Comes off the depot to work a service to Jicin pulling dmu trailers. A common occurrence in this country

I took this one in Hradec Kralove, a city in the far east of Bohemia, just on the border with Moravia. These are all Class 130 electrics from the 1970s, built by Skoda, and they're not particularly fast or impressive, although it should be noted that they still are important in Kralovsky Kraj, the region in question, working locals and freights, out of line with the norm of EMUs handling local services. Notice the water spout between the units on the right!!!! Ceskoslovenske Drahy (the old pre-1993 operator) didn't get rid of steam until 1982, and many of their steamers are still in mainline excursion service, so a lot of the steam infrastructure is still in place, up to and including roundhouses and steam shops!!!

I also took this in Hradec Kralove. This is a Skoda Class 150 electric, dating to, at the earliest, 1978, but possibly newer. They were among the last electrics built under the old pre-1989 regime, and it can be said that these locomotives are much more capable than the 130s, being able to operate at 140Km/h (86 m.p.h.) on the level with a 10-car passenger train. This is adequate for most of their assignments, as the Cesky Drahy network is still very, very primitive, although not necessarily any worse (and in many cases better) than in the U.S., and is also fairly flat. Only the Pendolino and the very fastest EC and IC-numbered trains go faster, and then only up to 160Km/h (100 m.p.h.). In the near future, it's expected that the fastest lines will be upgraded to 200Km/h (125 m.p.h.), but that's still a few years away. Partly in preparation for this, since 1996 a number of Class 150s have been upgraded to Class 151s, capable of 160Km/h.

Heres another "bespectacled" diesel locomotive, only this time a Class 750. The 750 class is simply an early-1990s rebuild of a 753. Actually, the only original bespectacled diesels were the 753 and 754 classes, so today there are some rebuilt 753 Class units, designated 753.7, and then there are the rebuilt Classes 750, 752 (not to be confused with ZSSK Class 752, which is the same class as CD Class 751), and 752.6.

When we got to Hradec Kralove, we were treated to the sight of an old, and unrebuilt, Class 754 "bespectacled," or "Brejlovec" diesel. My friend hadn't photographed one of these yet, and I decided to take a few shots too, since I don't know how much longer they'll still be in service. I've been a bit surprised in the past year in that I've been finding these diesels more often, rather than less often, and I can't figure out why that is. Maybe it's that the allocations have changed.

This was the builder plate for 754048-7, built by CKD in 1980.

Heres another Class 914 railbus, recently rebuilt (if my understanding is correct), from a Class 010 coach.

Heres the clock tower on Hradec Kralove Hlavni Nadrazi.

The station itself was more or less as before, meaning that it was still quite early-to-mid-20th Century in appearance.

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

Heres a night shot of Hradec Kralove Hlavni Nadzazi.