Innholdsfortegnelse for April - May 2025 i Locomotives International

Of the many networks in Europe which had to be largely rebuilt after the second world war, perhaps the most noteworthy was that of France. Extensive electrification and a new (pre-TGV) world speed record created the impression of an enterprising organisation, which gained widespread publicity. In the UK at this time national service was still in operation and it was with a like-minded colleague from the REME detachment, School of Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Manorbier, Pembrokeshire that I set off in August 1960 on a rail Tour de France using all our second year's leave. No Channel Tunnel existed in those days - although the old Victorian/Edwardian Channel Tunnel Company was still around and got occasional mentions in the press - so our trip started with the nine o'clock continental boat train…

In the last week of January 2025, PTG Tours ran a five-day private charter train across the northern half of Spain to celebrate its 25th anniversary of being in business, using the “Tren de Felipe II”, a vintage train whose carriages and locomotives date back to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The tour started and ended in Madrid's Charmartin railway station and over five days it took in around two thousand miles of Iberian gauge lines, visiting Salamanca, Valladolid and Santander (day one), Burgas, San Sebastian and Irun (day two), Pamplona, Zaragoza and Tarragona (day three), Valencia (day four) and finally Xativa and Alcoi before returning to Madrid (day five). Sadly, the author wasn't able to travel on the tour, but he was able to chase the train over parts…

Steam was in retreat in South Africa during the 1970s, but there was still a significant amount to see in October 1979 when a friend and I made a visit there. This article looks at several branch lines we visited that were then still worked exclusively by steam. We were travelling by rental car and because long distances were involved and trains infrequent, careful planning was vital. Some branch trains ran only three times a week. Fortunately, our planning was ably assisted by an experienced South African traveller, the late Ron White. All the lines featured here are 3ft 6in (106cm) gauge and, with one exception, were worked by two classes of locomotive: the class 19D 4-8-2s and the lighter class 24 2-8-4s. Two branches from the steam-worked Bethlehem –…

Arenara Indares SA started in 1888 to extract sand and stone on the Uruguayan side of the Rio de la Plata beginning its operations at Boca Del Rosario, at the mouth of the Rio Rosario around 130km west of Montevideo. It is difficult to know when the first trains ran but certainly by 1912. It was always 600mm gauge and at its largest was about 5 km route mileage and 15km of sidings. It was no small railway in its time as by 1950 there were around 1,000 employees, most of whom were housed in the company village established at Boca del Rosario. They took sand from both sides of the Rio Rosario and not only did they ship the sand across the estuary to Bueno Aires 80 km away…

Sometimes referred to as the Lunghai Railway – the difference is to do with which method of transliterating Chinese characters is used and this article will use the standard HanYu PinYin method – the Long Hai Railway is one of China's principal West-East transportation arteries, stretching from Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province in the west, to Lianyunggang, a seaport in Jiangsu Province in the east. The current line is an electrified “Class 1” double track route some 1,759 km in length. In Chinese the railway's name is written 陇海铁路, or, in the traditional style characters,隴海鐵路. The 陇 (lǒng) character in the railway's name is an ancient name for what is now Gansu province (most Chinese provinces have an alternative single character name although these characters are mainly used in…

The Don River Railway, located on the North West of Tasmania at Devonport, operated mainline specials from the middle of the 1980s until 2005. Some of the most memorable trips occurred on the West Coast, with MA2 and M4, both 4-6-2 Pacific type steam locomotives and products of Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn of Darlington. September 18th 2004 went down in history as the final steam hauled train on the Melba Line (formerly known as the Emu Bay Railway) operated as far as Primrose which is just short of Rosebery with the Don River's MA2 and M4 in charge of the train. I was 10 years old at the time, and my mother had organised tickets for us both to travel one way. Dad would follow the train in the family's…

Mineral extraction and processing has been practiced for centuries in the Hunedoara region of western Transylvania, nowadays in Romania. Early foundries were established utilizing locally produced iron ore, limestone and charcoal. As the industry expanded these became inadequate and the industry was placed on a more formal basis. A blast furnace was built at Govăjdia (note: some sources, even Romanian, incorrectly write this as Găvojdia which does exist but is a town between Lugoj and Caransebeș) in 1806 and production commenced in 1813. The furnace was blown by bellows operated by water wheels. The furnace seems to have operated sporadically over the next century, production interrupted by periods of repair and modification. Initially, pack horses were used to transport both the raw minerals and the manufactured product but in 1859…

Railways and Madeira are not two words you normally expect to find in the same sentence, but during a cruise ship stop at Funchal in May 2022 and a holiday on the island in May 2024, the author went on “a mission of discovery” and visited the former railway stations at Pombal and Monte. The station at Monte is now a museum, with displays documenting three former railways in Funchal and other items of railway interest from around the area; this was during both the 2022 and 2024 visits. Travel up to Monte these days is facilitated by the bus (cheapest) or the cable car (more spectacular) and this latter method is followed by a short walk past the Nosa Senhora do Monte pilgrimage church to find the old station,…

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  SOUTH AFRICA TFR The latest new locomotive seen at Beaconsfield has been 23158 noted on 7th March. Recent media reports suggest that up to 90 class 23E are being…

In the world of rail preservation, two unique heritage railways stand out for their historical significance and rare charm: Germany's MolliBahn and New Zealand's Bay of Islands Vintage Railway (BOIVR). Both lines offer the extraordinary experience of riding behind a steam locomotive through a town's main street, a sight nearly forgotten in the modern era. Despite their geographical and historical differences, these railways share a profound connection through their dedication to heritage and the integration of railways into the heart of community life. The Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn Molli, affectionately known as the MolliBahn, operates on a 900mm (2 ft 117/16 in) narrow-gauge railway along Germany's Baltic coastline. Stretching 15.4 kilometres between Bad Doberan and Kühlungsborn, the Molli combines history and practicality in a scenic 40-minute journey. What truly sets the Molli…