
After more than a year of waiting, here it is! Retro Istria, running from Koper to Budapest and Warsaw, photographed in Podpeč. I had really wanted to get this shot last year, but on the day I was planning to photograph it, I witnessed, with my own eyes, a double-headed train hauled by two SŽ 541s derail at Črnotiče station... definitely something I won't forget.
And so, this is what I had been waiting for or, honestly, something even better. This year, the Retro Istria train to Koper has an additional Polish coach at the rear, making it four coaches long. To top it all off, the train was hauled by an SŽ 363 that day, even though it isn't scheduled to haul this train this year.
At the top of the hill, you can see the beautiful fortified tower, originally built in the 11th century. Behind the train is a bridge that was originally part of the Jesenice–Tarvisio railway, but was relocated here after that line closed and this one opened.