Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2023 i Locomotives International

The phrase ‘Fairlies at War’ might perhaps make you think of those miniature Pechot-Bourdon machines trundling around trench railway tracks in Flanders or at Verdun. However, there had been an earlier and faster-moving conflict on the other side of the world when much larger ‘double engines’ played a significant role. A good deal of new information on the topic has come to light in recent months, but first you might appreciate a reminder of the railway context and maybe something to supplement your no-doubt-limited knowledge of nineteenth century Chilean politics… The Nitrate Railways During the late 1860s don Ramón Montero and his three brothers had commenced constructing standard gauge railways in Peru's Tarapacá province in order to facilitate the export of the valuable sodium nitrate found there. This was in…

The extensive maintenance and upgrade works on France's metre-gauge 62.6 kilometre Ligne de la Cerdagne (Train Jaune or Yellow Train) in the Eastern Pyrenees have continued in 2023, with closure of the section between Villefranche-Vernetles-Bains and Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via from the 27th of February to the 27th of April. Originally the entire line had been scheduled for closure, but at the request of the Région Occitanie regional authority a three-coach train was retained at the upper end to run a twice-daily return service between Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg and Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, providing unusually good connections with the SNCF night services from Paris. The region is the most rail-friendly in France and is currently, through an agency called Plan Rail, allocating resources from an 800-million-euro fund. Since 2010 80 million euros has been invested in the Yellow…

CANADA INTERNATIONAL (ARGENTINA - BRAZIL) Negotiations are taking place between Argentina and Brazil with a view to the reopening of the cross border standard gauge rail link between Paso de los libres (Argentina) and Uruguaiana (Brazil). Argentina particularly wants to achieve access to the port of Rio Grande on the southern coast of Brazil, which could also be used for transit freight traffic from Paraguay. On the Brazilian side, goods traffic is operated by Rumo Logistica, and that company is also interested in the recommencement of this international link. The combined road/rail bridge over the Rio Uruguay which forms the border has recently been renovated, but on both sides of the border railway tracks would need to be repaired, and the route through Paso de los Libres in particular requires…

ESTONIA GERMANY Zollernbahn 18th & 19th February 2023 The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Eisenbahnfreunde Zollernbahn e.V. (EFZ), which is based at Rottweil, near to the Black Forest. Two of its main line registered locos operated railtours out of Tubingen during the weekend of 18 & 19 February, namely Pacific No 01.519 built in 1936 by Henschel & Son, Kassel and 2-10-0 No 52.7596 built in 1944 by the Wiener Lokfabrik, Florisdorf. On 18 February a 4-coach train was operated by 01.519 from Tubingen to Karlsruhe via Ludwigsburg. From there the 01 was replaced by 52.7596 for a run via Rastatt along the scenic Murg Valley Railway as far as Baiersbronn. Several photo stops and run pasts were undertaken along this route. Later in the day the train…

This is a 760 mm gauge Austrian line that wanders through the trees from the connection to the Semmering railway at Payerbach to the mountain town of Hirschwang, 5.2 kms away. It is run by the volunteers of the ÖGLB (Austrian Society for Local Railways) which was formed in 1977. Most passengers arrive at Payerbach. This is a very clean, wide, modern station which receives double deck “Taurus” powered push pull services from Vienna. Further along the same platform emus for Mürzzuschlag connect with stations further up the Semmering. A great variety of other trains sweep through regularly. A large area of lawn on the “down” side has several locomotives plinthed. These include a rather rust eaten 2-10-2 tank engine number 95112 that used to bank trains up the Semmering…

About Madagascar Madagascar is situated around 250 miles off the coast of eastern Africa. At 228,900 square miles it is one of the largest island nations in the world. It is roughly 2.5 times the size of the United Kingdom, yet it has less than half the population (30 million versus 67 million in the UK). Its landmass split from continental Africa over 160 million years ago and as a result it has its own unique ecosystems and wildlife. Around 95% of Madagascar's reptiles, 89% of its plants and 92% of mammals exist nowhere elsewhere on Earth, making it of particular interest to naturalists. Madagascar is a beautiful country, with vast rainforests and windswept coastline. The highest point is the peak of mount Maromokotro, some 9,436 feet above sea level.…

During a cruise to the Eastern Atlantic Islands and Western Europe, the ship, the 181,000 ton MSC Virtuosa visited Lisbon and docked at the cruise terminal very near to Santa Apolonia station. With the sun moving into the ‘right place’, this new, but short term vantage point on deck 16, made it possible to photograph the Lisbon terminus from a very uncommon location! The station was opened in 1865 and is the oldest terminus in Portugal and today the main building also sees use as a hotel as well as being a station. When ‘off ship’, a short visit was paid to this historic station and as luck would have it, English Electric built CP 1408 was shunting stock into platform A. This loco was built in 1966 at the…

JAPAN In early April the Third Sector operator Echizen Tetsudo, in Fukui Prefecture, revealed details of its refurbished 1010, a twocar Series 1000 EMU, acquired from the Shizuoka Tetsudo in 2021. This was one of a batch of 12 600 V DC trains built by Tokyo Sharyo between 1973 and 1985. This train is to be used during the summer on special services run in connection with the reopening of the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum. The exterior has been covered in vinyls depicting the Jurassic Era. One car has images of 34 animals and birds of 33 known species that inhabited the American continent at that time. The other car carries the images of 33 species that inhabited the Asian continent. Many of these species are represented by exhibits in…

The railway “El Ultimo Ramal” (‘the last branch line’) from Talca to Constitución in central Chile is among Chile's most exciting railway journeys. El Ultimo Ramal is an 88.4 km (56 mile) narrow-gauge railway line in Chile with a gauge of 1000 mm. It is the last meter-gauge branch line for passenger transport in Chile and the only non-electrified metric-gauge branch railway line in service today in Chile. The Iberian-gauge railways servicing Spain and Portugal are close enough, just 8 mm narrower at 1,668 mm, so that Iberian rolling stock can be used in Chile without modification. Connecting the city of Talca to the beautiful Maule River Port of Constitución in the middle of Chile, the 3 hour trip line crosses the communes of Talca, Maule, Pencahue and Constitución, with…

From 1991 to 1996 I worked as a lecturer at the university of Sibiu. This gave me the opportunity of seeing a lot of steam events (local anniversaries, charter trains for foreign railway enthusiats etc.) and items of industrial history. In 2021, the 250th anniversary of the industrialization of Reșița was celebrated; the first two blast furnaces had been blown in on July 3, 1771. 25 years ago the star among Romanian steam locomotives, 142.044 (which had been built by the Reșița locomotive works in 1939), was restored to working order. In April 1996 I was allowed to visit the workshop at Cluj-Napoca and on May 8 I witnessed the test run of 142.044 on a commuter train. On June 2, 1996 this loco hauled one of its first charter…

Contributions for this section should be sent to the Editorial Office, with the following exceptions: • Southern Africa - John Middleton, c/o Editorial Office. Email: johnmiddleton3401@gmail.com • South America - Lionel Price, 9, Liverpool Road West, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 1PE. Email: jldprice@btinternet.com • Spain & Portugal - Joan Carles Salmerón, c/o Editorial Office. Email: cet@terminus.cat 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 One of the new generation of open access operators, SWALA Logistics, has acquired three U20C Co-CoDE from TFR in South Africa. These locomotives were rebuilt a few…

AUSTRALIA Victoria Over the Easter weekend, R Class 4-6-4 No.711 (BP 27001/1951), now operated by Steamrail Victoria, hauled special trains from Melbourne to Bendigo and Echuca, and was kept in steam at Steamrail's Williamstown depot on Tuesday 11 April for the benefit of a visiting group from British operator Railtrail. On the same day, a charter was operated at the Bellarine Railway for the same group, hauled by ex-South Australian Railway T Class 4-8-0 No. 251 (Walkers, Maryborough 276/1917). At the Puffing Billy Railway on Saturday 15 April, re-gauged and restored ex- SAR NGG16 Class No.129 (BP 7430/1950) was in use between Belgrave and Lakeside. New South Wales On Tuesday 18 April, newly restored ex-NSWGR No. 3001 (BP 4444/1903) operated a special charter for the Railtrail group from Thirlmere to…

In 1934 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad introduced a revolutionary train, the Zephyr, which kicked-off the streamlined era on US railroads. This was a unidirectional articulated set comprising a diesel-engined power car, a passenger car and an observation car, all with lightweight stainless steel bodies built using the ‘shot weld’ process. The builder was the Budd company of Philadelphia and after the war the company used this technology to produce a lightweight powered car which could be run in either direction or in multiple – the Rail Diesel Car (RDC). Powered by General Motors 6-cylinder diesel engines, a total of 398 RDCs in various configurations were built between 1949 and 1962. Many were exported, of which 116 went new or second-hand to railways in Canada for service on the…