The train line along the river Douro valley down by the sea from Porto up to the Spanish border is extremely beautiful with its majestic slopes and vineyeards. It has long been a major tourist attraction. The touristic trains used to be run with old diesel locomotives and old Portuguese and Swiss wagons, as we can see in this picture. But since the beginning of the 1990s only boring diesel multiple units were to be found on the line and tourists were not happy. Now in the 2020s CP realised that they need to rehaul some of the old engines and old coaches and put them in operation as they used to be in the 1980s and early 1990s to get back the hoardes of tourists that they used to have. This first picture of our series is an old one, still from the times as things used to be before the diesel multiple units came to push all of this aside.

Broad Gauge English Electric diesel locomotive CP 1407 with passenger train 863 to Regua entering Campanha Station, Porto, Portugal.
Picture 16.6.1990 by David Othen.

A similar train once again. This CP no.1427 locomotive was built in 1968. It belongs to the CP class 1400. Most of the 1400 locomotives were already scrapped, but a few remained in shunting service at major stations like Lisbon. CP had to hastily put in order this one and some similar ones to once again secure a service like it used to be at the time when tourists just loved this train up the Douro valley.
Picture from Pinhão station in the river Douro valley 9.6.2024 by Markku Salo.

This is one of the class 592 multiple units which for many years replaced locomotive pulled touristic trains. This picture is from 2012. These are Spanish trains that CP leased from Spain as used material.
Picture from Régua station 22.6.2012 by Ilkka Siissalo.

This is now once again a fully restored touristic train of the Douro valley as they used to be in the 1980s or 1970s. The locomotive is a similar one as shown above, but it has once agin been painted in the colours as they used to carry in those times. And the coaches are Swiss Einheitswagen I coaches which CP in the 1970s had bought from Switzerland for this touristic route. You might recognise the wine red and creme colouring typical of the Trans Europ Express trains of the 1960s. That was a part of the lure how to get rich German and Swiss tourists to the Douro valley. But one more tourist attraction which was important then is now still failing. In those days there were altogether four narrow gauge steam engine driven short railways up from this broad gauge mainline by the river leading over the hills to small towns. Maybe the most important of these towns is Vila Real, which is big enough to even have a university even today. None of these narrow gaude lines have survived up till today. Some of the old and rusty remains of these narrow gauge trains you can see if you go to the Portugal > narrow gauge section of our picture archive.
Picture from Pinhão station in the river Douro valley 9.6.2024 by Markku Salo.

This is a French made class 382 locomotive and some old express train coaches now replacing the usual class 592 DMU trains that run on these short routes along the river Douro valley.. Picture from Porto Sao Bento station 9.6.2024 by Markku Salo.