From News services down here…
"The first regular train service between South and North Korea for over 50 years crossed the heavily fortified border on Tuesday.
The last regular service was in 1951, during the 1950-53 Korean War. The train will carry raw materials and manufactured goods between South Korea and the North Korean border city of Kaesong, where a Seoul-funded industrial estate is sited. "
Do you know what type of locomotive?
Sorry, but the photo that I saw has so many officials standing in front of the train with a big banner, one can’t make much out of the train. Hopefully someone can find a better one in another news report. From what I can see of it, it’s an older EMD - but can’t be sure…
Kozzie
Was the loco North Korean? If so, it may have been manufactured there but according to Chinese or Russian plans, most of the time.
Was the line electrfied? N. Korea does have electrified lines, but due to the 50-year absence of service, I’m guessing that particular line is not (still) electrified.
There is a better photo on the BBC website www.news.bbc.co.uk After you open to the home page, click on Asia-Pacific in the left hand side list of regions.
In that website’s photo one can see that there is definitely no third rail or overhead catenary wire - it’s clearly a diesel - looks like an older EMD to me…
I live in Pusan and Pong Hang, South Korea. I didn’t see any electric lines.
I don’t usually pay too much attention to posts about railroading in foreign countries, but when the posts are made by Kozzie, it’s a different matter! Welcome back!
Wow. That’s amazing news.
I was stationed in Korea with the 2nd Infantry Division in 1983-1984. As I recall, the DMZ was a wild place- parts being nature preserve, parts being armed camp. I do recall seeing photos of the remnants of a steam locomotive in the DMZ… I wonder what it was, how it got there, and if anything is left of it?
…Just a comment. I rode a {troop}, train from Inchon to Chunchon, Korea {north}, over 54 years ago…Armed {military}, guards and slept on the floor and had cold {C-rations}, corn beef hash for breakfast…ha…We even passed thru a tunnel…not all windows were in place and lots of smoke. Steam powered. No I don’t remember what steam engine was pulling us…Other priorities were on my mind.
Hello Kozzie…Good to see you back in here.
My BBC link won’t link.
Is anyone else having the same trouble? - al
Hi Carl and Quentin, thanks for your kind comments. I haven’t been able to log on for a while, as I can only get on the net at work - it has been quite busy, and I have to keep personal usage to a minimum anyway, which is fair enough.
We’ve just had a derailment of a freight train down here in south-east Queensland, just 30 km north of Brisbane - what makes it worse, it’s on the main North Coast Line which runs all the way up to Cairns (that’s a distance of about 1,600km or 1,000 miles). Freight cars carrying fly ash jumped the rails and snarled all three tracks of the mainline and pulled down some of the overhead catenary wire used by the electric mutilple units in the Brisbane suburban area. All happened about 20 hours ago and they are hoping to re-open the lines today.
Locomotive was a Korail owned GT26CW (export SD40-2)
see here for older photo
This site is so amazing! Ask an esoteric question and have it answered, and then some, in less than a full day!
We must also thank the Internet [:D] too, of course!
Ahh! Thanks Beaulieu! So it was an older EMD after all!
Kozzie