The International Steam Pages

Railway Travellers' Tales

This site has always been dedicated to the steam locomotive, especially those few still working for their living. But it is also all about railways in far away places and enthusiasts visiting them, not to mention those 'out-of-grice and post-grice' experiences which are repeatable in polite company. This page provides a few links (which I hope will grow) to stories, some are more technical than others but that just reflects the interests of the writers. And also for the sadists, a few international stories which have nothing to do with trains at all. All contributions are very welcome, this page will also link to articles which do not fit in comfortably elsewhere on the site. I am a very light handed editor, 'anything goes' within reason. 

If you fancy a trip to see such places then for travel advice please see "The Man in Seat 61". And if you make a trip let me have a report and tell the man of any updates for that site.

The most recent additions are given below, more contributions, with or without illustrations are always welcome. I will do my best to assist with maps if necessary.

Holland

• Our Friends the Dutch (8th February 2012)

Belgium

• Former Belgian Steam Heating Locomotives (12th January 2012)

Glen Brewer's

• Railroad Glory Days - USA orientated - added 10th January 2012

Denmark

• To Denmark for a (Little) Steam 1991 (link corrected 11th January 2012)

Wilson Lythgoe's "Once upon a time, long ago, in a place faraway..." - see below for the earlier tales.

• Glimpses of Pakistan, 1979 and 1985 (20th February 2012)

• 1968 NZ Railfans Reunion, Part 1 (8th February 2012)

• La Carlota Sugar Central, Negros, Philippines, January 1982 (30th January 2012)

• The Little Ones of the Indian Metre Gauge, 1985 (21st January 2012)

• Heading South Chasing Kb 968, 1969 (12th January 2012)

• The 57 Class 2-10-2s of the Turkish Railways, 1981 (5th January 2012)

• The 950mm Gauge in Sicily, 1980 (27th December 2011)

• A Day on the Fairlie Goods, 1967 (10th December 2011)

Railway Journeys - General

Wilson Lythgoe has been circulating friends with some steam pictures taken some time back and with his permission and encouragement they are reproduced on these pages and will be added to from time to time to ease bandwidth issues. He titles them appropriately "Once upon a time, long ago, in a place faraway..." I would welcome similar contributions from other veteran gricers of which I now count as one.

• Glimpses of Pakistan, 1979 and 1985 (20th February 2012)

• 1968 NZ Railfans Reunion, Part 1 (8th February 2012)

• La Carlota Sugar Central, Negros, Philippines, January 1982 (30th January 2012)

• The Little Ones of the Indian Metre Gauge, 1985 (21st January 2012)

• Heading South Chasing Kb 968, 1969 (12th January 2012)

• The 57 Class 2-10-2s of the Turkish Railways, 1981 (5th January 2012)

• The 950mm Gauge in Sicily, 1980 (27th December 2011)

• A Day on the Fairlie Goods, 1967 (10th December 2011)

• Another Canterbury Miscellany, 1968 (30th November 2011)

• New Zealand's Last Great Steam Train, 1968 (19th November 2011)

• India's Southern Railway and I, 1981 (2nd November 2011)

• A Disappointing Day at Rangkasbitung, West Java, 1983 (20th October 2011)

• A Couple of Days on the Coast Part 2, 1969 (30th September 2011)

• A Couple of Days on the Coast Part 1, 1969 (14th September 2011)

• From Nowhere to Nowhere via Very Little, 1985 (24th August 2011)

• Steam in the Philippines 1982, Part 2 (15th August 2011)

• The Oil Burners of Pakistan's Metre Gauge, 1985 (31st July 2011)

• To Cass Or Bust, An Enthusiast Excursion to Cass, 1968 (21st July 2011)

• Ponferrada - Villablino, the Baldwin Tanks, 1980 (13th July 2011)

• Super Power on the Canterbury Plains, 1968 (4th July 2011)

• Night Time on the Midland Line, 1968/1969 (28th June 2011)

• The Big Engines of the Indian Broad Gauge, 1981 (21st June 2011)

• India's Satpura Narrow Gauge Lines, 1981 (12th June 2011)

• The Hedjaz Railway: Damascus to Amman, 1981 (link corrected 6th June 2011)

• From Turkey to Syria by Train and Bus, 1981 (24th May 2011)

• Java Sugar Mills, 1983 (15th May 2011)

• Three New Zealand Railfan Excursions 1967 Style (6th May 2011)

• A Canterbury Miscellany from 1967 (25th April 2011)

• YPs on India's Western Railway, 1985 (15th April 2011)

• North-West Frontier Narrow Gauge, 1985 (2nd April 2011)

• Ponferrada - Villablino, the Hill Region, 1980 (21st March 2011)

• Timaru in New Zealand's South Island, 1968 (9th March 2011)

• The West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, 1967 (28th February 2011)

• Shantipur, India, 1981 (19th February 2011)

• Gwalior, India, 1981 (10th February 2011)

• Kriegsloks in Turkey, 1981 (1st February 2011)

• The Fairlie Branch in New Zealand's South Island, 1968 (25th January 2011)

• Malakwal Junction, Pakistan, 1985 (18th January 2011)

• The Midland line in New Zealand's South Island, 1968 (11th January 2011)

• Delhi, India, 1981 (3rd January 2011)

• Ma-Ao Sugar Central, Negros, Philippines, 1982 (24th December 2010)

• The last working Mallet tender locomotives in the world, Java 1983 (17th December 2010)

The UK Daily Telegraph has a continuing feature http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/journeysbyrail/. In 2008, they ran a writing competition, the accounts are a little shorter than the journeys they describe, but worth reading (22nd December 2008). Such accounts are usually ephemeral, I have archived the stories, if you find the link broken, please tell me and I will put them on my own site.

• Zimbabwe - A nostalgic trip between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls

• India -  Night Train to Varanasi 

• India - Indian Rail Delights

• Russia - Trans-Siberian Express

• Morocco - Night Train from Marrakesh to Tangiers

• Japan - Riding the Bullet Train

General Railway Interest

Mike's Railway History has some very interesting items, basically a look at world railway marvels in 1935 (4th March 2009). Selected items include:

• Main Lines of Brazil

• The Magic of the Andes

• Travelling by Train in China

• Through Desert and Jungle

• Across Africa by Rail

• Burma's Metre Gauge System

• A Gateway to Brazil

• Hill Lines of India

• Island Railways

Glen Brewer's

• Railroad Glory Days - USA orientated - added 10th January 2012

Railway Journeys - Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire)

• Waiting in vain for a train in DR Congo (26th November 2011)

Ghana:

• Ghana Railways 2007

Liberia:

• The Bong Railway 2007

• Living and working on a Railway in Liberia  (25th May 2010)

• The Bong Railway Revisited (8th June 2010)

• Mittal Phoenix Arises from Lamco Ashes (18th June 2010)

Mali

• The Railways of Senegal and Mali, 2007

• The Railways of Mali, 2010 (4th January 2011)

Mocambique:

• Malawi to Mocambique by Train, 2004

São Tomé e Príncipe

• The Railways of São Tomé e Príncipe (4th March 2009)

• The Railways of São Tomé e Príncipe revisited (29th July 2011)

South Africa

• Firing a Condensing Steam Locomotive, 1991 (9th March 2009)

Zambia

• A trip on the Zambesi Sawmills Railway,2006 (24th December 2008)

• The Railways of Zambia, November 2008 (24th December 2008)

Zimbabwe

• Dr. Tankinfront’s Monsters -- Zimbabwe 1991, (4th December 2009)

Railway Journeys - Americas

South America

• A Hobby to Die for? (31st December 2008)

Chile:

• A narrow gauge train ride between Talca and Constitucion in Chile in 2001 (16th October 2008)

Guatemala:

• The Slow Train to Puerto Barrios (2004)

Honduras:

• A Coconut Railway in 1997 (16th October 2008)

USA 

• Looking inside the Master Bedroom of Hell (yes, sort of USA!, 23rd December 2010)

• Hobos North (4th November 2011)

Railway Journeys - Asia

Burma (Myanmar):

• Hastings, Domesday... More extraordinary journeys (12th December 2010) including the journey directly linked below:

• The Moulmein 'Express' (2010)

• Rob and Yuehong in the Golden Land, 2009, a bit of everything, amazing train journeys, unconventional tourism with more than a dash of stationary steam in the rice mills (updated 3rd March 2009) including the journeys directly linked below:

• The Gokteik Pineapple Express (2009)

• Slow Train to Kalaw (2009)

• The Tharrawaw Flyer (2009)

China

• QJ Country - Advance! - China 1996 (24th August 2011)

• The Mojiang Coal Railway A quaint narrow gauge electrified railway in Sichuan Province (10th May 2011)

• The YuDan Narrow Gauge Railway A dieselised narrow gauge railway with a daily 165km long passenger train run (10th May 2011)

India:

The Indian Railways Fan Club carries reports of its members trips, a selection of the best of them is linked on this page (added 15th September 2011):

•  http://irfca.org/apps/trip_reports

Other stories including a visit to Sheopur Kalan from the IRFC above:

• The Palace on Wheels 1983 (28th August 2011)

• Upper Class to Sheopur Kalan (23rd June 2011)

• “The Punj”, and Stench City and The 10:40 to Bari Sadri (India 1993/94, 13th March 2009) 

Indonesia

• The West Sumatra Coal Railway, Indonesia, 1973 (5th September 2011)

• The Incredible Stone Railway at Gunung Kataran, 1973 (21st July 2011)

• David Longman at large in Java (2006)

• A month in Java (1976) (21st November 2008, location changed 10th July 2009)

• Gold Mine Railways in Sumatra (updated 4th July 2009)

Malaysia:

• A Tearful Farewell to Romance (5th August 2011), 

• A final look at Tanjong Pagar Station (link corrected 21st August 2011)

• Journeys through Tanjong Pagar (5th August 2011)

• A final trip to Tanjong Pagar (5th August 2011)

• The Romance of the Railway - with many more interesting links (5th August 2011)

• The Penang Hill Railway 2009

• The Penang Hill Railway 2010 (3rd January 2011)

• Jungle Railway Part 1 (link corrected 24th June 2009)

• Jungle Railway Part 2 (11th June 2009)

• On the Route of the E&O Express Part 1 (28th January 2010)

• On the Route of the E&O Express Part 2 (22nd February 2010)

• The Sabah State Railway (updated 6th June 2010 with a second visit plus pictures, further update 5th June 2011, more pictures 21st June 2011)

Pakistan

Classic Gricing

• Two Weeks in Pakistan, 1992 (13th November 2010)

Another gem from Owais Mughal (12th March 2010)

• Ghora Tram: Historic Horse Tram Returns to Gangapur

Owais Mughal has produced a series of articles on items of railway heritage interest in Pakistan (9th April 2009):

• Khyber Pass Railway - http://pakistaniat.com/2006/09/26/pakistan-train-khyber-pass-railway/

• Bolan Pass - http://pakistaniat.com/2006/08/23/railways-through-bolan-pass/ 

• Trans Baluchistan Railway - http://pakistaniat.com/2007/07/13/the-trans-baluchistan-railway/

• Khojak Tunnel - http://pakistaniat.com/2006/12/18/railways-khojak-tunnel/

• Chappar Rift - http://pakistaniat.com/2006/11/02/chappar-rift/

• Karachi Tranways of Yesteryear - http://pakistaniat.com/2007/09/14/karachi-tramway-of-yesteryears/

Philippines

• Today's Railways and Preserved Steam in the Philippines, 2007

Sri Lanka

• Those were the days, Sri Lanka in the 1970s, Part 1 (5th January 2011)

• Those were the days, Sri Lanka in the 1970s, Part 2 (5th January 2011)

Taiwan:

• Taipei's Gorge Railway (11th November 2010)

Thailand:

A Singaporean writes about visits to Thailand:

• The Romance of the Railway - with many more interesting links (5th August 2011)

Andrew Robinson at large

• On the Route of the E&O Express Part 3 (17th May 2010)

• On the Route of the E&O Express Part 2 (22nd February 2010)

Accounts written by an expat in Southern Thailand in the 1970s.

• Last Train to Haadyai 1975 (link updated 15th January 2010)

• The Songkhla Bullet 197x (link updated 15th January 2010)

• The Smugglers' Express 1973 (link updated 15th January 2010)

Not strictly 100% tales (but there is lots of useful information too on this site):

• Thailand by Train (7th January 2009)

Railway Journeys - Australasia

Australia

• I was a Teenage Railfan (2nd November 2011)

Railway Journeys - Europe

General

• To Europe for (a little) Steam in the 1960s (more pictures, 24th April 2011)

Belgium

• Former Belgian Steam Heating Locomotives (12th January 2012)

BeNeLux Countries

• Our Friends the Dutch (8th February 2012)

• “The Lowlands low” (“Benelux” circa 1963 – 1993) (13th January 2011)

Austria

• To Austria for a Little Steam, 1976 (27th April 2011)

• A Week in Austria, 1963 (13th January 2011)

• Linz to Leibnitz, tortuously – Austria 1970 (26th December 2010)

Denmark

• To Denmark for a (Little) Steam 1991 (5th January 2012)

France

• Many might-have-beens – France 1966 (22nd October 2010)

• The last weekend of the CF Vivarais (18th April 2008)

• Two Minutes to Midnight at Carhaix - France 1967 (21st November 2008)

Germany

• Glimpses of the Fatherland – Railway Travels in Germany (26th December 2010)

• To the G.D.R. for (a little) Steam in 1990 (21st June 2011)

Ireland

John Raby's Peat Bog Blog (all 21st August 2010)

• http://www.users.waitrose.com/~jraby/bogblogo.html

• http://www.users.waitrose.com/~jraby/bogblog.html

• http://www.users.waitrose.com/~jraby/bogblog1.html

Jugoslavia:

• The Unlucky-for-everyone country (1970) (16th August 2011)

• Ahead of the Four Horsemen (1982) (6th October 2008)

• The narrow gauge railways of Yugoslavia has some wonderful accounts of trips in the country including a trip on the Lake Ohrid Line in 1966 and the Ivan Pass rack section between Bradina and Konjic (19th October 2008)

Norway:

• The Railways of Spitzbergen and other things (30th August 2008) and The Island Railways North of Europe (9th September 2008)

Poland:

Robert Hall has written at length about his experiences of train travel in Poland in the closing years of steam:

• Keep Distracting 'em, Lech, Steam in Poland 1980 (13th August 2009)

• Miss Selinka and Individual Hating, Steam in Poland 1983 (13th August 2009)

• Polish Hide and Seek Steam in Poland 1984 (21st November 2008)

• A Polish Corridor Tale, Poland/Ukraine 1984 (24th November 2008)

• Kriegsloks with everything – Poland 1987 (8th October 2010)

• Too Many Zlotys – Poland 1987 (8th October 2010)

• On borrowed time – or, Smurfs rule ! – Poland 1990 (8th October 2010)

• East Prussia was “the business” – Poland 1991 (8th October 2010)

• “Big W” – Wolsztyn, 1980 to the present day (4th February 2011)

• Uniestowo or bust – Poland 1994 (4th February 2011)

Robert has also written an epilogue, a two week trip to Poland in July 2010. (4th October 2011)

Portugal:

• Locomotives at Lousal and Aljustrel, Portugal, December 2008 (24th December 2008)

Romania:

• Gricing with the professor - Roumania 1970 (11th December 2008)

Russia:

• Three Russian Narrow Gauge Peat Railways (16th Ausgust 2009)

• Jan Wilhelm von Dorp's Odyssey, 2006 (plus China, Nepal and India!)

• Red Star Steam (24th December 2008)

• Some "Russian" what-ifs (22nd January 2011)

• To Siberia for (a little) Steam in 1995 (10th February 2011)

Slovenia:

• Slovenian Rail Adventure, 2007

Spain:

• Just in time for the “Correo” (4th October 2010)

Non Railway Journeys

Burma (Myanmar):

• Luxury Irrawaddy Cruise (2006)

• Another Luxury Irrawaddy Cruise (2007)

• A day in the life of a stationary steam engine gricer (2006)

• Rob and Yuehong in the Golden Land, 2009, Part 1, a bit of everything, amazing train journeys, (un)conventional tourism with more than a dash of stationary steam in the rice mills (updated 3rd March 2009)

• Rob and Yuehong in the Golden Land, 2009 Part 2, more of the same (7th November 2009)

• Hastings, Domesday... More extraordinary travels (18th November 2010)

China:

• Private Great Wall Hike (9th August 2009)

• Night ride to Jinzhou (2003) (14th December 2008)

Indonesia:

• 200 Stops to Solo (2004)

Malaysia:

• Going Back, Penang, 2009 (7th November 2009)

Thailand:

• Far from the madding crowd (2006)