Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: Class 150

This was my second shot, as the train proceeded into Praha Hlavni Nadrazi.

Ceske Drahy #150210-3 is a class 150 electric locomotive, which is typically used on express passenger trains, as seen here. These units like the Class 362 and 363 classes, date to the Communist era, having been introduced in 1978 (the Class 362/363 units date to 1980-1990). Consequently, they are only capable of operating at up to 140Km/h, or 86 m.p.h. They are more powerful than the Class 363 units, at about 5364 horsepower (converted from 4000 Kw). However, they only can run on 3000 volts DC. In any event, the slightly higher performance of these units means that they are more likely than the Class 363 units to be seen on international services. I am not aware if this train was coming in from Linz, Graz Wien/Vienna, or from a domestic origin to the south, though.

This is the National Rail (ex-British Rail) Blaenau Ffestiniog Station, which is shared with the Ffestiniog Railway. It's at the south end of the Conwy Valley Line from Llandudno Junction, which was originally built in 1879 by the London & North Western Railway. I was visiting the Ffestiniog for at least the third time that I can remember (I'll have to check my records to know for sure, as I don't remember), and this time I was a bit confused about what to photograph. When I first visited, it was one of the last places to be served by ex-BR Class 101 DMU's, which were at that time the oldest DMU's that I had ridden on outside of heritage units, as they had been built as far back as 1956. I would later ride the very last run of any Class 101 on December 22nd, 2003, from Manchester Piccadilly to Rose Hill and back. Today the Conwy Valley Line is served by Class 150 DMU's, which are also quite old at this point, having been introduced in 1984 (I've read some sources that say 1976, so if I'm wrong please correct me). These are commonly called "Sprinter" DMU's, with the last Class 153 Class being called "SuperSprinters."

While looking at the other extra Barry photo, I found three more, but from my cameraphone. This one is on the bridge to Barry Island on the Barry Island branch. The train is a BR Class 150 DMU, still in use after roughly 35 years (I don't know the exact build date). These were old even when I was living in Britain, and are still in service even today. They can only operate at about 75 m.p.h., but this isn't a problem on many of the branchlines in Britain, and they have an advantage over most of the newer classes because they have more luggage space, or at least usable luggage space. They're particularly handy if you're travelling with a bike.

This was my train back to Prague. If I'm remembering correctly, the only reason I made it was that it was late.

This taken at a new trainspotting position I discovered a few weeks ago while waiting at Nadrazi Hostivar (in the distance on the right). It's a pedestrian bridge over the north throat of the yard, which I had noticed before but never taken seriously as a spotting position. Now I know it's actually a nice spot. This Class 150 electric was running light, although where it was headed I don't know.