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hide options panelSteam Locos
55 photos
updated : 2024-12-02
Indian Railways was still a major steam user into the 1980s and some steam working continued well into the 1990s. Most early locos were British built but European, Japanese and American builders were represented in later years. Indian built locos dominated new construction from the 1950s onwards.
Passenger Trains
21 photos
updated : 2024-12-02
In the 1980s India's passenger trains spanned the gamut from comfortable air-conditioned sleepers linking the major cities to painfully slow and overcrowded all stations passengers and the delights of the narrow gauge. It was still possible to find steam haulage but generally on the less prestigious trains.
Mixed Trains
6 photos
updated : 2024-11-20
Mixed trains were a practical method of conveying both passenger coaches and goods traffic on lines where it would be difficult to justify the expense of running separate freight and passenger trains. They were common on Indian narrow gauge lines in the 1980s but could also be found on metre and broad gauges.
India is a vast country with a rail network to match. Nowadays electrified broad gauge lines are the norm but in the mid 1980s there was still plenty of metre and narrow gauge as well. Not only that, there were still a large number of steam locomotives on all gauges. Most of these pictures were taken on a 1986 trip.
