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ZCochrane — Valkenburg Level Crossing
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Published: 2010-05-16 22:35:46 +0000 UTC; Views: 3271; Favourites: 73; Downloads: 112
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Description
My car is getting old-ish and I hardly ever use it, so it has come to a point where I tend to make a shorter tour before every really long journey just to see if it still works (it usually does, though). Also, I’ve finished the season 3 of Lost and had nothing better to do, and finally I wasn’t too happy with the pictures I’ve posted lately. So with all this in mind, I decided to pay a visit to the closest museum railway near my home — which happens to be in a foreign country.The ZLSM (Zuid Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij, South Limburgian steam train club) is headquarted in Simpelveld, less than five kilometers from the german border, but looking at the timetable I decided that my best bet to catch the train would be in Schin Op Geul, where ZLSM’s line meets the mainline Maastricht-Heerlen. However, I had forgotten the charger for my GPS, and was unable to find that entire town, which is a first in my travels. That was not really a problem, though, as it was very easy to find the final destination of the museum train, Valkenburg.
For some reason, ZLSM uses only swedish steam locomotives. Statens Järnvägar (SJ, swedish state railroad) 1220 is one of two class B 2’C (4-6-0) locomotives in their use, and it is hauling a train composed almost entirely of former belgian first-class carriages, which, by the way, feature incredibly comfortable seating. Worth a try if you are in the area. It is here leaving Valkenburg station, heading back to Simpelveld. Can’t recommend getting gas there, though. I never thought I’d see the day where I was happy to see 1.429 €/liter (7.15 $/gallon) back home in Aachen, but damn it, those prices our neighbours are paying…
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Comments: 21
These machines do not deserve to be be on display. They should be out running because there no point thm learning the the steam era by just leaving there on display. Very Nice photo
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Yes, I think it's great that there are people willing to invest the time, effort and money to keep them going.
Thank you!
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I know its great. I once volunteer so I could work with one Steamer. Unfortunately My first year was her final season
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Solid shot! I like shots like this that put the engine in the "scene!"
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Danke! Das war so ein Bild, wo ich zuerst dachte „Die Schranken schneide ich nachher weg“, aber am Ende war es mit ihnen doch deutlich besser.
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Eine gute Entscheidung, sie zu belassen!
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Ja, gebaut 1914, die ist auch alt genug.
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Awesome picture! I don't really know why the ZLSM only has Swedish vehicles. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it has to do with hardly any Dutch steamers being track-ready, and German steamers being quite well represented in the Netherlands.
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Fuel-rant starting here:
The Netherlands *is* expensive on gas. I believe only Norway is more expensive.
For that reason I snap at Americans complaining about 'high gas prices'.
Dutch gas price: €1,595 per litre ($7,667 per gallon)
Highest American gas price I could find (Alaska): $3,735 per gallon (€0,777 per litre). And in many states they pay way less.
The sheer difference angers me. I see a purpose to high gas prices. As much as it pains me when I get my Astra to a gas-station, I see why it could be useful.
However, all those efforts of saving are useless if the Americans don't do shit about it.
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Oh, and thank you for the 
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That could be, I also think that swedish steamers were apparently quite cheap, as there are a few other museum railroads in other countries that also use them.
I fully agree with you on the fuel rant. Americans are paying way too little, and as a result have way too large cars and way too few public transport, and also invest not enough money in research of new technologies. That has to change if we ever want to get rid of our oil dependency.
Specifically in the Netherlands, though, I am always shocked when I pass a gas station. In Valkenburg, I would have had to pay 1,519 € per litre (is that cheap for you? 1,595 seems almost apocalyptic to me). I ended up driving to a station in Aachen instead, where I paid "only" 1,429, a price that I would normally consider to be quite high. Of course, in a country where a day ticket for all railroads and buses costs less than a return ticket from my university to my home here, maybe such high prices are not a problem, and also I consume far less fuel on dutch roads than I do on a german Autobahn… although I think driving with no speed limit in Germany is far more fun.
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I had to look it up... My dad usually pays the fuel (still a student), and I don't drive that much, or rather, not that far (I drive over a month on a single full tank). Also, my dad's car runs on LPG, which is dirt-cheap in comparison, so fuel prices aren't really at the top of things in my head. I don't know local prices for today for example
Euro 95 today (18th of may 2010) is (on average for the Netherlands) €1,581 per litre ([link] )
Though it's probably possible to get it for around what you saw or even slightly cheaper at certain brandless fuelstations.
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I only look at fuel prices when I have to fill up myself. 
However, I often drive distances of about 450 km, from my university to my home, and gas prices can be very notable there, especially if I am in a "what is the actual top speed of this car" mood. LPG is certainly cheaper, though whether it is more useful, that probably depends on a lot of other factors.
I wouldn’t be surprised if stations somewhat closer to the border charged less. Valkenburg to Aachen is about 20 km, and there is a lot of cross-border traffic, so I guess they can’t afford to charge as much, otherwise quite a few people will instead going until they reach Germany again.
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Thanks, and thank you for all the
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No problem! Thank goodness that my RF brain still works and kick out those wolfish and draconic interest.
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