The Train Goes Where? (10 Photos)

October 29, 2026

By Vidar

Ten Places You’d Never Expect a Train

Most trains get a fenced-off strip of land to themselves. These share theirs with vegetable stalls in Thailand, cafe chairs in Hanoi, a small Kentucky town’s shopping street and a pier far out in the Thames Estuary. One in the Swiss Alps loops back over itself.

More: Living on the Edge (15 Photos)

☕ Hanoi Train Street — Hanoi, Vietnam 🇻🇳

On Hanoi Train Street the front doors and cafe tables are a step from the rails, and the slow trains squeeze past with almost no room to spare. Since March 2025 the city has asked travel agencies not to bring tours here.

💡 Rules Fact: Hanoi has shut the trackside cafes more than once since 2019, and in February 2026 the Ministry of Construction and the city announced plans to cut passenger and freight trains on this stretch.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHanoi Train StreetHanoi, VietnamUrban railwayTrackside cafes1A train passes between buildings and cafes in a photograph dated 25 December 2023.commons.wikimedia.org2According to Tuoi Tre, travel businesses were asked not to organise visits in March 2025.news.tuoitre.vn202325 DecTrain photographed between buildings · camera date20259 MarTuoi Tre reports restrictions on organised visits202624 FebPlan to reduce train movements reportedRead the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: “Hanoi Train Street (20231225b) (53489076293)” by Takeshi Aida from Hong Kong, Hong Kong / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

🌀 Brusio Circular Viaduct — Brusio, Graubünden, Switzerland 🇨🇭

Below Brusio station, the Bernina line loses height by turning a full circle and crossing its own track on the nine stone arches of the Brusio Circular Viaduct.

💡 Plan B Fact: Before the viaduct opened in 1908, the engineers considered a spiral tunnel, but local geology discouraged it, so the loop went outside. Since 2008 it has been part of the Rhaetian Railway UNESCO World Heritage Site.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBrusio Circular ViaductRhaetian Railway · Brusio, SwitzerlandStone viaductOpen spiralBernina line1The stone viaduct has nine arches.myswitzerland.com2The Bernina railway forms a full loop and crosses its own route.myswitzerland.com2008Railway property inscribed by UNESCO20122 NovLocal train photographed on the spiralRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “RhB ABe 4-4 III Kreisviadukt Brusio” by Kabelleger / David Gubler (bahnbilder.ch) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

🥬 Maeklong Railway Market — Samut Songkhram, Thailand 🇹🇭

The vendors at Maeklong Railway Market lay out their vegetables along the rails. When a train is due, they pull back the awnings and lift their baskets off the tracks. Whatever sits just outside the rails stays put, inches from the wheels.

💡 Umbrella Fact: Thais call it talad rom hup, the umbrella pull-down market, and the stalls line about 500 meters of track. The vendors clear the rails up to eight times a day.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMae Klong Railway MarketState Railway of Thailand · Samut SongkhramWorking railwayFolding awningsProduce market1Vendors fold their awnings to let trains pass through the market.samutsongkhram.mots.go.th2The market occupies the railway corridor at Mae Klong station.samutsongkhram.mots.go.th20131 JunTrain photographed among the stalls · camera date20228 JunAFP reports trains passing through the marketRead the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: “Maeklong Railway (9394213822)” by m-louis .® from Osaka, Japan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

💦 Stoney Creek Falls Bridge — Kuranda Scenic Railway, Queensland, Australia 🇦🇺

On the climb from Cairns to Kuranda, the train curves across a bridge in front of Stoney Creek Falls. This photo is from about 1966, and the railway still calls the bridge “the most outstanding feature of the railway line.”

💡 Banquet Fact: In 1890 a banquet was held on the almost-finished bridge, and there were no speeches because of the roar of the waterfall just behind it.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsStoney Creek Falls BridgeJohn Gwynneth · 1890 · Cairns RegionWaterfall bridgeMountain railwayQueensland1The bridge curves beside Stoney Creek Falls on the Cairns–Kuranda route.portal.engineersaustralia.org.au2Passenger trains began using the mountain line in June 1891.ksr.com.au1890AprStoney Creek bridge nearly complete189125 JunCairns–Kuranda passenger service openedc. 1966Train photographed beside the falls, circa 196620057 JulEngineering nomination describes Stoney Creek Bridge in place202625 JunRailway marked 135 years of passenger serviceRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Stony Creek Falls, Cairns region, c 1966” by Queensland State Archives / Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain Mark)

🏔️ Durango & Silverton Highline — La Plata County, Colorado, USA 🇺🇸

On the Highline, the narrow-gauge train runs on a ledge cut into the cliff, some 400 feet above the Animas River. The riders in the open car get rock on one side and a long drop on the other.

💡 Silver Fact: The tracks reached Silverton in July 1882 to haul gold and silver ore out of the San Juan Mountains, and an estimated $300 million in precious metals has traveled this route. Today it hauls tourists instead of ore and is a National Historic Landmark.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsDurango & Silverton HighlineDenver & Rio Grande Railway · 1881–1882 · ColoradoNarrow gaugeCliff railwayAnimas Canyon1The Highline follows a cliff ledge above the Animas River.drgw.net2The railway to Silverton was completed in July 1882.durangotrain.com1882JulRailway completed to Silverton20151 JunTrain photographed on the Highline · camera dateRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

🌊 Dawlish Sea Wall — Devon, England 🇬🇧

At Dawlish the railway runs along the sea wall itself, so in a storm like this one in October 2025 the waves break a few steps from the train.

💡 Wall Fact: In February 2014 the sea tore out part of the old wall and left the tracks hanging in midair, cutting off the rail connection to Cornwall and much of Devon for eight weeks. The £80 million sea wall finished in 2023 stands 2.5 meters taller than the old one.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsDawlish Sea Wall RailwayNetwork Rail · 2023 sea wall · DawlishCoastal railwayStorm defenceDawlish1The line closed for eight weeks after the 2014 washout.networkrail.co.uk2A new £82 million sea wall was completed in 2023.gov.uk20144 FebStorm on 4–5 February severed the railway20233 JulGovernment marks completion of the new sea wall202518 OctTrain photographed beside breaking waves · camera dateRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Dawlish – GWR 166217 Paignton train in a storm” by Geof Sheppard / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

⚓ Southend Pier Railway — Southend-on-Sea, England 🇬🇧

Southend Pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world, 1.33 miles out into the Thames Estuary, so it comes with its own railway. Walking to the end takes just under 30 minutes.

💡 Navy Fact: During World War II the pier was taken over by the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Leigh. Its first electric railway opened in 1890, and the pier’s own history calls it the first pier railway in the country.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsSouthend Pier RailwaySouthend-on-Sea City Council · Electric railway: 1890 · Southend-on-SeaPier railwayNarrow gaugeThames Estuary1An electric railway first ran on Southend Pier in 1890.southendpier.co.uk2The pier extension opened in January 1898 made it the world’s longest pleasure pier.southendpier.co.uk1890Single-track electric railway began running1986Pier reopened with new narrow-gauge railway20201 SepTrain photographed near the pier midpoint20261 OctElectric fleet still suspended for safety workRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Train near mid-point of Southend pier – 50882161876” by srfurley / Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain Mark)

✈️ Gisborne Airport — Gisborne, New Zealand 🇳🇿

A plane takes off from Gisborne Airport just after the Gisborne City Vintage Railway’s steam train has cleared the crossing. The line crosses the middle of the main runway, so air traffic controllers have to juggle the train crossings and the flights.

💡 Runway Fact: Regular trains stopped using the line after storm washouts in 2012, but the vintage railway still runs excursions across and calls itself “the only train in the world to cross the main runway of a fully operational airport.”

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsGisborne Airport Railway CrossingGisborne City Vintage Railway · GisborneRunway crossingHeritage railwayGisborne1A railway crosses the airport’s operational main runway.newzealand.com2Steam locomotive WA165 was built in New Zealand in 1897.gcvr.org.nz202124 OctWA165 photographed clear of the airport runway as an aircraft takes offRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “NZ & Aus Railways 04” by XPinger (Chris Sutton) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0), cropped

🏮 Shifen Old Street — Pingxi, New Taipei, Taiwan 🇹🇼

On Shifen Old Street the Pingxi Line passes in front of the shops, close enough that visitors holding paper sky lanterns have to step aside and let the train through.

💡 Lantern Fact: Pingxi’s sky lantern tradition goes back nearly 200 years, when the lanterns were a safety signal against bandits. The railway came later: it was completed in 1921 to carry coal.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsShifen Old Street RailwayPingxi Line · Shifen, New Taipei CityStreet railwaySky lanternsPingxi Line1The Pingxi railway passes beside Shifen Old Street’s shops and houses.newtaipei.travel2The branch railway was built to carry coal.tad.gov.tw1992Branch selected as a tourism route201728 OctTrain photographed through the old street202527 NovControlled lantern-release trial reported202625 JulOfficial attraction listing updated (not a camera date)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: “DRC1029 train passes through Shifen” by xiquinhosilva / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

🏪 Main Street — La Grange, Kentucky, USA 🇺🇸

In La Grange the tracks run straight down the middle of Main Street, and up to 20 CSX freight trains a day roll past the parked cars and storefronts, held to 10 mph downtown.

💡 Railroad Fact: The trains have come through since the 1850s, when the Louisville and Frankfort Railroad was built through town.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLa Grange Main Street RailwayCSX Transportation · La Grange, KentuckyStreet runningFreight railwayKentucky1CSX railway tracks are embedded in Main Street’s roadway.touroldham.com2La Grange became a railroad junction in 1869.achp.gov1850sPreservation profile dates the railroad through La Grange to the 1850s1869La Grange became a railroad junction201020 AprFreight train photographed on Main StreetRead the full file →