Shinkansen

The Shinkansen, or bullet trains, are a great way to get around Japan. They're clean, comfortable, and fast (up to 200 mph or 320 kph). They're so smooth that you can't feel the speed at all.

I love looking out the windows and taking photos.

The Japanese countryside is so beautiful as it zooms by.

This train was taking us back to Tokyo and passes the famous Mount Fuji.

Our World Tuesday

Fields

Our big vacation this year was to Japan and South Korea, and I'll be posting lots of photos over the next few months. We arrived in South Korea and flew to Japan the next day. After arriving in Tokyo we took the famous bullet trains to Hiroshima, and here are some photos from that first day's ride through the lovely countryside.

We stopped in several cities but only left the trains to get on another one.

They stopped in cities along the way.

Despite the rain the countryside was beautiful, as it went past at nearly 200 mph (320 kph).

Our World Tuesday

Trains Passing

Last year we took the cog railroad up Pikes Peak, and these are the last worthwhile photos that I haven't posted from that trip. This is where the uphill and downhill trains pass each other, above treeline.

Our World Tuesday

Cog Railroad Tracks

Continuing with more photos from our trip up the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, I bet there aren't many railways in the world that look like this.

The steepness of the tracks doesn't show up in the photos, but the beauty does.

Eventually the tracks climb above treeline, and keep going up and up.

At these elevations it's arctic tundra, despite a similar latitude to Lisbon.

If you look carefully you can see the railway line zig-zagging from the right to the left as it climbs.

And that's my high-altitude entry for Our World Tuesday.

Cog Railway Train

Here is the train that took us up Pikes Peak, parked at the base station at an elevation of approximately 6,600 feet (2,012 meters) above sea level.

After climbing to the top of the mountain at an elevation of 14,115 feet (4,302 meters) it didn't even look tired!

To climb all the steep grades (averaging 16%, steeper in places), it uses a cog system. The cogs in the train fit into the center cog rail, providing the needed traction.

I'm very glad the engineer knew how to park at the top - he stopped our train just in time!

This is what's beyond that buffer.

And here's one final look at our train and that end-of-line buffer.

I'll have more posts from this scenic railway soon. This series is for Our World Tuesday.

Snake Train

As I was climbing a mountain yesterday, I loved this view of a very long train snaking its way through the pass.

On the original photo you can see it's carrying coal. It's my entry for Our World Tuesday this week.

Long Train

Last week I showed you some train tracks in Colorado Springs. These tracks are active, with coal being most commonly transported.

These trains are very long and take many minutes to pass by.

They have several engines at the front and back to help them get over the nearby hills (specifically, Monument Hill which is around 7,300 feet or 2,225 meters elevation at the low point where the train goes over it).

The freight cars can seem endless.

It's a big part of Our World Tuesday.

Train Tracks

For this week's Our World Tuesday entry, here are some train tracks taken on a walk in Colorado Springs late last year.

I wonder what we'll see on these tracks for next week's entry?