Train porn

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/greenore-boat-express-9373

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/turf-burning-locomotive-coras-iompair-eireann-9266

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/londonderry-and-lough-swilly-railway-484t-locomotive-no-6-9529

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/great-northern-railway-ireland-440-locomotive-no-172-9375

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/264t-locomotive-alice-9530

Over in America, Amtrak this week did some early morning speed tests for their Acela Express tilting trains, running them as fast as 165 mph (266 km/h) between Trenton and New Brunswick in New Jersey; the station shown here is Princeton Junction, in between the two. The intent is apparently to increase top speed of the line to 160 mph (257 km/h), which was originally promised back in the late 1960s on the Budd Metroliner trains for Penn Central (and that would have made it the fastest train in the world back then; going up to 160 mph on this railway nowadays will make it the fastest train on a traditional railway alignment).

Some of the people recording these runs have claimed that Amtrak actually did one run at 170 mph (274 km/h), which is a fraction faster than the top tested speed it achieved at the FRA's test center at Pueblo, Colorado. (Also technically illegal on Class 8 tracks, which the Federal Railroad Administration stipulates no going over 160 mph on.)

For the record, this would be the heaviest high-speed train running anywhere, with 92,700 kg power cars, passenger cars adjacent to power cars at 64,600 kg (one first class and one business class), intermediate cars of 63,100 kg (all business class) and a bistro car of 62,100 kg. These weights are pursuant to the FRA's requirements for "crashworthiness", in case the train has to collide with a heavy coal train (although no coal trains run on the Northeast Corridor).

A bit violent, this one (and sad). At the Port of Owendo in the country of Gabon, a brand-new Downer Rail GT46C-ACe (with EMD 710 16-cylinder engine) falls off the crane and crashes onto the dock, with some nasty results to the engine.