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Steam locomotives still working industries in Eastern Europe
Cool! I wish I could see a working steam locomotive!
Have to assume those old steamers have had new boilers installed at least once. Even so, those war-time locomotives were built to last about 7 years with simplified construction and cheap materials. And they still keep rolling.
In 1979 I traveled to Romania as a member of a high school aged musical group on foreign exchange. I walked to the train station in the village of Sibiu, Romania and observed steam locomotives switching in the yard there. I wonder if there is still any operating steam locomotives in Romania.
It’s amazing to think that a WW2 locomotive is still operating!
Long may they live! And for those Kriegsloks:
“Hoch, hoch, dreimal hoch!”
Let’s have a high-quality feature article in Trains (print version).
I have seen still-working (vs. deliberately restored or preserved) steam exactly once, around 1980 at the Northwestern Steel & Wire Co. mill in Sterling, Illinois, where switchers bought as scrap but still in working order were put to work instead of being cut up.
Seeing preserved, restored engines performing for an audience is very different–still worthwhile, but more like seeing animals in a zoo than in the wild. The Northwestern Steel & Wire engines were still actually earning a living whether anyone was watching or not.
When I was in Germany in the military they still used steam, I have a photo of a steam engine going through a crossing I took about 1969.
Most of the Class 62 0-6-0T locomotives were former US Army locomotives, numbers 62-001 to 62-106 being largely Porter and Vulcan Iron Works locomotives from 1942 to 1944, with a number of Davenport products making up the total. Only 62-107 to 62-126 were built in Yugoslavia by Djuro Djacovic.
The Class 19 Skoda locomotives fill a blank in the JZ series, but aren’t listed by Halliwell in his “Locomotives of Jugoslavia” so may have been only used by industry rather than the state railways.
Likewise, steam was still alive in Japan in 1969. I was in the Navy at that time and took several photos of steam freight operations then.
" steam locomotives are stored at coalmines and industrial plants in Bosnia where steam operation has ended in recent years". Hope a few can be preserved…or at least pictured. I bet they would love a paid photoshoot over there…
Seems they know something the rest of the World forgot? I love it.
Nice photos. Thank you.
Ed, that is really cool about those steamers being bought as scrap and being used again! Do you happen to know how long they stayed in service, or have any more information about them?
When in St. Petersburg, Russia a couple of years ago, at a semi-industrial area with rail access, I saw a cold Russian steamer parked on a siding from our bus, but unfortunately was unable to get a photo because our bus moved on rather quickly. Though virtually all Russian locomotives are now electric and a bit crude-looking, it was interesting to see this relic, and it looked like it hadn’t been out of operation all that long.
Several British-based tour operators (and others in Germany and elsewhere, no doubt) run tours to see the Yugoslavian operations, with plenty of photographic opportunities included.
As far as boiler life is concerned, much depends on local water quality and how the boiler has been used (or abused). On the heritage railway where I volunteer, practically all of the welded boilers on our 2’ gauge locos are less than 15 years old but we had a visiting loco last year still with its original 1888-built all-riveted boiler. But who knows how many of those boiler plates have been renewed over the years?
Several British-based tour operators (and others in Germany and elsewhere, no doubt) run tours to see the Yugoslavian operations, with plenty of photographic opportunities included.
As far as boiler life is concerned, much depends on local water quality and how the boiler has been used (or abused). On the heritage railway where I volunteer, practically all of the welded boilers on our 2’ gauge locos are less than 15 years old but we had a visiting loco last year still with its original 1888-built all-riveted boiler. But who knows how many of those boiler plates have been renewed over the years?