Pawel

Brocky - glad you like 'em! There's no Photoshop on those pictures here! Those were taken in the general area of Konin, slightly to the west of the very center of Poland. Middle and east of Poland are plains. To the north, and especially north-east there are lots of very nice lakes (check out Mazury). North -north west part of Poland has a Baltic Sea shore. There are also beautiful mountains to the south - older, lower ones to the south west, and younger, higher ones to the south east. The highest peak is 8200 ft. over the sea level. HeavyGunner - Polish people like many things that come from abroad, especially from the west, so they use English a lot in advertising - like here. I don't know that particular locale, but I suppose gambling is legal in it, judging by the name. Thanks a lot for your comments and have a nice day Paweł

Hello! Here's the remainder of the photos I shot on the way back - they show the rural Polish countryside: A river called Warta: Another shot: A wind farm: A pretty typical village: A cementary: Center of the village: Entry to another village: Cherry blossom: Trees and a pasture/meadow: Country road: Yet another village with an old church: Polish plains - perfect terrain for the tanks, sadly: A traditional cross on the crossroads: A cherry plantation across the road from the gas station: A rarity in Poland - an old John Deere tractor: Also not so popular - an ex-Soviet/Russian MTS: And a graphic way to say goodbye: Thanks for looking, and I hope you liked it - have a nice day Paweł

Mcrafty1 - yeah, that's probably what they did, took 'em by surprise the first time around! j_martell - I agree, I can see how driving a truck can get you hooked! People should enjoy their work, otherwise it might turn out they are wasting time and/or money! j hancock, eddeere - thanks a lot! Bob - what would you say, what's similar and what is different? Do you mean Nevada or other parts of the USA? I also have some pictures of the countryside - I'll post them soon. Thanks for your comments and have a nice day Paweł

I hear you! Dang, the first time I was in Konin, lots of nice girls were to be seen on the streets. This time around it's almost as though they went hidin'!

Hello Bob, thanks a lot for your comment! Yeah, I enjoy my driving time a lot! I've got more pictures for you: Railroad yard under an overpass: My friend driving and an old russian diesel: Closeup on that diesel - it's called "Gagarin" in our railroaders' slang: Emergency vehicle station: A residential building with a nice view: A power plant: Town panorama - the town is called Konin: Once more the power plant: A bridge over the Warta river: Town view: Another bridge: An old bus: A bus yard: Some rigs: Like you see the cabovers rule over here, and most semitrailers have three axles: Powder tank: We've also seen a girl learning to drive a tractor: If you like'em I've got some more, so please let me know - thanks for reading and have a nice day Paweł

Paul - That "L" denotes a driving lessons vehicle, carrying an instructor. In many such vehicles some controls are doubled - in our truck there is a second brake pedal for the instructor. Our truck has an 8-speed gearbox (2x4 gears) + creeper + reverse. That tranny is syncronised, so no double-clutching is necessary. I've already have a good hang on the gears. Thanks for your comment, have a nice day Paweł

Vlad, Bob - thanks a lot for your comments! Yeah, truck driving sure is exciting - even more so in the first hours. After two weeks of training after work I have clocked 9 hours. Today I've been driving 3 hours and have been riding for another 3 hours - I used that time to make some photos for you! So here are the first ones. The truck I'm driving: Fueling on a little local gas station: I've got like 50 more if you like 'em - so please let me know. Thanks for reading and have a nice day Paweł

Hello! Thanks a lot for your comments - they mean a lot to me! Today I'm scheduled to do my next three hours of driving - and this time we're also going to to to town, where the final exams will be. I'll try to take a camera with me next time, so I can show you what it all looks like. Freightrain - that's exactly what my instructor told me! Thanks again and have a nice day Paweł

Hello! Today I've driven a truck for the first time in my life! My company sent me to make a driver's licence "Category C" - in Europe that's what you need to driva a vehicle with over 3,5 metric tons of gross weight. So they put me in a MAN TGL - a seven ton truck. For the first hour I practiced maneuvering - parking, backing up, and so on - I did that with no troble, so then the instructor took me out on the country roads. The mix of light traffic and 8 gear split tranny felt very exotic to me, but somehow I think I'm getting hold of it. After I went back, it turned out the guy who was supposed to drive after me didn't show up, so I got one more extra hour of the beautiful rural countryside. After driving a car for 20 years, this truck sure feels funny - but I like it a lot. Let's see how I will do later. Thanks for reading and have a nice day Paweł

Hello! Jim - thanks for mentioning my build thread here! I almost agree with Vlad - well maybe not a total scratchbuild, but lots of scratchbuilding is usually the way to go. It also depends on what you are trying to achieve and how much time and dedication you have. It's totally OK for many people to just slap a good looking cab on the Freightliner frame - and the word "just" isn't really correct here, it's still a lot of work. But building your own frame isn't really so much harder. Having the option of measuring everything makes things a little easier. It's still good to get some donor kit for things like wheels, horns, sometimes even good rears, engine or transmission can be had from such a kit. Hope it helps and I'd be glad to help if there are more questions - good luck with your build and have a nice day Paweł

Hello! Beautiful photos - thanks for sharing, Paul! Have a nice day Paweł

Hello! I like the older Superliner a lot, too! Could you please post some pictures from under the hood and from under the cab? Thanks a lot for sharing and good luck with your truck! Paweł

Hello! There was this joke - during the Arab-Israeli wars an Arab company is patrolling and they see an Israeli soldier coming from behind a dune - he sees the Arabs, waves at them and shows them some obscene gestures. The Arab officer orders his unit to attack. They chase the Israeli and aftera while come back to the officer - all badly beaten up and bruised. He asks - what happened? The soldier say: It was a trap. There were two of them! Have a nice day Paweł

Paul - sorry to hear the bad news. I hope you can get through the bad times some way. My best wishes for you Paweł

Paul - thanks a lot. I meant exactly this machine - so D7E it is! Thanks again and have a nice day Paweł