Tarragona 1993 by McGomez441, on Flickr

I like those Pegasos too Pete. I´ve got a feeling that they lasted into the 90s atleast. The Noge Titanium would fit well with your layout. It is one of the typical coaches that ferries punters between Alicante Airport and the coastal resorts.

Looking good Pete. For Spanish buses have a look at Otero Scale Models. https://oteroscalemodels.com/ Available from your favourite shop in Santander amongst others. https://www.eltallerdelmodelista.com/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&buscar=otero&osCsid=ftt8bjbctruqonf258u3ij9fg3&escala=-1 The bus in the Alsa colours can be seen in the majority of cities in Spain. Saludos.

Me too Mike. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/40221-portland-grove/?p=2127429

There was an old thread about British built locos in Spain from 6 years ago and I keep meaning to fill Eddie in on what finally happened to Victoria. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/13515-spanish-skip/?p=398175 I live only 30 minutes north of Murcia and keep meaning to take a photo of its new location but it is an area I seldom have to pass through. It was finally finished and "plinthed" on a roundabout/junction on the "Calle Morera" atleast 3 years ago, maybe more. This image has been lifted from Saint Google Maps to save me the journey. I´m sure Eddie will fill you in with the relevant details as the website linked to in the original thread wasn´t working for me just now.

Hi Eddie. The Spanish railway enthusiasts refer to this loco as "La Thatcher". I´m not sure if they mean it in a good or bad way though?

Nice photos Frutigen as they bring back memories of 1992-94 when I lived in the same street as the station in Vilanova. This was the view from our apartment. Vilanova desde mi balcon by McGomez441, on Flickr Unfortunately I didn´t take many railway photos at the time. I used to ride along the section you talk about between Vilanova and Sitges and commuted to Barcelona daily on one of these double decker trains with a class 269 at one end and a driving trailer at the other. I believe the 269s were a stop gap measure due to late delivery of the powered driving trailer. Vilanova 1993 by McGomez441, on Flickr

I can help you out with some images of the south eastern corner of Spain, Pete. I dare say these images could have gone in the "Trains in the landscape" thread. Taken near the town of Blanca, Murcia with the Sierra de la Pila in the background that rises to 1264m, the last Talgo of the day from Cartagena to Madrid heads through the campo, unusually double headed by a pair of class 334 diesels. 2 x 334 en el Campo de Blanca #2 by McGomez441, on Flickr 2 x 334 en el Campo de Blanca #1 by McGomez441, on Flickr Donde está el Talgo? by McGomez441, on Flickr You can see planes on their final approach to Alicante Airport at night passing just beyond the highest peak. The Airport is some 70Km as the bird flies from where the photo is taken.

Forgive me if this image has already been posted here. If it has it deserves a second viewing! That´s 1215 quids worth of wagons!! https://www.flickr.com/photos/billatkinson2/5767798235/in/photolist-Qy4dB4-RQQxdw-KJQgV-REu5xo-dTESJn-bwht4X-s3mKWr-ppX9Nk-9MFtta-rZZqKy-qhHmeR-pcb5Gy-qjbGzQ-jUASbH-mjeAS5-dHSMUm-q6qyn1-pcsiCd-rtcZFZ-r1zKts-q6qmrs-rkWLg8-o1TAWe-fFyHwC-sotJhh-j7nUYB-rr1Kdj-9pQpqD-nUSBPP-gdejeR-piS9Bv-pLFWxG-rFj75Y-o45qrP-hWX8ss-nyxFEh-tPfW1w-dSPnCm-RMcNhM-q2YSQW-fMtAes-pgk7ak-fLf9oR-dhaS8G-QMSiG2-bZ1FBw-ecWdpB-eD63Hr-rsoZfU-CHQff/

I've not seen the Top Gear episode but it sounds like it's maybe Ciudad Real Airport otherwise known as Madrid Sur. Only 160km from Madrid.Teruel is now a graveyard for various Russian planes but also fits the bill. Albacete, Lérida or Huesca airports make Murcia San Javier look like Heathrow.

Yes it is, or it would be if it opened.

Hi Pete. Try Vialog bold. From their Graphic Identity page. http://www.renfe.com/EN/empresa/comunicacion/marca/Identidad_Grafica.html Available from http://www.fontsmarket.com/font-search?search=vialog&x=0&y=0

These are great looking locos, Pete. I remember seeing one in the early 90s at Alicante. It looked futuristic at the time. One of them resides in the Portland Grove fleet. Look for "Gato Montes" or "Gato Montes 269" on You Tube and you should find some videos. They were given the Gato Montes nickname which means Wildcat. I don´t know if they were good at climbing mountains though? One of the class of 4 held the Spanish speed record at one time, for electric traction IIRC. If you want to know what they sound like, get hold of your wife´s hairdryer and have a listen.

Brian. I pressed the smiley button basically ´cos the situation is laughable. Denia will be reached before Corvera opens for sure. Of course, if you look at it from a twisted perspective, by not opening it, atleast they are saving it from closure!!!! Probably save themselves money too.

It looks like work on the line to Denia is going ahead. Acording to this news item, work should have started during November on the stations up to Teulada with the civil engineering works starting in June 2017. At the moment the tender for the Teulada - Denia section is in preparation and is to be adjudicated in September 2017.

The Valencian "Cap" is "Cabo" in Spanish. Cabo de la Nao is just up the coast past Javea. In English it is "Cape" as in the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo de Buena Esperanza). I think Cap Llevant captures the sound of the area well.

I´ve got a Roco original RENFE 333.0xx with the same sound as your earlier example. The transitions aren´t the best in the world. There is now a new player in the Spanish sound market. http://carlosnunez.org/ He does his programs for Doehler & Haass chips and seems to be getting rave reviews. I haven´t got one yet so cant vouch for them but I have heard one of the newer 333.3xx sounds and they are much better. They have that hunting sound that is a characteristic of these engines. The other plus point is that the sound chip is priced at around 60€. Note to Pete. Roco have just released a new version of the 333.0xx at long last. Same as before in the Taxi livery but with just the "333" in large numerals on the body side. I´ll have a look for a video of my 333 later.

Another great video Simon. I'm liking the intro's. Very tasty. Is the class 20 sound, dubbed or are they sound chips? They're very realistic.

Hi Pete. I wanted to put a smily on that name proposal but my mobile wasn´t playing ball last night!! It does mean something and here it is. (Cue the music!!!!) Sorry. Couldn´t resist. Benny Hill was adored in Spain. The mayor of Marbella (and owner of Athletico de Madrid), Jesus Gil used to bring him to Spain to do television appearances and shows. It is just coincidence that the surname "Gil" is pronounced the same as "Hill" in english.

Were you, Peter Lighthouseman, on the 23rd October or thereabouts stopped by the Guardia Civil, in a rented Renault 16 (you old tight wad) after being spotted suspiciously taking photos of mysterious yellow boxes and level crossings in the vacinity of Benidorm? And on a more serious note, what about "Beni Gil" for your station name? Ps. Those level crossing barriers look spot on.

Hi Pete. i was having a re-read through this thread last night and started looking for level crossings and came across a whole thread dedicated to them here. http://www.forotrenes.com/foro/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=25020 I was especially impressed by this video, (if you´ve got 40 minutes to spare).

Good to hear that you have the sound bug. Any chance of a quick video Pete? I´ve never heard one of these DMUs.