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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

The views, however, were not too shabby. 🥰 And the rest of the day is told quickly: Hässleholm, Øresundståg, Malmö and another Pågatågen to lovely Ystad, where this day ended. #HullerOmBullar

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

And while somebody happily ticks off another line on his map, I have to rant: These Pågatågen trains. Seriously?! How much do you hate your passengers?! This so incredibly bad and I can't get my head around the fact, that this exists in the same country as the Regina. Terrible! 🤮 #HullerOmBullar

Pågatågen train from the outside. The Coradia Nordic has not the most well designed shape, but nothing too bad. But the aggressive purple livery is a hint to what awaits you inside.

Eyestrain causing colour combination in the vestibule. Bright purple door and bright orange panels around it. Aaargh!

Cheap and uncomfortable looking tip-up-seat. All the seats in the train are like this, you have to fold down your seat yourself. Also, the train has tiny windows which are too high up compared to the level on which you sit. It all has the vibe of an anti-vandal, minimum effort cheapshit train.

Tiny seats on a weird podest next to the door.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

Markaryd, a rather bare station serving as terminus for the Pågatågen services from Hässlehom, reinstated in 2013. While it is good, that there's a train again, let's not talk about the timetable... #HullerOmBullar

Green Länstrafiken Kronoberg bus at the Markaryd bus station

The station, a glorified bus stop. A shelter and two platform built with concrete elements.

The timetable. Arrivals: 17:23, 18:46, 20:18, 23:02. Departures: 17:36, 18:56, 20:36, 23:11

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

These southern fake Regina cruelly miss a Kiosk, so I had to stock up on coffee at Halmstad while changing to a länstrafik bus. Of course, all perfectly timed for a photo with the SJ Regina running parallel to the bus. #HullerOmBullar

An SJ Snabbtåg Regina, photographed from a bus running parallel to the line

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

Back at the station and on to the next Regina. ... Wait, what..?! 🤨 Hear me out: Take a closer look at these Øresundståg trains. While they borrowed elements from the Danish IC3, it's obvious that they must be based on the same platform as the Reginas. They also sound similar. #HullerOmBullar

Øresundståg X31 at Göteborg C. The front is very similar to a Danish IC3 and has nothing to do with a Regina. But the sides of the train closely resemble the Regina familiy.

View along the train. Curved bodyshell, just like the Reginas

View across the aisle through the opposite window. The wall panels and windows are clearly Regina elements.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

Göteborg. Again. 😁 Never miss a chance to ride an M29! So we didn't. And sourced some bullar, while we were there. #HullerOmBullar

View of the door area inside a M29 tram. Outside, the city centre of Goteborg.

M29 tram arriving at Göteborg C. Some slightly worrying patches of rust at the front and nest to the doors.

Orange rollsign of line 6 at the side of the tramcar

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

On to the next train, which - surprise - was a Regina again! Who came up with this programme?! 😁 And as this is kind of a long-distance-ish regional service, it of course features a "Kiosk". 🥰 Which of course had to be visited. Sorry, I don't make the rules. #HullerOmBullar

The Kiosk in the last carriage. A small bar with a choice of snacks and thermos flasks with tea and coffee.

Interior of this Regina train. Unlike most of them, these SJ trains have black seats

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

After a last night at our stuga, it was time to face the inevitable: We had to start our way back Home. 🥲 Last ride on Värmlandsbanan in a Regina to Karlstad. This was a busy commuter service, meaning that about a third of the seats were taken! #HullerOmBullar

A blue Transitio liveried Regina arrives at Arvika. The departure board shows "08:34 Edane Karlstad". Quite some passengers on the platform.

View through the trains window on one of the countless lakes. A lovely scenery, despite the low clouds.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

To comply with the hashtag, it was about time for a fika, before we strolled through Arvika, which is indeed quite a contrast to Charlottenberg. And, purely coincidental of course, we even managed a railway photo. Not the picture of the year, though. #HullerOmBullar

Tea, Latte, Chokladboll and Kanelbulle at Espresso House

High street of Arvika. Car-free pedestrian zone with old townhouses and many shops. All looking a lot livelier than Charlottenberg, although there weren't many people around, too.

View from the pier at Arvika Harbour. Two white flags are blowing in the wind, grey clouds in the sky.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

Same vibe at the station. Huge old building with new platforms, but still a bit unloved. The last pints in the Lochlann Pub were probably served quite some time ago. In the waiting room, a man who is surely not waiting for the next train, stares at the wall. We took the bus back. #HullerOmBullar

A very long roof at platform 1, just next to the station building. Nobody to be seen.

Inside a dated looking waiting room with ugly tiles not matching the old building, there is a glass door leading to a former pub, which is now empty and dark inside. In the waiting room, random pieces of furniture are scattered across the room.

A pile of pallets half blocking the corridor leading from the waiting room to the platform. The "Till tågen" sign above the door is still an old one from the pre-Trafikverket era.

A yellow Värmlandstrafik bus arrives at the bus station. Next to the timetable board in impeccable Värmlandstrafik branding, a single passenger is waiting for the bus.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

Charlottenberg. Quite a vibe here! 😬 Most shops relocated to the insanely huge shopping centres outside of town at the main road from Norway, leaving behind empty premises. There nearly nobody out on the streets this afternoon, so it almost feels a bit like a ghost town. 👻 #HullerOmBullar

View down the main road. A Pizza shop in the house to the left and an empty room in the house to the left. Parked cars, but no people.

An old petrol station, now a grill snack bar called "Charlotta-Grillen".

A bakery in a rather bare two storey building, but with a lovely neon sign reading "Konditori" above the window. It looks dark inside, but there is a customer sitting at a table next to the window.

A bigger shop in a single storey building. Old backlit Swedish and Norwegian flags with faded colours outside. No flags on the three flagstaffs. It looks like the buliding used to be a supermarket, now it looks mainly empty - parts of it are used by a hairdresser.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

For such a rural area, train and bus services are really good, which makes the Värmlandsbanan an ideal destination for us. Also the freight traffic seems to be pretty regular, we noticed similar trains as yesterday, at similar times. Noted for next time. 📝 #HullerOmBullar

Timetable of Värmlandsbanan with 13 daily local services Mon-Fri

The same Hectorrail wood train we photographed the day before, this time seen at Charlottenberg station

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 10/10/2026

This thread still misses the last bit. Here we go: A rather boring grey sky awaited us the next morning. Photo motivation was minimal, so we spent the morning planning our way back home and the afternoon with a short trip to Charlottenberg, last town before the Riksgränsen 🇸🇪/🇳🇴. #HullerOmBullar

A lake next to the railway line, seen through the door windows of a Regina EMU

Old station sign: "Charlottenberg - 432 Km. från Stockholm"

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

A very quick walk to the station to catch the next Regina "home": A short, but absolutely wonderful trip on the quiet train through this beautiful landscape during the blue hour. What a perfect way to end the day! 😍 #HullerOmBullar

A Regina train waits at the platform at Högboda station

View across the aisle: Cozy warm light in the train and a lake in the blue hour outside the window

The Regina train at the platform in Arvika. Lovely blue hour light with dark clouds in the distance

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

But nevertheless: The light was insane! 😍 #HullerOmBullar

A black locomotive pulls a train along a shaded embankment beside a lake. The very tops of the trees are still lit by the setting sun, while the train and the lake are already in shadow. The windows catch the light and gleam. The entire scene is mirrored perfectly in the glassy, still lake.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

The train left Kil, the last stop, perfectly on time as the shadows grew quickly. And then, two stations away from us, it stopped. For no reason. 1 Minute, 2, 3... Not much, but these 3 mins of delay were enough for the shadows to cover nearly all of the dam. Arrgh, we were so close! #HullerOmBullar

A photo with a lot of zoom across the lake on the very last bit of the dam still illuminated in the orange sunset light. A black locomotive hauls a rake of black and blue carriages across the dam.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

All afternoon, we've been monitoring the oncoming Stockholm-Oslo service. If it was perfectly on time, it would pass the dam in the last 2 or 3 minutes before sunset. These trains aren't the most punctual ones, but as 1409 showed it even ahead of time, we decided to give it a try. 😬 #HullerOmBullar

The lake in the soft evening light. Little forest covered hills all around it, occasional houses at the shore.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

The most exciting train of the evening, the Intercity from Oslo, runs in the opposite direction - which required a shot against the light. This wouldn't work with the dam, so we looked for another spot. And again: These trains are perfect for lighting conditions like this. 🥰 #HullerOmBullar

Passing a harvested grain field, an old black locomotive pulls a rake of old black carriages round a bend. In the background lies a woodland, where the first leaves are glowing with colour in the gentle evening sun. The ribbed sides of the locomotive and carriages reflect a great deal of light and thus almost glint in the evening light. With ‘normal’ trains, this effect only occurs when the sun is lower in the sky and at a sharper angle to the train.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

It was so quiet, that you could hear voices from very far away and some deer got quite close, when we followed the path down to the lake. A beautiful corner, but what it needs is a long train. Needless to say, there weren't any. No freight, not even a 3-car Regina. #HullerOmBullar

A variation of the spot from the message before. This time with more reeds in the foreground, the train seems smaller and further away. And a light wind ripples the lake's surface.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

Värmlamdsbanan passes along and across (!) of a number of lakes between Kil and the border. Of course, we wanted to capture this typical scene in a photograph, so we made our way throuh a clearing down to the lakeside. The sun came back and the day evolved into a very quiet evening. #HullerOmBullar

A short, two-carriage train crosses a causeway over a lake as smooth as glass. There is woodland all around, with reeds in the foreground.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 02/10/2026

The small station of Högboda serves a tiny village - but it features its own coop grocery store. In the middle of nowhere! 🤯 We didn't complain, this was ideal to stock up on food, as the weather was about to clear up and it looked like this would going to be a long evening. #HullerOmBullar

Little coop grocery store just next to the tracks of the railway station

Patches of blue in the sky as a Värmlandstrafik Regina EMU leaves Högboda. Behind the train, the little village and a few bales of hay in a freshly mown field.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

Too bad, as Regina showed up as well and, of course, a fika break was held. #HullerOmBullar

The same spot, but this time with a 4-car SJ Snabbtåg Regina and even less light

Kanelbulle in the grass at the photo spot

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

Hector came to say hello at our next photo spot. The sun, that old grump, however preferred not to take part in this gathering. Too bad. #HullerOmBullar

A Hectorrail Vectron locomotive hauling a long wood train along a forest where the trees show first signs of autumn colours

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

Interestingly, apart from a northbound empty train, no more freight? Maybe a maintenance time window? Anyway, after a lunch break at lake Värmeln, we're back for the next train. Great that Värmlandstrafik's fantastic branding is now also applied on trains! 🥰 #HullerOmBullar

A little beach at a typical swedish lake

A Regina EMU in yellow Värmlandstrafik branding at the station

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

No timetabled passenger trains for nearly two hours now. Bad for us, as we'd like to get to a spot a few dozen kilometres south. Good for us, because that gap looked very much like a freight train window, and sure enough, the level crossing bell rang barely 10 minutes later. #HullerOmBullar

Two black Rc locomotives of BLS Rail haul a long wood train through the station of Edane.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

Emergency photo spot at the level crossing. I was grumpy, the light couldn't have been any worse. But SJ’s black Intercity trains are kind of a supernatural phenomena. No matter how rubbish the light is – like here, straight against the midday sun – you still manage to get a shot. #HullerOmBullar

In front of a row of trees illuminated from behind, a black locomotive pulls a rake of black carriages through a curve under the filligrane swedish catenary

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

Our quiet morning became hectic when the sun attempted to break through the grey sky. Will this become a photo day after all?! 🤨 Off through sleepy Arvika to catch the next train! Only problem: Delays. When we arrived in Edane, there wasn't enough time left to reach the photo spot. #HullarOmBullar

A Värmlandstrafik Regina train at Arvika station.

Arvika's high street with the railway station at the far end

View on a lake mirroring the sky at Edane station

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

Back to last week’s trip, when the pace of our assimilation into Swedish culture started to become mildly worrying: We were now staying in a stuga, and I’d swapped my classic croissant breakfast for an ostfralla. 😱 #HullerOmBullar

Little house in red with white windows in a lush green garden

Ostfalla och Kaffe auf dem Frühstückstisch

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 01/10/2026

Wie ich mir das letzte Board Meeting bei Shell vorstelle:

Rich men laughing meme: «And then they said, it worked so well, we do another Tankrabatt»

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 29/09/2026

Das ist doch alles nur noch komplett wahnsinnig: Meine Krankenkassenprämie ist in den letzten 6 Jahren um über die Hälfte gestiegen! Für die gleiche Leistung. 🤯 Und meine Kasse ist kein Einzelfall.

Indizierte Entwicklung meiner Krankenkassenprämie seit 2022. 2027 sind wir bei 152.5!

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 27/09/2026

From what I observed during my short stay there is, that they actually switch operation modes: The modern way during weekdays, when there are a lot of trains and the classic way on weekends, when they need more tracks for pausing trains. For the timetable planners, this must be heaven.

Pendeltåg on the central turnback track 3

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 27/09/2026

... you can even accommodate two stopping through trains following each other with minimum headway by using tracks 2 and 8 as a second Down and Up platform. However, you loose the direct access to the carriage sidings, as there is no switch to get to the sidings from tracks 3/4.

The same drawing as in the post above, but an entering terminating train and a passing train is drawn on top of it rather ugly (sorry for that!) to show that there is no conflict this way

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 27/09/2026

You can avoid these conflicts with the "modern" way of operation, where track 1 and 7 are the Down and Up through track, so that the turnback tracks are between the Up and Down lines. This way, trains can enter/leave the turnback tracks without conflicts with trains in the opposite direction. And...

Track layout of Uppsala C as explained in the thread. Shown is the "modern" operation concept. Main Lines are blue, turnback sidings red, other tracks black

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 27/09/2026

...if your train starts/ends on track 7 or 8. And passing trains can pass all switches on the straight track. However, this generates a number of conflicts. A terminating train from Stockholm cannot enter the turnback tracks, if a southbound train passes. Similar in the North.

The same drawing as in the post above, but the conflict between an entering terminating train and a passing train is drawn on top of it rather ugly (sorry for that!)

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 27/09/2026

The classic way is easy to unterstand: Track 1 and 2 are used as Down and Up main lines, where through running trains stop or pass. Platforms 3 to 8 are used to turn trains terminating from Stockholm, Gävle and Sala. The advantage of this is, that you can easily shunt from/to the carriage sidings...

Track layout of Uppsala C as explained in the thread. Shown is the "classic" operation concept. Main Lines are blue, turnback sidings red, other tracks black

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 27/09/2026

This is the track layout at Uppsala C. Four central bay platform turnback sidings, two from each direction, and two through platforms on each side. Carriage sidings in the South-East and a lot of switches. What makes it interesting is, that you can operate the station in a classic and a modern way.

Track layout of Uppsala C as explained in the thread

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 26/09/2026

After Kil, the Värmlansbanan curves through a hilly landscape with countless lakes. The sun has just set and all is illuminated by a magical light! 🥰 Fortunately, we can enjoy this a little longer as we (again!) don't cross the border to Norway and leave the train at Arvika. #HullerOmBullar

View on a lake after sunset. Blue sky with an orange glow over the hills in the distance

The train at Arvika station in the last light of the day

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 26/09/2026

A quiet and cozy ride in a comfortable seat through beautiful landscape in the soft late afternoon light. This is exactly how I like my train trips! 🥰 #HullerOmBullar

Inside view of the door with the Oslo destination sign rural landscape outside

View through the window on flat grassland with forests in the distance

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 26/09/2026

And then, finally, a good train! We're on SJ's old but very cozy loco hauled Intercity service towards Oslo. The train features a bistro car, coffee supply is provided. 🥰 #HullerOmBullar

Very well padded old seats with a brown moquette in the classic SJ intercity carriages

View along the aisle of the first class carriage. Brown and beige colours are predominant, there is carpet on the floor and at the walls

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 26/09/2026

Today's meetings do look more interesting and we pondered on popping in to hold an impromptu talk on how to build an integrated clockface timetable. 😁 Instead, we took the train down to Stockholm for a fika to try Vete-Katten's seasonal Höstbulle. Ok, but not as good as the classics. #HullerOmBullar

Screen in the Hotel lobby:
"Today's meetings: Trafikverksskolan"
We were of course not entirely sure whether this is really a Trafikverket meeting.

Bryggkaffe and a Höstbulle by Vete-Katten Bakery

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 26/09/2026

Back to town with the bus and a short walk through lovely Uppsala with its huge Domkyrka to Ofvandahls Bakery, a recommendation by a local Mastodon user, to get some bullar for later. I didn't expect much, but Uppsala really is a lovely city! 😊 #HullerOmBullar

An old iron pedestrian bridge over a flat river mirroring the old buildings on the opposite shore

The huge Uppsala Domkyrka towering over the old town

Waterfall of a river between two old houses in the city centre

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 26/09/2026

And finally: The Mälartåg Regina! 🥰 The company operates nine of these 2-car units alongside their 53 ER1 double deck trains. They're among the few Reginas without any unpainted metallic parts. So far, we've only spotted these ones on the Eskilstuna - Uppsala route via Sala. #HullerOmBullar

A white two-car train with blue roof and front ends in a quiet flat landscape of fields and hedges with a few farmhouses and a forest in the distance. Changeable weather with a band of clouds in the sky - but the train is illuminated by soft morning sunlight!

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 26/09/2026

Monday morning. The Mälartåg Regina are back in service, which means we have a task left before we leave. ☝️ We take the Citybus by Gamla Uppsala Bus, which is not Gamla at all and again in an impeccable Länstrafik branding, and go for a little walk through a forest. #HullerOmBullar

A modern MAN biogas bus at a stop in a residential area

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 25/09/2026

Back to the next village and "home" to Uppsala. I didn't expect to find #NeonSweden content in a 800 inhabitants countryside village! #HullerOmBullar

Neon sign "Jarbells" over a countryside supermarket.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 25/09/2026

Change of spots to avoid the freshly ploughed field. I totally forgot how long the shadows already are up here at this time of the year. And of course you get sunlight when you don't want it, so it was rather a close call for the Snälltåget train at around five. #HullerOmBullar

SJ X2000 Snabbtåg curving around a Rock. Shadow in the foreground, blue sky in the back.

The same spot, but zoomed in, as the sun was back and casting long shadows on the track. A red locomotive hauls a quite long rake of former DB carriages in Snälltåget livery

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 25/09/2026

I really wanted to get an X2000 in full sun here. Not only this wasn't going to happen - things got even worse. 😬 A rain front came in and the farmer started to plough the field. Minutes later, we stood soaked in front of an ugly brown field. At least, we got a quite dramatic photo. #HullerOmBullar

An SJ X2000 passes while a dark cloud approaches from the left. A tractor is ploughing the field in the distance.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 25/09/2026

After way too many trains passed in the shadow, timetable and a sunny spell finally matched for the SJ Intercity to Malmö. These black locos are just too bad-ass looking. 🥰 #HullerOmBullar

A black Rc6 loco hauls a rake of older carriages. The first one is blue, the rest black like the locomotive. Bright sunlight on the train and the landscape, while there are many clouds in the sky.

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 25/09/2026

And with that: Välkommen till Sörmlands väderlotteri! ⛅🎰 The first exciting train, the weird Sunday only open access Tågab service to Göteborg via Karlstad, passes in the shadow. #HullerOmBullar

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Dominic Stucki @dominicstucki.ch · 25/09/2026

Buss it is! 🚍️ Once it's back i tjänst. Södermanlands Län is one of many Swedish counties with excellent bus branding. Service ist also ok with 2-hrly busses on Sun on this rather rural line. Rail photography without your own vehicle is, though not easy, absolutely possible in Sweden! #HullerOmBullar

Two green busses with "Ej i tjänst" on the dot matrix next to a Pendeltåg at the station.

The passenger information screen inside the bus in very consequent Sörmlands Trafiken branding. The next station is weirdly named "Elektron"

Two busses of different line connecting at a countryside bus stop at a Sunday afternoon!

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