Brazil - Railway Curitiba - Paranaguá

I'm sorry for not making any updates on my blog for quite a long time. When my final exams finished, my Ukrainian friend came here for a week and we had a great time travelling in Poland (that was one of not very numerous opportunities to see some other cities in my own country for me) :) Today I'm going to take my favorite 24 hours train trip in about 2 hours... So, like it or not, it's a railway day on my blog! :) I decided to take you on a train trip on 5 continents... And I hope you'll enjoy it at least a bit :) I understand that some of you may not enjoy travelling by trains as much as I do, but I really feel there's something fascinating about the railways and I want to share it with you :)


Actually, I saw this card for the first time on Ana's blog. I'm not one of those people who must have what others have, but in this special case I decided to ask Karina from Brazil if she had one more card like this ;)

Of course, Ukrainian raliways aren't so breathtaking... But I'm looking forward to taking an Ukrainian train tomorrow very much,it's always a great pleasure for me :)) I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay in Kyiv... But first I have to catch the Polish train to get to the border (just 520 kms away from here) ;) So see you next week! :)

Australia - Pichi Richi Railway (AU-41145)

It's already 2nd Australian train in my postcards collection :) Actually, when I was choosing cards for this update yesterday, I thought I had to write that I receive really wonderful (and fitting my wishlist very well) cards from Australia - including maps, flag cards and trains, but I still don't have any view card from this country :) But this has already changed, as I found a beautiful and rare viewcard from Australia in my mailbox today :) I'll show it to you later :) Today you can enjoy this card showing the Pichi Richi Railway :)

AU-41145

According to the sender, Pichi Richi Railway is now a tourist train that runs during school and public holidays. It closes in summer as the grass by the railway line gets so dr that the sparks from the engine might start a grass fire.
By the way, I really love the name of this railway :) It is believed to come from the native plant, pituri, which grows in the area, and was traditionally chewed by Australian Aborigines.

Japan - A train (JP-67606)

I received this wonderful card showing a Japanese train just a few days ago and it was a great surprise (that's what I love about the official postcrossing) :) Of course, Japan is better known for the modern trains, which belong to the fastest one in the world, but it's very interesting to see, what were the Japanese railways like many years ago :)

JP-67606

There's some information about this train on the back side of this card, but unfortunately I can't understand or even translate it, because it's written in Japanese :( I just guess that "1936" means that this locomotive was created in that year? I would be very thankful, if anyone of my dear readers could help me with this text:

Thanks in advance!

USA - Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad

I received this card in the railway tag, which unfortunately isn't very popular. It's a pity that I can't find any card showing trains here, but this tag allows also sending cards showing railway stations and it really helps me :) Still, I wouldn't like anyone to be dissapointed by the cards I send (and myself I prefer receiving cards showing trains much more than railway stations), so I've participated in this tag just once so far. It shows the Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad in Ohio, USA.

Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad is located 1 mile South of Nelsonville, Ohio. This tourist attraction operates throughout the summer months on Saturdays, Sundays and major holidays.

The Netherlands - Medemblik Family and trains (NL-162481)

I find this Dutch card very interesting, because I like old photographs, papers and of course trains (that's the reason to place this card in today's update) ;) Unfortunately, I'm not sure what it shows. The text on the back side of this card tells that it's about the Medemblik Family, which is presented in several museums, including Museumstoomtram Hoorn - Medemblik (This text was bold, so I guess it must be the name of railway museum? My knowledge of Dutch is very limited) :(

NL-162481

Of course, I tried to google for some information about the Medemblik Family, but I just found out that Medemblik was the name of municipality in the Netherlands. So I still wonder, if that was a family, which enjoyed travelling by trains very much (that's the version I want to believe in) or if "Medemblik Family" is just a common name for people that used to live in Medemblik? Anyway, the railway was definitely important for them and that's what matters :)

Taiwan - Alishan Forest Railway (TW-39314)

My collection of railways related cards keeps on growing :D I've even found a railway tag on postcrossing forum :) Fortunately, it's allowed to send cards showing railway stations there, as I haven't seen any with trains in my area... And I doubt if such ones could be issued here in the nearest future, because there are no special or old railways in my area. People probably wouldn't be interested in buying and sending cards showing regular Polish trains :))) But I don't complain, as I understand that collecting cards showing trains isn't a very popular hobby. I'd be satisfied if I could buy real map and flag cards here... Am I asking for too much? :))

This card shows the Alishan Forest Railway in Taiwan. It was listed by Taiwan's government as a potential UNESCO site, but of course it can't be accepted, as Taiwan doesn't belong to United Nations and it's independence isn't recognized by most of countries... That's why there are no World Heritage Sites in Taiwan, just because of a political issue :(

TW-39314

The Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵路) is an 86 km network of narrow gauge (2 ft 6 in (762 mm)) railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The narrow gauge lines were originally constructed by the Japanese Colonial Government in 1912 to facilitate the logging of cypress and Taiwania wood, however today the line caters mostly to tourists. Passenger carriages were first added to the trains in 1918.

Unlike the national rail system administered by the Taiwan Railway Administration, the Alishan railway is managed by the Forestry Bureau. The system is currently operated using diesel locomotives, although there are occasional special public runs using the old steam powered Shay locomotives.

UK - The Watercress Line Steam Railway (GB-67928)

Here's something that I really love - trains! :))) I already have several railways related cards in my collection and I still hope to receive more showing trains (both old and modern ones) from different countries and continents :) Some people claim that the popularity of trains in Europe will decrease and that they'll remain only a tourist attraction, as more and more people have their own cars... But I strongly believe in the further development of raliways. Trains are safer and more comfortable than cars. Travelling by train may be faster than by plane (on distances under 1000km), because railway stations are usually located closer to the city center than the airports and you don't have to come to the railway station 2 hours before your train leaves :) Well, I doubt if anyone is going to try travelling by train just because of reading my blog, but I encourage you to do so anyway ;) And no, I don't work for the Polish railways and I don't get any profits for advertising... I'm just an honest enthusiast :)))

GB-67928

The Watercress Line is the marketing name of the Mid-Hants Railway, a heritage line in Hampshire, England, running 10 miles (16 km) from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. The line gained its popular name in the days that it was used to transport locally grown watercress to markets in London.

In 1861 the Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway Company was authorised to build a new railway to connect to the existing London & South Western Railway lines at Alton and Winchester. It was opened on 2 October 1865 as the Mid-Hants Railway. Trains were operated by the London & South Western Railway who eventually purchased the Mid-Hants Railway Company in 1884.

The section of line from Alresford to Alton that can be seen today was successfully purchased from British Rail in November 1975. Some of the structures that can be seen on the Watercress Line today were not part of the original railway infrastructure; they have been added to make the line serviceable again and to recreate the feel of a fully-operational steam railway.

Taiwan - A railway (TW-39345)

It was a very pleasant surprise to find 4 cards showing the trains or railways just after I had added them to my wishlist :) It's always nice to know that someone cares to read my wishlist and to choose a card that would certainly make my day. I've already shown you an Australian train and it's time for a Taiwanese railway :) I don't have any further information about this card (well, there is some Chinese text, but it may be some info about the publisher or anything else as well...) but does it really matter? :) I love railways, both the ones in use and unused. This one seems to be in use, but the ones that haven't been used for many years also have some charm, especially if there are already trees growing between the rails and the railway leads to a forest... There's something mysterious about it and I would never like to check on a map, where does such railway end. It's better to think that it's just endless, that it remembers some old and slow trains and that it dreams of being used again someday....

TW-39345

By the way, I wanted to ask you, what name of country do you write on postcard/envelope when you're sending it to Taiwan? There was a discussion on the Postcrossing forum (which was closed, as there was a threat that Chinese government would block the access to this site from P.R. China) about someone, who wrote "Taiwan, China" in the address. Actually, it's not about the addresses, but about the China - Taiwan issue and about the Taiwan's independence. Currently only about 20 countries have official diplomatic relations with Republic of China (Taiwan), but it's widely considered to be an independent country by people around the world. Personally, I always write only "Taiwan" in the address to show that I recognize this country's independence. And what's your opinion?

Australia - Mile End Railway Museum (AU-37394)

This postcard shows the South Australian Railways Locomotive No. 93 at the Mile End Railway Museum in Australia. As I read on Wikipedia, this museum was closed in 1988, but a new one was opened in Port Adelaide. Several weeks ago I added trains and railways to my wishlist, because I've always loved travelling by train and I decided it would be very interesting to see the trains from other countries and continents :) But I haven't even dreamed of receiving a card showing an Australian locomotive! I really love this card and I'm so thankful to the sender for choosing a card from my wishlist!

AU-37394

You may ask, why do I like trains so much? It's difficult to answer such question. When I was a child, I used to travel by train quite often, because I have relatives in different cities and my parents didn't have a car. I always enjoyed these trips very much, although it seemed to me that 350 km was a very large distance :)) That was because I didn't have opportunity to travel abroad (I used to visit only Czech Republic, which is about 100 km away from here) at that time. Now that I visit Ukraine quite often, I know what it feels like to spend 24 hours in a train from Wrocław (my city) to Kyiv or 22 hours from Ternopil (Western Ukraine) to Donetsk (Eastern Ukraine). For me it's never boring! Even though nowadays it's much quicker (and often also cheaper) to travel by plane, I always choose the train (by the way, I'm afraid of flying, although I've already travelled by plane for 28 times). I just love the sound of wheels moving slowly on the railway, sleeping in a night train, looking through the window... In some countries (for example in Ukraine) many people tend to be very talkative in trains and I've had many interesting conversations during my trips :) I hope you can understand me... :)