Locomotives International

When the 21st century dawned, it had been around a decade since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism in Poland. That period had not been kind to the rural railways of the Polish State Railways (Polskie Koleje Państwowe, or PKP) and many of the once vast number of narrow gauge lines that formed part of the state system had fallen into disuse or were hanging on by a thread. Most of these surviving lines were shown on the PKP timetable map as single disconnected routes but, by the year 2000, a few much reduced networks still had passenger services shown. The surviving 750mm gauge lines based on Krośniewice in central Poland formed one such network, but they were only a tiny rump of a much…

Through late March and into April 2010 I was in New Zealand for my third visit, visiting family and friends on the North Island. Normally my wife is with me, but this time I came out alone (as she has done in the past) and hired a car from Rent a Dent; armed with paper maps etc, I drove a triangle from New Plymouth to Wellington, and after a few days up to Auckland and then back to New Plymouth. On my journeys I visited many tourist and heritage locations, but when in Auckland photographed the ‘odd’ train passing the Mainline Steam depot at Parnell (see L I 109). On the 16th of April, the time came to fly up to Auckland for the connection with Emirates to return to…

The Shibaura Institute of Technology Junior and Senior High School was inaugurated in 1922 as the Tokyo Railway Junior High School. It was one of the projects related to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Shinagawa (later, Shimbashi) to Yokohama railway on 12 June 1872 – Japan's first commercial passenger-carrying railway. 2022 is therefore important not only as the centenary of the Institute of Technology, but also for the 150th anniversary of the latter railway. The Institute trains future engineers in cutting-edge technology, but believes that steam is the fundamental basis of industrial engineering knowledge and education. 2-4-2T No. 403 (Nasmyth Wilson works number 302 was built in 1886, omner of a batch of four 9woprks numbvers 300 to 303) and sent to Japan to…

In 1983 my wife and I were part of a Dorridge Travel group led by the late David Ibbotson making our first visits to South America. Included on the trip was a visit to Puerto Casado in Paraguay, a remote location with a 750mm gauge rail-served quebracho mill. Quebracho provides the tannin used in the treatment of leather, an important industry in Paraguay. There were no scheduled flights to this place, normal access being gained by river transport and thus a private charter had been arranged. It was known that the plane would be a Douglas DC-3 from the Paraguayan Air Force. Tuesday the 8th November was Dakota and Puerto Casado day and there was an air of slightly nervous expectancy as the party gathered for our chartered flight from…

50 years ago the Interrail ticket was introduced. When I was 19, I bought the ticket for the first time (in 1972) and then again in 1973 and 1974. During the first two trips I saw some steam in Italy here and there. The journey through the Pustertal (the Fortezza – San Candido line) was part of my (more or less) well-planned program, but the encounter with steam locos (classes 851 and 895) shunting at Mestre (where the industrial port of Venice is situated) was completely unexpected. I could still slap myself for taking just four pictures and not walking along the lines to the quays!…

It is logical that a manufacturer of road petrol or diesel engined vehicles should see railways as a target market, using the same technology and engines. Renault were very successful in this, especially with their well known railcars. Berliet also produced successful rail vehicles. The history of Berliet goes back to Marius Berliet, born in 1866, who started working at his father's satin loom. Marius’ mechanical aptitude was unstoppable, and he built his first engine in 1894 and his first car in 1895. In those days, there were no apprenticeships or classes to learn how to do this – it was all brand new. Marius was one of those natural born engineers who could see what to do and how to do it. He founded his company in Venissieux, near…