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New season, new thread!

60 years ago today:
https://www.fox43.com/article/news/nati ... cd30611fd0

I just realized it was a year ago on Monday when we broke this record:

Most users ever online was 747 on Sun May 03, 2020 1:50 pm

steve-in-kville wrote: ↑Sat May 08, 2021 8:04 am

I’ve been lately kinda obsessed with the Trans-Mongolian Railway, which runs from Moscow to Beijing and is part of the Trans-Siberian network.



I have a really soft spot for the old green Communist coach and sleeper rolling stock that used to be ubiquitous in the USSR and China. They are distinctly not European in style, but not quite American either.


I was fortunate to ride these when I visited Russia and the Ukraine in high school. Many of these cars still exist, but have been refurbished and repainted bright, more contemporary liveries.

That's actually an interesting discussion. I had heard it debated why American locomotives are more "boxy" than foreign trains. Why our Amtraks are more streamlined and so on. There are reasons, some quite amusing!

steve-in-kville wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 6:39 am That's actually an interesting discussion. I had heard it debated why American locomotives are more "boxy" than foreign trains. Why our Amtraks are more streamlined and so on. There are reasons, some quite amusing!

I think a lot of it has to do with loading gauge. Clearances in Europe are narrower than in the US and Russia. There were some Soviet sleepers built to European standards that operated into Western Europe, though by the 90's, the regular sleepers were running into Berlin.

One of the really interesting things about European - Russian traffic is the gauge change at the former Soviet border. Russian trains run on a broader gauge than standard gauge -- a practice that dates back to Czarist times. At the border, workers jack up the train and swap out the wheels, which takes a couple of hours. Passengers are basically stuck on the train until the gauge change is completed.

I was just reading last week that there's a region in China that still uses steam for mining operations.

steve-in-kville wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 7:18 am I was just reading last week that there's a region in China that still uses steam for mining operations.

That’s the Sandaoling mine right?

The Burma Mines Railway also rund a couple of steam locomotives and Polish Railways runs steam on the branch line from Poznań to Wolzstyn for the tourists, but last I heard it was still on a regular schedule.

Szdfan wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 9:33 am

steve-in-kville wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 7:18 am I was just reading last week that there's a region in China that still uses steam for mining operations.

That’s the Sandaoling mine right?

The Burma Mines Railway also rund a couple of steam locomotives and Polish Railways runs steam on the branch line from Poznań to Wolzstyn for the tourists, but last I heard it was still on a regular schedule.

Here:

http://railfan.com/sandaoling-steam-finale/