Steam Railway Photographs

STEAM RAILWAY PHOTOGRAPHS

These pages have been created as a way of sharing my interest in railway photography and as a record of the last working
steam locomotives across the world. Since first creating the site the number of places in the world where it is still possible to
see steam at work has greatly diminished and many of the scenes shown on this and subsequent pages are now an historical
record of what once was and is no more. Many of the places featured on the site are no longer operational and you are
advised to search the internet to find out what is left before venturing off across the world. One thing is for certain however
- whatever is left won't be there for much longer so don't delay!

All the photographs on these pages are my personal record of my travels across the world in search of the last of the iron
dinosaurs. Below you'll find my definition of what constitutes a 'working steam locomotive' - please don't search here for
pictures of the Severn Valley Railway or the Cass Mountain Railroad. They simply don't qualify!

WHO AM I?

My name is David Longman and I live in Bedford in England. Old enough to remember steam on the railways of Britain but
too young to have taken any photographs, until about 15 years ago my interest was entirely centred on trying to recapture
the past by taking shots of preserved steam in Britain. However due to the influence of several good friends, particularly
David Eatwell and Rob Dickinson, my horizons have been greatly broadened and I have since been able to make repeated
visits to Cuba, China, Zimbabwe, Germany, Java and Poland in search of the world's last working steam locomotives. It's
been a great adventure which is sadly coming to an end.

I am strictly an amateur photographer who has done his best to capture the spirit of steam - there is no pretence that the
photographs here are great works of art - but they are in focus and reasonably well exposed! Please enjoy.

ALCO No.1837 (No.62543 0f 1920) at work on Orlando Gonzalez Ramirez Mill, Cuba in March 1998.
By 2014 there were almost no working steam locomotives left in Cuba - just museum pieces and tourist trains

GETTING RIGHT INTO THE PICTURES

Ok - thanks for getting this far. If you are bored of reading all this stuff and just want to see some pictures then click on any
of the buttons below to see steam at work across the world. The site is colour coded to help you find your way around. If
you have the inclination to read a little bit more about the site then scroll down and keep going!

THE LAST WORKING STEAM LOCOMOTIVES IN THE WORLD

SO WHAT IS 'WORKING STEAM'?

My definition of 'working steam' is a railway using steam locomotives to carry out a job of work rather than solely attracting
tourists. The edges get a little bit blurred at times - particularly when a railway was always intended to cater for tourists eg.
the Brockenbahn in former East Germany - but that's about as close as I can get. Steam used in this way is getting rarer and
rarer and I regret never having had the opportunity to visit India or Pakistan to name but two countries where working
steam has now more or less finished.

With working steam disappearing fast across the world, China just about retains the title of 'The Big Show' and Java comes a
very commendable second. Despite the political troubles, steam also hangs on by its fingernails in Zimbabwe. All-year-round
steam operations continue in Germany and Poland although in both countries their days are surely numbered. I have
included Cuba on purely historic grounds as all steam operation now are specially arranged for tour groups and the pictures
on this site are a record of what was there in the 1990's.

On the following pages are pictures from six different countries taken during the past twelve years together with some
information about steam operations in the country. This is a very broad overview but does at least give you something to
read while the pictures download - essential if your boredom threshold is as low as mine!

'Steam Railway Photographs' is not intended to be news site. Up-to-date information on working steam can be found on
sites such as Rob Dickinson's International Working Steam and Dave Fielding's SY-Country . These carry regular reports on
steam operations worldwide, together with some photographs, although navigating around both sites can be somewhat
time consuming. There are also various organisations that operate overseas tours for steam enthusiasts but unless they
care to pay me for advertising they shall remain anonymous! Whilst these may be a convenient and easy way to make a first
visit abroad, my personal opinion is that many of these trips are over-expensive and they can often be done privately at much
more reasonable prices - expect to pay at least double to have someone else tell you where to go and what to photograph.
Almost all of the photographs on this site were taken whilst travelling alone. Of course you certainly will not get charter
trains if you do it my way - but then that's not really working steam by my definition anyway!

Finally I'd just like to record my thanks to all the many fellow enthusiasts who have encouraged me, helped me with
information and generally made me feel welcome whenever and wherever I have encountered them on the lineside. Those
who failed to do so are mentioned wherever appropriate!

FINALLY - HOW TO MAKE ME VERY CROSS!

All photographs on this site are my copyright. If you wish to use them solely for your own personal use then I will be pleased
and flattered.   However, if you wish to make any commercial use of these images or use them on another website then you
require my permission.   The few people who have failed to do so will know just how tetchy and annoyed I can get and who
my solicitor is!   For speed of uploading, image size has been kept to a minimum - should you wish to have higher resolution
images of any of my photographs they can be obtained by asking me nicely via my e-mail