Afghanistan Index
For information on railways here see Andrew Grantham's site http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/.
Specifically it seems that there are three surviving tram locos in Darulaman
(Kabul) - not just two as originally reported - see http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/railways/kabul-to-darulaman-railway/,
note the addresses have been changed and there are extra old photographs on the
site (29th November 2009). This is Wim Brummelman's picture courtesy of
Andrew Grantham:
In 2006, the German army decided to plinth one of
the Darulaman locomotives (pictures from the ISAF site, added 29th November
2009):
Bangladesh Index
I don't think anyone has ever suggested that active steam survives here.
However, Chris Lewis has sent me a picture (24th April
2005) of a preserved Japanese built metre gauge YD 2-8-2 718 at Dhaka. A
number of these locomotives ended up in (West) Pakistan and were recorded on the
Mirpur Khas system in Sind until quite recently. Information on surviving steam
locomotives here is very thin but Torsten Schneider has been here (16th
January 2010) and reports
on what he found. On the other hand, I am willing to bet that there
are quite a few surviving (and indeed working) stationary steam engines here,
but that comment belongs on another part of this site!
India Index
When I meet people on my travels and explain that I am looking for steam
locomotives, they always say "India" and look very surprised when I
sat that it more or less finished nearly 10 years ago. These days, apart from
occasional special trains, there are just two mountain railways (which look
very different from the heyday of steam) and a couple of small industrial
operations. Hence, with relatively little 'real news' I have cut this section
down to a more manageable size with separate pages for each facet of steam in
India with just brief notes here which will be joined by updates as they
occur. Click here for information on Indian Railway
museums.
See Alex Jesser's report - 'Almost
No Steam in India, 2009' - which summarises all the updates below with
this date (12th December 2009).
Industrial steam in India is in terminal decline as
it is everywhere. On the IRFCA web site, Simon Darvill has updated (23rd November
2003) his lists of industrial locomotives in India (and other countries in the
sub-continent) and added sections on light rail and preserved locomotives as well http://www.irfca.org/docs/locolists/industrial/index.html.
In Assam, the
Ledo Brick Works line is now defunct, with one locomotive transferred to
nearby Tipong Colliery, where one of the two ex-DHR B 0-4-0ST will be in use most days on the
2.5km line. I visited in February 2004 and you can read my
illustrated report (2nd March 2004). Alexandre Gillieron found the railway
working normally and very attractive in early 2006
(17th March 2006). Roy Laverick was
here at New Year 2004/5 (14th February 2005). Vikas Singh has sent
me a report on his 2007 visit to the area after the monsoon floods which
do not seem to have affected Tipong. It includes observations of IR steam
survivors (25th September 2007). Most recently I have been back to Tipong (for
2 weeks) and have a full update on activity
here (25th February 2008). Heinrich Hubbert tells me (12th December 2008)
that he has heard from Ashok Sharma that Tipong Colliery had a serious
accident underground in November 2008. The railway is necessarily not working
currently and potential visitors should check on the situation before
travelling to the area. For a newspaper account of the incident - click
here (14th December 2008). Mark Smithers was here in February 2009, there
was no mining but David was steamed for him (24th March
2009).H.H. Wu was here at the end of June and was told that maybe, just maybe
things may start up again in August... (23rd July 2009). Certainly nothing was
moving by December according to Alex Jesserer (12th
December 2009).
The metre gauge
Hudswell Clarke 0-8-0T at Riga Sugar Mill has been in regular use during the season in
recent years (see below). I visited in February 2004 and you can read my
illustrated report (2nd March 2004). Adrian Freeman reported that Riga
started milling on December 4th 2008 and the steam locomotive and Hunslet diesel
would work one last 90 day season (7th December 2008),
after this the adjacent main line would have been converted to broad gauge. Mark
Smithers went to Riga in February 2009 and had the Hudswell Clarke steamed
although there were no wagons for it to work with (24th
March 2009). Vikas Singh told me (16th February 2005)
that Saraya Sugar Mill was unlikely to operate during the 2004/5 season and that
the locomotives were once again covered in vegetation, with many wagons sold off
and the rails likely to follow.... By December according to Alex Jesserer (12th
December 2009).
The Ootacumd (Ooty) Mountain Railway runs from
Mettupalayam near Coimbatore to Ooty in Tamil Nadu. The spectacular lower
(rack) section up to Coonoor remains steam powered but for some years the
upper section has been dieselised. The railway is frequently cut by landslides
in the end-of-year rains, how long it is then closed depends on the severity
of the damage. The magnificent X Class steam locomotives were built by SLM,
although there have been some recent misguided attempts to 'improve' them
which have, so far, thankfully been less than a total success - this is 37391
being returned to the railway in March 2007. .
The latest news from Ooty is not good (17th
November 2009) according to local articles forwarded me by Andrew Jones
and Chris Jeffery. No sooner was a diesel trial on the rack complete than the
line has once again been washed out - read
the report. By early December, the railway was working
hard to restore services (updated 10th February
2010),
'The Hindu' reported http://www.hinduonnet.com/2010/01/06/stories/2010010654350400.htm
on 6th January 2010 that the diesel operated section above Coonoor had
re-opened the previous day and that the steam rack section was planned to
resume operations by the middle of May 2010 (16th
January 2010). Further information appeared on 3rd February 2010 http://www.hinduonnet.com/2010/02/03/stories/2010020354370500.htm
(added 10th February 2010) and is included in the
update above. It seems likely that one or even two steam powered works trains
will have been active. Did anyone ride or photograph them?
Click here for accounts of visits to this
fascinating railway which includes links to some great photographs. One of the
most unusual sights I have seen recorded comes from Colin Young. After a
locomotive failure in February 2007 a second locomotive was sent down the rack
section and HAULED (at least in part) the train up to Coonoor (17th
March 2008):
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is (was?) one of
the great steam narrow gauge railways of the world until, having acquired
World Heritage status, Indian Railways promptly dieselised the main services
in 2000 although steam has continued to put ever more rare appearances since
then. The so-called 'school train' from Kurseong to Darjeeling has been diesel
hauled at times but by mid 2007 it was again rostered for steam, confirmed by a
visit to the railways website recommended by
Jan Willem van Dorp (17th October 2007) which
showed that the school train has swapped its base since September 2007 -
Ex-Darjeeling at 10.15, returning from Kurseong at 15.00, it is now known as
the 'local train'. There are 2 diesel
trains each way for the whole length of the line, but you really need to
read the news page to appreciate the improvements.... Keith Taylorson (26th
March 2008) was here between 8th and 11th March 2008 and confirms the
'local train' to be rostered for steam. He argues "As to whether the local train
operation is 'real', I travelled on it and my impression is that it is in all respects a real
working train, conveying passengers from A to B, and they were not interested in whether it was a steam or diesel loco pulling them.
Furthermore the 2nd class fare from Darj to Kurseong is 10 Rupees (= 13p approx) which I think must make it the world's cheapest steam
ride??" The tail end of Cyclone Aila passed through the area in May 2009,
causing a number of landslides and cutting the road and presumably the
railway in a number of places, especially above Kurseong. I would be
grateful for any first hand reports most importantly confirmation when the
railway is up and running (again) (30th May 2009),
Peter Jordan has told me that the lower section to Kurseong was expected to
re-open by the end of May. However, the DHRS
website stated in August 2009 that services were unlikely to restart until
September 2009 at the earliest (26th August 2009). In the event the official
DHR site said that full services resumed on 1st October 2009 (7th
November 2009).
I have now archived older reports:
A number of groups have visited the railway for chartered trains and in
2006 a series of celebrations were held to mark its 125th anniversary. Less
welcome (at least visually) are attempts to introduce oil firing and new
locomotives. This is a picture supplied by Trevor Heath - any comment would be superfluous...
There is a UK based Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society, with their own Website
(link added 15th May 2000). Ken Walker has
set up a DHR Society in Australia (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Supporters Association)
and has established a Web Page with pictures. The railway now has its own official website http://www.dhr.in/
(9th April 2006) - a quick visit showed that is has
a few too many 'bells and whistles' and not a few bad links - but it was early
days and at least showed a more positive attitude to the railway. A revisit in
October 2007 found it much more useful for the would be visitor although many of
the potentially steam hauled trains are probably more conditional than suggested
(17th October 2007).
The Matheran Hill Railway runs from Neral south-east
of Bombay/Mumbai. Its original power comprised 4 Orenstein and Koppel 0-6-0T.
They were taken out of service some time ago but all survive (in Matheran, Mumbai,
the Delhi Railway Museum and on the Leighton Buzzard Railway in the UK - the
latter is in working order). Steam has been re-introduced for special
occasions, but in the shape of an ex-DHR locomotive. A large
section of the lower part was washed away in July 2005 in the monsoon and it was
only re-opened in March 2007.
Click here for more information on steam
operation on the railway (latest update 22nd
April 2007). Good news is that MLR 738 (formerly preserved in Bombay/Mumbai) has
now been restored to working order and will be available for charter (4th
July 2009). By December 2009, Alex Jesserer reported that both locomotives
were unserviceable (12th December 2009).
I have now added a
historical set of pictures from my two visits to the line in 1976 (20th
November 2009).
Dileep Prakash reports (amended 25th September 2001) "Steam returns to Kalka-Simla
Railway after 30 years. On Wed. 26th Sept 2001 KC 520 of 1905 vintage will haul a
special train from Shimla to Kanoe at 12 noon." This went off OK and now he tells me
(1st December 2001) "KC 520 will pull a 4 coach rake on the KSR on Saturday 8th
December. She will be her old livery of the NWR days and so will the carriages." Also
(added 11th September 2001) "There are two ZB class locos that have been rebuilt. One
is at Amritsar waiting to haul trains up the beautiful Kangra Valley Railway soon."
Click here for a report on a 2003 charter
including images (20th March 2003).
The Kalka - Simla line was host to centenary celebrations in November 2003, widely
reported in India and outside the country for instance, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3261679.stm
(17th November 2003). By December 2009, Alex Jesserer reported that KC 520
was 'under repair' (12th December 2009).
The Fairy Queen is one of the world's oldest serviceable
steam locomotives. Click here for the last
information I had on its operations covering the 2004/5 winter season (2nd March 2004),
it was certainly still operating at least private charters into 2007. This web
site http://www.rajasthantourindia.in/fairyqueen-train-tour.aspx
has been advertising the usual service from 1st October 2009 to 31st March 2010, (Except 20th December 09 to 05th January 2010),
but by December 2009, Alex Jesserer reported that the locomotive was still
'under repair' at the end of November (12th December 2009).
The good news is that a pool of
working steam locomotives is now available and steam tour groups are now starting to look
at the country again. The first ever National Conference on Steam Heritage Tourism was
held on 2nd December 2002 and there was a second conference on
14th February 2004 (report added 3rd March 2004), the associated activities
are covered as part of my reports on Steam in India (2nd March 2004).
Further conferences were held on 2nd April 2005 and 19th March 2006 with
keynote speeches by, respectively Heinrich Hubbert and Bill Aitken. Rewari Steam Centre is being developed aggressively and and hosted a
carnival day on 15th February 2004 (2nd March 2004).
However, by December 2009, Alex Jesserer reported
that all locomotives at Rewari were unserviceable as was WP 7161 at Siliguri. (12th
December 2009).
Reuters report (24th
December 2008): "India Opens steam Engine Park - Decades old steam engine cruises through the memory lane in a locomotive park in India's northern
Jharkhand. 'Deshbandhu Locomotive Park' located in Ranchi, which exhibits steam engines of the bygone era was thrown open to the general public recently.
The park, located near the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, exhibits some of the 2351 steam engines which were produced at the factory between 1951 and 1972."
There is a video that goes with it (http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=95361&videoChannel=76)
but I cannot view it in China, I've found a similar (or same) video which shows
a miniature WP. Of course there are many plinthed locos all over India, the
IRFCA has a list on its site http://www.irfca.org/docs/locolists/.
See http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Steam/
and particularly http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Steam/Survivors/
for many pictures.
"The heritage of Indian Railways is fast being destroyed.
There needs to be a consolidated effort to save the heritage and historical importance of
Indian Railways, especially the ruins of the erstwhile Great Indian Peninsula Railway (now
called Central Railway), based in Bombay. The Bombay Railway History Groupgroup aims
to achieve this by saving those silent structures that once brought glory through railway
revolution in India through discussions and by creating awareness. The group can be found
at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brhg/
(amended 2nd December 2004). There are exclusive pics of remnants of GIP line in
Bombay http://www.irfca.org/photos/gipr-remnants
(added 2nd December 2004).
All the pictures are of the fast depleting heritage of the nineteenth century
G.I.P.R.,
but in due course will cover other areas." Contact Rajendra Aklekar rail_india@yahoo.com for more information. (Added
4th March 2003).
The Friends of the National Railway Museum have now been
incorporated as a chapter of the The Indian Steam Railway Society (updated
8th May 2006).
Satish Pai tells (23rd November 2003) me he has tidied up the steam page on the IRFCA
site - http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-steam.html
- and mentioned some more of the locos under consideration for renovation, etc. For a pretty full list of preserved steam in India check the
links on www.indiansteamrailwaysociety.org
(link added 29th March 2002).
One beneficial result of the 150th railway celebrations was the
rash of new railway museums being established around the country. One of special interest
to me, given my oft-stated preference for narrow gauge steam, is the establishment by the
South Eastern Railway of a specifically narrow gauge museum at Nagpur (21st January 2003).
Jaideep Gupta, gjaideep@hotmail.com - senior
divisional electrical engineer and co-ordinator 150 yrs celebrations - would welcome
suggestions (and even contributions) for this worthwhile project.
A good site for Indian images is http://www.trainweb.org/railworld/index.htm
(added 15th October 2000). Shankar has put up some pictures of steam on http://www.ssbdotcom.com/wpglorymain.htm.
YP preservation - 2 YPs have been purchased for private preservation went to Ajmer
Works for overhaul (16th September 1999). I have had news
from Shaun McMahon about them (7th February 2000). Later news (updated 3rd October
2000) had them en route to Togo.
Finally, David Breaker sent a press release from the
then newly
formed Shakuntala Railway Preservation Society (16th June 2002). However, it
seems to have died a death....
Iran Index
The Spring 2006 issue of the Continental Railway Journal carries an account
of an extensive DGEG visit to the country. As expected, it was mainly diesel
orientated (CRJ in 1977 reported the railways as 'long dieselised'), but some
steam relics were observed. Near Tehran station was an unidentified Vulcan (UK)
2-10-2 (52.11-52.74 series, built 1951-3) and a Cowans steam crane - pictures of
these are on http://www.phantasrail.com/tehran_(5).htm
(added 23rd July 2007). In Tabriz
was seen an unidentified 5ft gauge Russian built 0-6-0T (Sormovo/Zormovo), but the star exhibit
was the preserved metre gauge 1887 Turbize 0-6-0T at Arak, a picture of this is
on http://www.phantasrail.com/pars_wagon_factory.htm
(link added 23rd July 2007). If any reader was on the tour I would be pleased to receive
pictures of any of the above for the site. In the meantime, Thomas Kautzor has
provided these pictures (taken by his friend Arsam Behkish) of a
similar Turbize steam locomotive preserved in Park Mellat in north Tehran.
Apparently there is a third such locomotive in the middle of a traffic circle in
the southern suburb of Shahr-e-rey (added 29th June 2007):
Iraq Index
The December 2003 issue of the British magazine 'Railways Illustrated' carries a
picture of a nearly intact standard gauge British 2-8-0 (wartime Stanier 8F) in the loco
works yard in Baghdad taken on October 8th 2003..... (added 13th November 2003). More
information including pictures on surviving steam in Iraq is available on http://www.ajg41.clara.co.uk/iraq/locomotives.html#steam
(added 2nd September 2005). On the other hand, if you want to see some wonderful
images of Iraqi metre gauge steam back in 1967, the check out this
set of Basil (Badger) Roberts' pictures (2nd August
2007).
Jordan Index
Dan Gibson's website (5th May 2005) to chart the history
of the Hejaz Railway is a wonderful starting point for here, Syria
and Saudi Arabia.
10 years ago, a story circulated that a revamped Hejaz railway around Amman
was to become the answer to the city's traffic problems. Now the story has
re-emerged with bells and whistles as an eventual reasonably high speed link
with Damascus - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1816457.ece,
see also the associated slide show. If it is half true then it might just be all
over for those steam charters (28th May 2007), but
read it carefully! It is the lesser used line north to Zarka which will be
rebuilt first, not the spectacular climb south and the devil is in the detail as
always "A private Chinese company, Infrastructure Development, in tandem with Pakistani contractors, is to start work in 2009 to transform a short stretch of the neglected line, creating a light commuter railway between Amman and Zarka in the northeast. There are plans then to rebuild the line all the way to Damascus."
Don't hold your breath waiting!
Regular working steam finished in Jordan in the 1970s. However, several locos are kept
in working order and in September 1997 I joined a tour here. Read
about what I found.... and also an update covering May/June
1998 (15th September 1998). Hugh Ballantyne was here with the
Dorridge Travel Tour in May 1999 (11th June 1999) and was here again in September 2000 with Enthusiast Holidays (25th
October 2000). You can now read the full report of Glyn
Dawson's visit (25th November 2003) with the Railway Touring Company. I have a
report from Roland Beier of a May 2004
visit (21st June 2004), to which I have appended a few notes from Ray Mason
of a Railway Touring Company trip in October 2004
(7th November 2004). Keith Smith tells me (4th June 2005)
that he found Pacific 85 (ex Ma'an) present on shed on 30th May 2005, apparently
under restoration.
Jan Willem van Dorp has been here in search of steam activity, suffice to say
he was disappointed. Read his full report (6th
October 2005). The railway here was the subject of a talk on the BBC's 'From Our
Own Correspondent' in January 2006 - see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4609450.stm
but here in China I can't check to see if the link is still valid (added 10th
February 2006).... Bill Alborough was here researching a tour in mid
March 2006. 85 is now a runner and has been transferred to Aqaba with a view to
running tourist trains to Wadi Rum, alas it seems it is not powerful enough for
the climb away from the coast. Back in Amman, the usual suspects (23, 51, 71 and
82) are said to be serviceable (added 18th March 2006).
The latest news on 85 comes from Richard Gennis that it did do two runs
between Aqaba and Wadi Rum in March and/or April 2006 but that was all and in
October 2006 it was said to be waiting to go back to Amman. Click
here for more information and some pictures (added 21st
January 2007). In April 2007, Graham Williams found 85 back as expected
and the loco foreman said that there were five serviceable steam locomotives
which agrees with the information above, unfortunately the next scheduled
occasional steam special was to happen after Graham returned to the UK (28th
April 2007). Thomas Kautzor joined a tour group in October 2007, read
his report (30th October 2007).
Kazakhstan Index
No real steam here, but Torsten Schneider has sent me some
pictures of his visit
to the country in September 2003 (added 9th October
2005).
Lebanon Index
No real steam here, but Thomas Kautzor has told
me of this interesting site covering the railways on the country which contains
(recent) pictures of steam survivors - http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/385/railways/index.html
(17th December 2009).
Nepal Index
Ashok Sharma confirms (5th January 2004) that Avonside 7 at Janakpur is a runner and
available for charter. If you need more information you can contact him on ashok_sti@rediffmail.com. Alexandre
Gillieron's small group took this up and enjoyed a day and a half here in
November 2006. Read the report (4th
December 2006). He (as did Jan Willem van Dorp almost simultaneously)
confirms there is no possibility of any return to steam on service trains.
However, a tour group in March 2008 tried to charter a special with the
locomotive but found it impossible to get the railway to confirm that it could
be turned out in timely fashion. It must be doubtful whether they still posses
the capability to carry out steam repairs, by all accounts they have enough
difficulty keeping both their active diesels running (30th
March 2008).
Previously, the first news I had for a long time came from Peter Grace (10th November 2003):
"I visited Janakpur only last month. By the engine shed in Janakpur was an Avonside
0-6-2T. It was not working but was ready to do so. Of the four diesel locomotives on the
line, two are in pieces, and the other two are pretty sick. They need to have at least two
engines to operate all the trains daily. The Avonside is there in the event one of the
diesels drops its bundle, then I am sure it will be pressed into service. Further down the
line at the old workshops were 11 other engines. 5 have been cannibalised. But 6 are
basically all together. One or two were missing some bits, but I was told these were all
in the sheds and would be returned to the locos soon. There really was only minor rust
damage in the coal bins, although I don't know the condition of the boilers. Included in
this lot were the two Garratts from the old Amlekghani line, south of Kathmandu. A project
has arisen to move these steam locos, some cars and the workshop equipment to the
Kathmandu Valley to build a tourist railway with World Bank assistance. We will see how
this goes. With this plan they are basically off the market. Although I don't know who has
the final say, it has been reported to me the King does not want the locos, as part of
Nepal's heritage, to leave the country."
I understand that steam here is still serviceable although not in regular use as a
couple of British enthusiasts hired a train for a couple of days in early 1999 (added
December 9th 1999). Whether the usual cast of thousands of extras were included I do not
know. The country is covered briefly in Berndt Seiler's March 1997 report.
World Steam reported some time ago that the locos were all for sale, I now have more details available (updated with target prices 21st
August 2001).
Pakistan Index
When this page was first established there was still some real broad gauge
steam particularly around Malakwal, but that ceased in early 1997. The metre
gauge lines around Mirpur Khas continued using steam although the line to the
Indian border at Khokrapar has been converted to broad gauge since when the
other branches have seen only an intermittent service and when Aya Kakuma and Chris Jeffery visited Mirpur Khas on 1 March 2007
they found that all metre gauge services remain suspended, with little or no hope of a revival.
.
All the pre-1998 reports can be accessed from the first Pakistan Archive
Page. Later reports from visitors up to the early 2007 have now been
collected in the second Pakistan Archive Page,
these include details of extant steam locomotives in the country.
Elsewhere in Pakistan, active steam survives in at least three locations:
-
Excursions on the Khyber Pass line from Peshawar - click
here for more information - however a Far Rail newsletter says the line
was cut by floods in June 2007 and repairs will take a long time.... (27th
October 2007).
-
Excursions from Rawalpindi to Golra Sharif - the
location of a railway musuem.
-
Changa Manga Forest Railway - click here for the most
recent report (16th
February 2006), confirmed operational again by Aya Kakuma and Chris Jeffery (12th
March 2007). For a locally produced report from late 2007, check out what Owais Mughal
had to say on http://pakistaniat.com/2007/10/21/changa-manga-forest-railway/
(9th April 2009)
A Pakistan Railways Newsgroup has been established, pakistanrailways-subscribe@yahoogroups.com,
the usual health warning about volumes of trivia will no doubt apply when it has settled
down, but hopefully it will make it easier to catch up with steam news from the country
(19th June 2003). For a locally run enthusiast group page on the railways of
Pakistan with some steam content, try http://www.pakistanrail.com/
(added 22nd April 2007).
A railway museum has been established at Golra Sharif in the Rawalpindi area,
at least two narrow gauge locos are here. See the Pakistan Railways website http://www.pakrail.com
or specifically http://www.pakrail.com/her4.asp
(23rd October 2004). Charan Singh Kundi was here in
October 2004 and Nick Lera has provided an edited
version of his report with some images (24th October 2004). Aya Kakuma and Chris Jeffery
report (12th March 2007) that the Steam Safari to Golra Sharif continues to run on the first and last Sunday afternoon of each month. On 4th March
2007 it was actually transformed into a PR staff charter to Taxila, leaving Rawalpindi at 9am behind HGS 2264; but the assistant station master managed to squeeze
them in. In steam in the yard was HGS 2303. CWD 5735 was on display at a revamped Golra
Sharif, which had been inaugurated by President Musharraf the previous day. No SPS or SGS seen.
Russia Index
James Waite and Thomas Kautzor have made visits to various
narrow gauge children's railways and museums which are linked from my
narrow gauge page (12th November 2009). Thomas
has also ridden one of the increasingly
popular 'Retro Trains' (11th November 2009)
Click here for an
introduction to former Soviet Union steam classes (24th
December 2008).
Definitely actually in Europe, Harvey Smith spent some time in
St. Petersburg in 2006 and reports what he found,
including the excellent Railway Museum there (23rd May
2007).
Leslie McAllister boarded the 4,234
km BAM (Baikal Amur Magistral) steam express in June 2000 - read
his report of the longest railtour of all time.....(5th September 2000).
One place that got a mention was Sakhalin Island in the far east, formerly
Japanese occupied, Tim Littler has provided some pictures
of the D51 at work then (31st December 2007)
and Harvey Smith (who worked there for 2 years) has
reported on some (inactive) steam survivors there (14th
May 2007).
In mid-2007, Colin Young sent me some snatched pictures of a
couple of L class on a special passenger train in the Lake Baikal area, I didn't
upload anything as there was no information on the operation - it now seems this
was "The Retro Train" based in
Irkutz - more information would be very welcome (19th
October 2007).
Information about Russian steam in far away places continues to dribble out...
Henry Posner III reports (15th October 2003): "In
Krasnoyarsk diesel shop, on August 5, L-3150 was undergoing preparation for storage,
having work a 2-coach shuttle to Divnagost (end of the branch line to the hydroelectric
dam) 2 days previous for Railway Worker's Day (first Sunday in August). Personnel
interviewed indicated that there is a sizable strategic reserve of steam on the
Krasnoyarsk Railway to the west at Bogotol."
In late 1998 I was told that 'Steam was being used again on the
Trans-Siberian Express'. It sounded too good to be true so I ignored it. When
I was in Bago (Myanmar) in late January 1999, I got talking to a Dutch couple who had
recently been across Russia (and on through Mongolia to China) and they confirmed they had
steam haulage for part of the way.
There have been two reports also of steam in the far east of the
country. A German traveller reported in October 2004 "While traveling recently on the 19CH China - Moscow train, a steam-hauled
pw-train was spotted in the freight yards about 2km after Borsja station (about 3 hours from the China-Russia border)".
Charles Towler adds (5th November 2004) "I also observed steam in this area while on train 20 going towards
China, passing this area on the 22nd September 2004. I saw L Class number 3899 in steam coupled inside a TEM2 diesel on a freight
(possibly engineers) train. Sadly I wasn't quick enough with my camera! The station name was either Ehchn Torey (or Zchn Torey - I
can't be sure from the cyrillic in my notes). The only other steam locos I saw though were obviously dumped, three
L class in the yard close to Zabaikalsk station, which I explored during the long tedious stop there and others near the depot. I had
previously passed this way in 2000 and seen a loco in steam, but I couldn't identify it in the dark."
Tim Littler (of GW Travel Ltd/Trans-Siberian Express Company) writes: (16th May 2001):
GWT's P36 (the only privately owned locomotive in Russia) was steamed for the first
time in St Petersburg on the 17th April and on 28th April worked a 580 mile test trip
around Lake Ladoga, NE of St Petersburg. No problems were encountered and the engine will
make its first revenue departure on 22nd May when it takes an 800T, 14 car GWT
'Trans-Siberian Express' out of St Petersburg. Restoration at St Petersburg Moskovski Sort
depot took just under 3 months with 14 people working 7 days a week to complete the job on
schedule. A new shed will be built within the depot limits to accommodate the 200 tonne
4-8-4 and we expect it to be used on 5 tours and for over 2,000 miles in 2001. By 2004 it
will be used on 27 day trips and several longer tours. We plan to restore a second P36 in
2003.
A later note (9th November 2002) says: "We are researching the possibility of
improving the performance of our locomotive P36 0032 by adding a lempor exhaust system
installed by Phil Girdlestone, who has made two visits from South Africa to Saint
Petersburg this year. If agreed, we hope to have the work completed this winter. In
any case performance has been improving with 73 mph achieved on our last public trip
and 82 mph on an earlier test trip."
Really the following information (9th November 2002) should appear under separate
countries for Central Asia but I am including it here for convenience:
"Our Central Asian Tours 21st August - 5th October, Caspian Steam Express : Saint
Petersburg - Astrakhan. Locomotives from October and North Caucasus Railways in poor
condition. Fortunately P36.0032 managed to work the entire distance without any problems
(Except for a broken stoker when they loaded rocks instead of coal in Ryazan). We took 2xL
class from St Petersburg to the Southern Caucasus for two tours:
Armenia. Very poor country and railways in dire state with virtually no traffic.
Yerevan has only four local trains per day plus a train to Tbilisi every other day.
There was one L
class on Yerevan depot that had been partially restored but work stopped when the restorer
died. The steam reserve at Masis was mostly cut up. The steam reserve at Gyumri
has gone except
for several locos (steam and diesel) trapped in the old depot that had been destroyed
during the 1988 earthquake.
Georgia. No local steam noted and we covered a large part of the country from Batumi on
the Black sea to the Azeri border, with side trips to Vale and Telavi.
Azerbaijan. Very efficient and well run railway. only steam noted at Balandry depot on
the outskirts of Baku where there were several intact L's and Er's and the remains of many
more. The management had indicated that their reserve of approx 100 locos was being cut
up.
We then took the train on the ferry across the Caspian to Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan. The line from Turkmenbashi through the Kara Kum desert was the first in
the USSR to be dieselised in 1946, however, there was still some steam. A derelict FD in
Turkmenbashi, 2 x FD and 5xEr on the way to Ashgabat and 2xEr on Ashgabat depot.
Turkmenistan had positioned water tanks every 70 km and were very efficient. We took a new
(1996) branch to Saraks 500 yards from the Iranian border and 30 km from
Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan. Despite us running regular trains here every year, the most difficult
country. They still have a working steam reserve of 20 x Er at Kokand in the Fergana
Valley. Tashkent Museum contains an excellent and complete selection of former Soviet
steam."
The upper picture is P36.0032 on 26th April 2007, the occasion of the launch
of GW Travel's Golden Eagle train, the lower dates from 2001.
Saudi Arabia Index
Dan Gibson's website to chart the history
of the Hejaz Railway is a wonderful starting point for here, Jordan
and Syria.
| A railway museum opened in Madinah (Medina) in January 2006 (all this added 16th
May 2007) according to an article in the Arab News http://www.arabnews.com/?page=21§ion=0&article=76563&d=23&m=1&y=2006.
The picture on the right is taken from it and shows two restored steam locomotives
present.More information on their identity would be very welcome, it has long been
reported that locomotives were still in existence in the desert and pictures of
them prior to restoration are on the unofficial Hejaz Railway website which has
a mass of other pictures too - see http://nabataea.net/medinalocos.html.
That suggests the locomotives in the picture may be SLM 158 and Hartmann 54.
Thomas Kautzor has provided more information
(20th September 2007) to which I have appended the text of the article above in
case it is removed, he also joined a tour group in October 2007 and had a first
hand account from a Jordanian driver who had worked in Madinah, read
his account (30th October 2007).A page on the IRFCA website (http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Foreign/Hejaz/) has further news and images (28th December 2008),
showing "105" in a fully restored state. On checking it seems that
maybe these were taken some years back. Thomas Kautzor has been delving through
various sources of information and has come up with a
considered opinion on the identities of the locomotives in Madinah (and
elsewhere). (added 30th December 2008) |
|
Sri Lanka Index
There is a list of extant/preserved steam locomotives available on this site
- http://www.infolanka.com/org/mrail/locos1.html
(10th May 2005).
A railway museum has been established here, see their website http://www.railwaymuseum.lk
and also Keith
Smith's report (8th November 2009).
The Railway Touring Company ran another trip here in March 2006, Robin
Patrick has sent me a brief account
together with some pictures (added 2nd October 2006). Richard Gennis found 340
in use on an evening excursion in December 2007. Read
his report (22nd January 2008).
The Railway Touring Company successfully relaunched the Viceroy Express in February
2004 reports Phil Lawson (1st
April 2004). Things are not yet perfect but the potential from this once war torn
country is excellent, the tsunami will have caused further problems in the
tourist industry. A repeat trip in March 2005 (added 26th
March 2005) saw the following steam legs:
251 Airport - Mount Lavinia
251 Mount Lavinia - Kandy
340 Rambukkana - Kandy
340 Kandy - Nanu Oya / Badulla - Nanu Oya
251 Palugaswewa - Trincomalee
251 Palugaswewa - Maho Junction - Polagahawela
251 Mount Lavinia - Chilaw (on Puttalam line)
Diesel assistance was made on the incline beyond Rambukkana and beyond Gampola 'up country' - apparently this is compulsory following an accident.
In addition, the Sentinel railcar V2 331 was steamed specially on a short section at
Dermatogoda Shed (Colombo) along with the other
serviceable narrow gauge steam loco Hunslet tank 220.
Vic Allen tells me (15th December 2002) "All steam train operations
suspended (including/especially the Viceroy Express workings) because of lack of coal in
Ceylon." Obviously only a temporary setback, but it seems at least three UK tour
operators have postponed their planned 2003 tours. The potential for steam tours here is
enormous, now it looks as if there is a better chance of peace than for some long time
past, the local organisers are JF tours, http://www.jftours.com.
However, there are several tours were being promoted for 2004 so it seems that the problem may
be resolved.
Preserved steam has been used here for some time mainly under the imprint of the
'Viceroy Express'. Chris Lewis (22nd March 2002) travelled on one such tour with the
Railway Touring Company. "Excellent week with Viceroy Express. Steam engines were
213, 240 and 340. 213 proved to be a little belter! Managed all the planned routes with
steam at least in one direction, usually in two. (Colombo-Homegana (narrow gauge no longer
available), Colombo-Candy-Badulla, Harbana-Colombo, Colombo-Galle.) Highlight was a trip
from Candy to Matale with steam at 21.00 with just a third class coach (no lights) after
regular service had finished for the night. The Hunslet and Sentinel were working at
Dematagoda works. The Garratt at Ratmalana works is in danger of being scrapped. We
implored this was not allowed to happen, and our guide was going to take this up with the
works management. The engine under major overhaul 251 was said to be ready in about six
months. The two sentinel lorries had been moved to the training centre (two very nice lady
instructors), were said to be steamable, but may be plinthed. Despite an initial
reluctance for run pasts, cab rides, etc it soon changed to absolute freedom to do what we
wanted. Trip included double heading and banking."
I (RD) have a number of pictures available of steam here in the 1970s which will be
used on one of the future Image of Rail CD ROMs.
Syria Index
10 years ago, a story circulated that a revamped Hejaz railway around Amman
was to become the answer to the city's traffic problems. Now the story has
re-emerged with bells and whistles as an eventual reasonably high speed link
with Damascus - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1816457.ece,
see also the associated slide show. If it is half true then it might just be all
over for those steam charters (28th May 2007), but
read it carefully! It is the lesser used line north to Zarka which will be
rebuilt first, not the spectacular climb south and the devil is in the detail as
always "A private Chinese company, Infrastructure Development, in tandem with Pakistani contractors, is to start work in 2009 to transform a short stretch of the neglected line, creating a light commuter railway between Amman and Zarka in the northeast. There are plans then to rebuild the line all the way to Damascus."
Don't hold your breath waiting!
Thomas Kautzor has passed me news that Cadem
Works in Damascus has received a make over and is now effectively
a public museum (24th December 2008), he now adds (4th
July 2009) According to this post http://www.drehscheibe-foren.de/foren/read.php?30,4318482
a daily service has been reinstated on June 20, 2009 between Ain-Fijeh and El-Hama by a private operator, with one of the SLM and three coaches restored/repainted, another three coaches under restoration. The timetable reads: Ain-Fijeh 09.00 - El-Hama 11.00/16.00 - Ain-Fijeh 18.00. Tickets can be bought from a small kiosk at the old Hejaz station in Damascus.
According to the posted response, the same operator was trying to reinstate a weekly steam train service from Cadem to Dera'a, also starting in June.
Chris Jeffery and Aya Kakuma followed this up and reported "There is indeed a daily service on the Barada Valley line, which looks set to continue at least through October. Whether such
intensive activity can be sustained during the winter months remains to be seen, but things are certainly looking brighter than they did a year or two ago.
The journey is now about 50% longer and actually starts at Al-Rabweh (a short bus or taxi ride from the centre of Damascus), the train having come down empty from Hameh. It then runs up to Ain-Fijeh as usual, where the driver pointed out a nice restaurant for lunch, before returning in the afternoon. The advertised departure time of 9:30 a.m. is, of course, highly flexible.
We had three rides in the space of nine days before we stopped rubbing our eyes in disbelief. 25 Sep was a particularly busy day on the line with a Railway Touring Co charter hauled by Hartmann 0-4-4-2T No 962 following the regular service behind SLM 2-6-0T No 755.
We guess the service was suspended for Ramadan, but it was very well patronised during the Eid al-Fitr festivities, though much quieter a week later."
This report was received in early October 2009 while I was away and uploaded on 9th
November 2009.
Dan Gibson's website (5th May 2005) to chart the history
of the Hejaz Railway is a wonderful starting point for here, Jordan
and Saudi Arabia.
Jan Willem van Dorp has been here in search of steam activity, suffice to say
he was disappointed. Read his full report (6th
October 2005). The Summer Friday picnic train has ceased - apparently
some time ago! The railway here was the subject of a talk on the BBC's 'From Our
Own Correspondent' in January 2006 - see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4609450.stm
but here in China I can't check to see if the link is still valid (added 10th
February 2006).... Bill Alborough was here researching a tour in mid
March 2006. He found signs of regular (alleged daily) steam freights from
Damascus to Dera'a, Hartman 260 was seen at both ends and 90 was being prepared
to go out too. More good news was the re-establishment of a tourist service on a
12km section of the Sergaya branch, from El Hame to A-in Fidje every Friday out at
09:00, back at 16:00. The trip takes an hour, four locos are still outstationed
at El Hame – 91 and 755 are usable, 754 and 751 are not working (18th
March 2006). Charles Towler adds similarly (30th
April 2006) "As of Early April Syria Hejaz Railway Hartmann 2-8-2 number 260 was trundling from Damascus to Der'a (123 km) with a
mixed train a few times a week. Borsig 2-8-0 number 90 also sees use. "
You can now read the full report of Glyn Dawson's
visit (25th November 2003) with the Railway Touring Company. Manfred Schoeler went with a small group in April 2003 to sample Syrian steam, highlight
was the return to service of one of their Mallets (11th May 2003). I have a
report from Roland Beier of a May
2004 visit (21st June 2004), to which I have appended a few notes from Ray
Mason of a Railway Touring Company trip in October
2004 (7th November 2004). Thomas Kautzor joined a tour group in October
2007, read his report (30th
October 2007).
Christoph Oboth was here in March 2001 and found the Friday Serghaya train running.
Read his full report (6th April 2001), for the pictures
look on http://www.eisenbahnbildarchiv.de/main.html?E7=./pages/syrien01.html
and http://www.eisenbahnbildarchiv.de/main.html?E7=./pages/syrien02.html
(17th August 2001).
Working steam exists here after a fashion. Certainly the Fridays only (Summer holidays,
mid-July to mid-September) Damascus - Serghaya train was regularly steam hauled in 1997.
In addition, locals speak of regular sightings of steam at work in Damascus station,
presumably as a result of diesel failures. There are several locos kept in working order
and in September 1997 I joined a tour here. Read about what I
found.... and also an update covering May/June 1998
(15th September 1998). Don't rush out and buy an air ticket, but if you are passing
through anyway, ask at the station or Cadem works if any steam movements are planned. Hugh
Ballantyne was here with the Dorridge Travel Tour in May
1999 (11th June 1999) and was here again in September 2000
with Enthusiast Holidays (25th October 2000).
Tajikistan Index
No real steam here, but Harvey Smith has sent this picture of
a preserved E class in a park near the station at Dushanbe (14th
August 2008):
Uzbekistan Index
No real steam here, but Torsten Schneider has sent me some
pictures of his visit to the Tashkent
Railway Museum in September 2003 (added 9th October
2005). Colin Young has added some further
images of different locomotives (10th December 2007).
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