Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: portra 160vc

I wasn't clear whether this was a tamper or a spiking/fastening machine. Does anybody know?

Although slab track is used in new straightaways on DPP's tram system, the turnouts in Albertov and on most of the system still use the old 19th-Century methods of construction, even down to genuine creosoted wooden ties (sleepers to the British)!!! Wooden ties are becoming rarer and rarer everywhere today, especially in Europe and Asia, and if I were to see this I would much more expect it to be in the U.S. than in the Czech Republic, but here are wooden ties, being used on the tram tracks no less, right in the middle of Prague!

Here's a larger, wider view of the tram track reconstruction in Albertov this summer.

Here's a black and white conversion of my original tram rails shot in Albertov.

This is the type of rail now used on DPP's tram system, with the flangeways built into the railhead as on some of the rail used in heavy railway crossings. Perhaps to aid in standardisation, this rail is even used on lines that aren't embedded in the street.

Much of the new tram line construction that I've seen since moving to Prague has consisted of replacing conventional tram tracks embedded in cobblestone to this new slab track with purpose-built tram rails that have built-in flangeways. Even odder, some of this track still takes seperate rail, which seems to defeat the purpose to me, but oh well....

Here's another shot of Nadrazi Vysehrad, showing the recent (early summer 2007) tram track reconstruction.

Nadrazi Vysehrad is closed to the public, and at this point it's in such bad condition that it looks abandoned. Surprisingly, though, it's still staffed by Ceske Drahy personnel who watch the passing trains.

Here's a more conventional view of the Zizkovska Televizni Vez.

This isn't my first-ever shot of the Zizkov Television Tower, I know, but I think it's one of my best. The way I shot it from Jiriho z Podebrad the dwarfed buildings are able to give a sense of its immense size.

This may be the most originally-designed church in Prague, with its massive transparent clock. It's actually not that old, dating to the 1920s, but it is generally considered one of Prague's lesser-known architectural wonders.

...and here's a south view from Vysehrad.

I took several shots from this angle while we were perched on Vysehrad taking tram pictures, and as a result I got a few nice generic views of Prague. Here's one to the north....

Getting into some miscellaneous stuff from Graham's visit. We visited the Bila Hora battlefield, as I illustrated earlier, and while we were there I used up a roll of film. I reloaded with Kodak Portra 160VC on the trail back to the tram stop, and the first subjects that I shot were these poppies, or at least I think that's what they are. I don't know if they were planted intentionally, but in Britain at least they symbolise war veterans, making them quite appropriate for Bila Hora. I don't know if they have the same meaning in Czech culture as in British culture, however.

Here's a better shot, I think, of #9024.

Here's one of the third class which I mentioned earlier, DPP #9024, which is a Tatra KT8D5 articulated tram.

Here's another shot of #8627 as it continued past Vysehrad.

All four major classes of tram on DPP run past Vysehrad, the Tatra T3 (in its various variants), the Tatra T6A5, the Tatra KT8D5, and the Skoda 14T. Here's one of the second of these, DPP #8627.