What countries still use steam locomotives?

[coldguy]

I was watching "The Peacemaker" on cable this weekend. Its a '97 movie starring George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, and some slavic guy. Seems this Croat or Serb or Muslim (he claims all three) wants to blow up the UN with a stolen nuke. Anyone remember it? Anyway, the nukes are being hauled through the Urals in south-western Russia by a steam locomotive before they are stolen by a group of mercs on an overtaking diesel-powered train (the kind I saw while serving in the Balkans/SFOR!/)

To my point: How many countries still use steam locomotives for other than tourist/museum trains. I'm sure there are some using steam for revenue passenger service, but freight? Thanks much for your indulgence.

[Anonymous]

Cuban sugar companies are still using steam.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=144408

[Train 284]

China did, until very recently. I think they still use it on narrow gauge lines though.

[UPTRAIN]

UP has used the 844 and 3985 in revenue freight service, but that was isolated, and was in a power crunch, lol.

[Anonymous]

Indonesia still uses steam on plantation lines

[Tulyar15]

There are still a few colliery lines in Serbia that use steam and there probably are in Poland too. As far as I know , Poland is the only country still with regular steam operation though I think there is an element of subsisiding it as a tourist operation.

I believe Zimbabwe is also still using steam, owing to the fact that it has plenty of coal but no oil and cannot afford any oil with the parlous state of its economy.

[FJ and G]

Sub-Saharan Africa uses them. Hmmm. Is that a country?

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Having looked at my 2000 issue of "Jane's World Railways" (highly recommended as a resource), China is the last major operator of steam locomotives. Everything else seems to be small pockets here and there with only a handful of steam locomotives on otherwise all diesel rosters.

[tatans]

INDIA

[coldguy]

Thanks for the replies. I would have guessed India and China, and they're probably going to change that soon since their economies are booming now. anyone have any more?

[rrandb]

While China has quit building steam it will still be many years before they can replace them all even on main line trains. ENJOY

[BaltACD]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrandb

While China has quit building steam it will still be many years before they can replace them all even on main line trains. ENJOY

I believe China banked the fires on the last of their Main Line Steam earlier this year and their steam was the last 'revenue' steam that was still in operation in the world.

[rrandb]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BaltACD

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrandb

While China has quit building steam it will still be many years before they can replace them all even on main line trains. ENJOY

I believe China banked the fires on the last of their Main Line Steam earlier this year and their steam was the last 'revenue' steam that was still in operation in the world.

Depends on what you mean by Main Line. It continues to haul freight, serve branch lines and will work for factories for years. There are photos posted from China in the last month that show working steam that is not narrow guage. Either that or I have got some bad info and will gladly stand corrected. This would place them years ahead of their own estimates to build enough diesel engines.[2c] As always ENJOY

[ddechamp71]

Erythrea, Africa, and, I believe, Guatemala.

Dominique

[Fr.Al]

It seems to be my lot to revive old threads. Besides Poland, I think some South American countries. But by now, they might be gone. I recorded a program about steam in Cuba(and an interurban!) from the RFD channel. But that video could be dated.

[samfp1943]

OK, Fr, Al.  Seems like this up-coming holiday season is an appropriate time of the year to be 'Reviving the long gone, but not yet deceased?"

Here's one to start you off with [in fact, a compilation of 50 steamers from 2010 to 2020! ]    @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bikUN4UbnL0

And "The Race across the Southwest" , staring UPRR's 4014 !    

@ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT6B3a9eZzM

[MMLDelete]

I think China still has mainline steam, but only on one line. I think that line is far north, and IIRC is actually a relatively newly-built line.

[BaltACD]

Lithonia Operator

I think China still has mainline steam, but only on one line. I think that line is far north, and IIRC is actually a relatively newly-built line.

My understanding is that China has no Main Line steam still operating.  The last line stopped using steam 4 or 5 years ago.  There is a poster on https://www.railpictures.net/ that has posted numerous picturs of that operation.  As I recall the dates on most of his pictures are 2016 or 2017 and he has commented that steam is no longer in use.

[L. Zhou]

In China, steam is gone on all of China Railway system by around the end of the early 2000s or so, but managed to stick around on small provincial lines for much longer, who bought the locomotives from the government. Steam on those lines lasted up until around 2013. 

The QJs which rumbled over the JiTong line back when it was first built are now long gone. 

The last line in China that uses steam now is a quarry in Xiangjing Province called Sandaoling, however I heard the line is going to close soon.  

[54light15]

There are several narrow-gauge railways in Eastern Germany that use steam on metre-gauge lines. This is the biggest one and it does haul freight on occasion;

https://www.hsb-wr.de/ 

[samfp1943]

[quote user="L. Zhou"]

In China, steam is gone on all of China Railway system by around the end of the early 2000s or so, but managed to stick around on small provincial lines for much longer, who bought the locomotives from the government. Steam on those lines lasted up until around 2013. 

The QJs which rumbled over the JiTong line back when it was first built are now long gone. 

The last line in China that uses steam now is a quarry in Xiangjing Province called Sandaoling, however I heard the line is going to close soon.  

[/quote]

  Mr.Zhou.... The QJ class may be gone in China; BUT in Iowa there are a couple still working! 

And from an earlier time: Qj's #6988 and #7081 Double heading on IIRR:

@https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzfjMuKIaKc

Here is the #6988  (at speed) in Iowa in 2018:

@ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUGv2L3dFl8

And here is the now retired QJ #7040  -'Old Smokey'- from RJ Corman's Dinner Train.

@https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laiS1XIPFfk

In about 2007 R.J. Corman bought Qj class #7040, and had it overhauled in China before being shipped to US.

see film @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0au4x8amSnQ

#7040 was taken out of service about the time that RJ Corman got sick, and passed. and  is on display at Midway,Ky.

** Here is a You Tube  video from September 2011 taken @ Jixi, China of the final steam run: @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQL09QFB4bM