The May 2008 issue of Today’s Railways magazine has an interesting article on the Septemvri - Bansko - Dobrinishte line in Bulgaria; “The Rhodope Mountains route. BDZ’s last narrow gauge line” by Chris Bailey.
In summer 2006 I did the route as part of a holiday trip to Bulgaria, and subsequently wrote an article about the narrow gauge line.
David’s Bat Blog has a details of a bat detector (that’s “bats” as in “belfries”), partially inspired by sound mirror design.
The prototype is only 60cm by 20cm, so I wasn’t expecting miracles, but tests at varying ultrasound levels showed that, using the reflector a Duet bat detector could pick up the artificial bat between 30% and 70% further away than it could on its own. Positioning of the detector microphone is critical, as it needs to be at the precise focal point of the reflector for best results.
More at Bats, bombers and acoustic mirrors.
Dan in the Desert has some photos of Baghdad Central station taken in 2006, including bullet-marked loco DEM 2725.
Some old articles from Railway Gazette regarding a unrealised 1960s scheme for a rail link from the Pakistan Railways railhead at Chaman to Spin Boldak, a short distance across the border in Afghanistan.
Spin Boldak is a major border crossing point, and it seems that railway extension plans have been talked about every so often.
20 May 1966
Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan were held on May 4 1966 regarding building a railway to Spin Baldak. 
2 September 1966
Construction to Spin Baldak “is to begin soon”.
17 May 1968
Bad news: the Spinbaldak scheme, which was to have been financed by the US Agency for International Development, has been abandoned.
(clippings © Railway Gazette International)
Rainer Fuchs has been for a ride on a train - of sorts - in Abu Dhabi. It is a rubber wheeled
train, used to transport tourists around the artificial Lulu Island.
The website of the UAE-based Azizi Hotak General Trading Group has some December 2007 photographs of rail operations at Hairaton terminal in Afghanistan, showing Uzbek Railways’ loco TEM2 3199.
The address by Uzbekistan’s President at the NATO Summit in Bucharest on April 3 2008 mentions rail access on the Uzbek Railways line to Afghanistan.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to state that Uzbekistan stands ready to discuss and sign with NATO the Agreement on providing for corridor and transit through its territory to deliver the non-military cargos through the border junction Termez-Khayraton, practically the sole railway connection with Afghanistan.
At the same time, the sovereign interests on maintaining the security and legislation of our country must be observed.
The agreement on railway transit of Bundeswehr cargos through the territory of Uzbekistan signed by Uzbekistan with the German side on March 4 this year could be taken as basis for the future Agreement.
An agreement has also been reached “to allow the alliance to ship non-lethal freight across Russian territory to military forces in Afghanistan”
There are four photos from Iraq on Railpictures.net.
These include two views of Chinese-built DEM2730 near Mosul in August 2006, and two aerial views of a yard in Baghdad taken from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter in June 2003.
Thanks to Tim Moriarty
News from Railway Gazette International Changing Trains