My dream routes...
Kouvola--Pieksämäki, central Finland. 180 km / 110 miles, single track mainline with fairly dense traffic, before 1970s electrification. Woodlands, lots of lakes, bridges. And what would be needed too are an Hr12 diesel and an all-wooden coach set - all-wooden trains could at that time be seen as eg. pre-Christmas additional expresses!
Kiruna--Luleå, northern Sweden. A barren land, almost uninhabited, with very heavy ore trains (heaviest in Europe excluding Russia, I think) and some long-distance express train from Stockholm and Malmö.
Rhätische Bahn (Rhaetian Railway), Switzerland. Even though the gauge is narrow (1,000 mm) this network is as high-tech as any Swiss standard gauge line.
!PAW.JPG
Heikki