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Biting East '16-'18 - 26: Buhăiești - Open Range (50 p.)

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Roni

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19 Mar 2007
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Location
Vienna, Austria
Hi,



To the previous part of the series:
Princely East '16-'18 - 25: Suceava - Iași (50 p.)
http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/princely-east-16-18-25-suceava-iași-50-p.13251



The videos for this part:



The following pictures were taken on March 22 2018 and August 4 2016 - you should be able to discern the dates by the amount of ice and snow. ;)


You already have seen the early summer morning photos from Iași main station - I managed to sleep a little longer in winter 2018 as R 6312 to Tecuci departed sixteen minutes later than in 2016 at 5:01 a.m.
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A picture from summer to the left, the coaches also have received updated liveries since.
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In summer I reached Rateșu Cuzei halt at 5:47.
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Morning fog was just lifting - despite 90 degree heat during the days.
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No time to walk forward past the electricity pylons as the first expected train already was approaching.
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Seasonal overnight seaside express IRN 1961 Constanța - Iași rushed past punctually.
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The sleeping and couchette cars could be found at the rear of the train.
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I changed position to below the high-voltage lines and waited...
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… until at 6:53 a.m. the first express towards the capital, IR 1662 Iași - Bucharest hauled by GM-modernized "Jimmy" 661 132, appeared. These former classes 63 and 65 have been redesignated (0)640/641 and 660/661 during the course of UIC-numbering as 630 and 650/651 already had been taken.
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My only encounter on the levee of Rebricea river which I was about to follow to Buhăieşti - to be seen in the background. R 6311 Tecuci - Iași also approached from behind.
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Train in graduated old colors hauled by 640 900.
It met R 6402 Iași - Bârlad, a modern Desiro DMU - lets skip that picture.
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Shortly afterwards, Regiotrans (in 2017 the company has been renamed to Regio Călători) former French SNCF Caravelle 97-0562 came by as R 14843 Roman - Iași.
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As I walked towards Buhăiești, a shepherd led his herd out of the enclosure on the hillside nearby - but obviously had forgotten something at the stable.
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I marched along vast fields, IR 1863 Iași - Galați approached at 8:32.
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At Buhăiești, it passed by another one of the corrals typical of that region.
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In winter, I arrived at 6:12 a.m. at Buhăiești.
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A modern sign points to this well, even if it carries warnings that the water is not drinkable.
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The train still was standing, I managed to capture a few different shots. Dogs were barking in the distance, I did not pay too much attention to it.
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On the way back, two dogs were chasing me in a more and more aggressive way until one of them actually bit me in the leg. Afterwards, they retreated, and I fled into the waiting room. Luckily, it had 15 degrees outside and I wore thick ski trousers and layers of underwear. The bite did not even make it through the ski trousers, obviously it did not taste well. A man came in who told me the same dog already had bitten him as well. It was my first negative experience with stray dogs on my journeys.
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I walked uphill behind the corral for a view of the valley. But sheep dogs already were barking and I was not keen on getting bitten twice that day. Also, the opposite hills were forested, so would only provide a dark contrast against the sunrise.
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That's why I changed to a spot near the railroad grade crossing. I always had an eye on the often barking dogs - keeping escape routes in mind - but thankfully they moved on into the village.
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Just moments after the first sun rays had reached the valley floor at 6:48, IR 1660 Iași - Bucharest appeared behind 641 358 near Rateșu Cuzei.
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Comparison to summertime.
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The herd was kept outside during winter as well.
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Life near the station.
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A large station with express halt for the comparatively small village Buhăiești. The reason: it is also junction of the branch line from Roman, the Regio Călători railcar just had arrived.
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R 16543 Roman - Iași accelerated past the little house.
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Despite dog attack I don't have such a low opinion of the place... ;)
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I failed in my attempt to recycle tickets.
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The station even features a bar, obviously frequented by locals. In winter I procured warming coffee, in summer IR 1831 Galați - Cluj departing at 9:33 took me back to Iași.
For the GM-departure see:

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In winter, I already boarded R 6311 Tecuci - Iași at 7:43.
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A look at the ski trousers, back in the hotel room I did not notice any marks on the skin. Nevertheless, I received five anti-rabies inoculations at home within the following month. You cannot treat a deadly disease lightly.
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We still had a full day planned - next time, we will take a closer look at Iași! :)
 
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