A Portrait Of Paula

[Torgny]

"Pusher by trade" (?)

[Torgny]

Aiming for the head

[Wingman]

That's one clean and spiffy looking "pusher". The red color really makes for a sharp composition!

Jehan

[lesmore49]

Beautiful...looks brand new. Do you know the background on the name..'Paula' ...painted on the side of the beast ?

[Torgny]

Originally Posted by Wingman

That's one clean and spiffy looking "pusher". The red color really makes for a sharp composition!

Jehan

Jehan,

I did some research, this train functions at the moment as a twister (american english) or shaunter (english) in Gothenburg. Like the word "spiffy"

Torgny

[Torgny]

Originally Posted by lesmore49

Beautiful...looks brand new. Do you know the background on the name..'Paula' ...painted on the side of the beast ?

Les,

I did some research. Seems no other Voith Gravita 20BB has a personal name. Why? Can't tell. Got some information by studying the photo included in this reply

This link tells only part of the story and isn't 100% accurate, I think

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voith_Gravita

Another site tells that it has been to India (Eurasian continent) Why? Can't tell

My summary after doing some searching:

Built in Kiel, Germany. Diesel hydraulic engine. Was ment for the German railways (orange paint) but is now part of a NortRail (Norwegian) service pool (bright red paint job), leased when needed in various harbours

All of this might be correct, but there's no guarantee Most of it may be false but there's no guarantee for that either

The name Paula

Visit to India (take that with many grains of salt)

Well. Life brings you ...

Torgny

[lesmore49]

Thanks Torgny for the research, link and additional pictures. Very interesting stuff. These European trains and engines are very interesting to me. Most of my experience has been with heavy Canadian freight trains that travel back and forth across the prairies in Western Canada.

In the prairies we don't have very many passenger trains...the great majority of trains here are shifting huge numbers of freight cars.

[Wingman]

Originally Posted by lesmore49

In the prairies we don't have very many passenger trains...the great majority of trains here are shifting huge numbers of freight cars.

I love train rides, and one across the Canadian Rockies is on my bucket list! In 2006 however, I rode Amtrak's Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, Washington: 2 nights on the train with some fabulous scenery as the train made it's way through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho into Washington. Here's an image of the locomotives when we stopped at Havre, Montana for a fuel stop. Not as "spiffy" looking as Paula though

ps: definition of "Spiffy": Smart in Appearance

[lesmore49]

Originally Posted by Wingman

I love train rides, and one across the Canadian Rockies is on my bucket list! In 2006 however, I rode Amtrak's Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, Washington: 2 nights on the train with some fabulous scenery as the train made it's way through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho into Washington. Here's an image of the locomotives when we stopped at Havre, Montana for a fuel stop. Not as "spiffy" looking as Paula though

ps: definition of "Spiffy": Smart in Appearance

A great trip that you were on. Your photo reminds me of the route Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint took via train on the 1958 movie North by Northwest . I haven't been on a train trip through the west and Rockies...but I've traveled by car through both the American and Canadian west to Vancouver....some of the sights are breath taking.

[KCook]

Paula is a lot more stylish than the switch engines we usually see in the USA.

Kelly