Locomotives International

Owners and operators of railway locomotives have long indulged in cannibalisation, often in pursuit of a deliberate policy, often out of sheer necessity. In the first instance, take for example the famous British Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, of which over 800 were constructed. A member of this class might go into Works for a major repair, receive a new set of main frames (spares were always on hand at Crewe), reconditioned boiler from stock, and modifications involving the fitting of new parts. From the paint shop would emerge a locomotive bearing the number of that which a month or so previously had arrived in the reception sidings, externally little if at all different, but was it in reality the same one? How much of the admired Gresley Pacific Flying Scotsman…

News of the unexpected closure of the Jindrichohradecke Mistni Drahy (JHMD) 76cm gauge line brought back to mind an enjoyable two-day visit in Summer 2010. At the time it was the larger of the two surviving public narrow gauge railways in the Czech Republic, its routes providing regular and comfortable passenger services to scattered rural communities as well as handling a modicum of freight traffic. There were two routes radiating from the principal operating centre at the small city of Jindrichuv Hradec, situated in the southern part of the country. They date from 1897 and 1906 and until 1997 formed part of the State Railway CSD (CD after the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia). At that time closure was about to take place, but then something occurred that…

Introduction This article, which is split into two parts, deals with the 859km long 1m gauge railway from Haiphong in Vietnam, formerly part of Indochina, to Yunnan-fou, now named Kunming, in China. It starts with the opening of the first section, Haiphong - Hanoi in 1903, and essentially ends with the entry of Japan into WW2 in 1940. At this point in time, the line was split into two sections, Haiphong - Lao-kay and Pi-ché-tchai - Yunnan-fou, with the removal of 178km of track Ho-kéou - Pi-ché-tchai. This is Part 1 which gives a brief history of the building of the line, since it has been well documented elsewhere, details the development of the locomotive rolling stock, and examines the principal station, shed/works, and bridges as if making a journey…

Introduction The standard gauge Buckower Kleinbahn is located about 50km east of Berlin in Germany. There is a regular service from Berlin Lichtenberg to Muncheberg (Mark), where a subway connects the main line platforms with the preserved railway. The railway is 4.9km long and is electrified at 800v DC (overhead line). Trains generally run at weekends and on bank holidays between May and October, with a return trip costing 5 euros. There are three stations at Müncheberg (Mark), Waldsieversdorf and Buckow (Märkische Schweiz) and the journey time is fourteen minutes in each direction. Railway History The line was originally built to 750mm gauge and was opened by the Prussian Eastern Railway in 1897. The station at Waldsieversdorf was opened a few years later in 1906. There was some limited midweek…

Contributions for this section should be sent to the Editorial Office, with the following exceptions: Southern Africa - John Middleton, c/o Editorial Office. Email: South America - Lionel Price, 9, Liverpool Road West, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 1PE. Email: Spain & Portugal - Joan Caries Salmerón, c/o Editorial Office. Email: Contributions which are primarily photographic in nature should all be sent to the Editorial Office to give the best choice of material for covers etc. Similarly historical articles and features should be sent to the Editor. The Editor's contact details are inside the front cover. AFRICA DR CONGO The opening up of the SNCC system to open access operators has gathered pace, by early December it seems that six different operators had signed open access agreements in a process which appears…

INTERNATIONAL (PERU - CHILE) Following our report on the Tacna-Arica line in the last issue, news is now to hand that the line restarted operations just before Christmas 2022, but with just one return trip from Tacna, and since that is early in the morning, with departure from Tacna at 0600 and return from Arica at 0800 (Peruvian times), there is some doubt whether the trains will be found attractive by local passengers, and the late running of the inaugural working did not bode well for future punctuality! About 40 km of route within Peru has been repaired with military personnel assisting, and within Chile about 20km of route has received selective repairs. Ian Thomson Newman, FC News via Samuel Rachdi and “gestion.pe” ARGENTINA On the regional rail scene in…