Train Gravesite in Kusadasi Turkey

#Train_Gravesite_Kusadasi_Turkey
The Turkish rail companies imported their engines from Germany, England, France & the Unites States as they relied on a proven design because of the demanding geography of this country & the changing weather per seasons
The rail network would have had to navigate mountainous regions with steep gradient & with sharp curves, plus the summers would have be hot /dry & winters very cold / much snow

KeyTip; The museum is located around a 30 minute taxi ride from the port of Kusadasi to the town of Camlik   So i got the roundtrip price of $50 Euro with a 2 hour wait ( feel free to negotiate as the locals like to do this)  plus it is a 3 Euro entrance fee  (hours are 8am-8pm)
 

Did you know there is only one place left on earth where steam locomotives are still widely in use
It is in China, so now rail enthusiasts are travelling there to witness the last gasps of the engine that created the modern world

Steam locomotives were first developed in the United Kingdom during the 19th century & in use until the 1980s when most railways fully converted to electric or diesel power
Interesting Fact; an average Steam Locomotive would consume 20 tons of coal & evaporate 100,000 lbs of water per hour
So in the name of Climate Change i am glad these machines are retired 😉

 

Linke-Hofmann-Werke had its origins in 1832 with its railway wagon factory in Breslau Germany  (this city returned to be a part of Poland in 1945 & back to its original name of Wroclaw with the result of territorial changes after World War 11)

Starting in early 1900s it employed over 50,000 workers & manufactured 3,000+ locomotives which as you see some ended up in Turkey

During the Second World War Turkey remained neutral  so as it expanded its rail network it kept importing locomotives from both Germany & England 

The Camlik Railway Museum is the biggest in Turkey & contains one of the largest steam locomotive collections in Europe
It was established in 1997 & contains 33 Steam Locomotives, 9 Passenger Cars, 7 Freight Cars & other Railway Vehicles 
The museum is located on the oldest line in Turkey & uses the original tracks built in 1866 plus sits on the property of the Turkish State Railway

Most of the passengers cars were of the George Pullman design
He was an innovative entrepreneur who had an extremely uncomfortable overnight train ride from Buffalo to Westfield New York
It caused him to realize the opportunity of a vast market for comfortable railcar service so 25+ years later he had factories in the United States & Europe 

The Pullman Company manufactured the Pioneer......which was the ultimate in sleeping cars with hand finished woodwork, silver trimmed fixtures etc & at a cost of $20,000 per car

The Pullman name lives on today in Europe as a symbol of elegance & luxury 

The manufacturing years of the steam locomotives located here range from 1891-1951 with the oldest one built was by the Robert Stephenson Company of England ( first corporation in the world that was created to specifically build railway engines)

TCDD is an abbreviation for The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey
Also the numbers serve a purpose;
A) #3 the number of driving axles, B) second #3 is the total number of axles in the engines, C) #55 the engine serial number

TCDD celebrated its 150th anniversary recently with the I-zmir to Aydin line in 1856.
After that countries of England & Germany arranged licenses with the Turkish Government for railway construction 

A total of 8600 kms of rail was laid during the Ottoman Empire between 1856 -1922 
Because of the weight of Steam Locomotives the rails had to be improved also.....thus since the 1870s the track has been made of steel 

There are no guides for this tour so do your research before heading here but a bonus, you are allowed to climb aboard ( using the engine ladders ) to get inside the railcars, cabs etc

The maximum speed for these locomotives was 190kms (120 mph) but it was never this fast as the railroad line was not designed for this  

I know car collectors that would pay big money for this patina 😃

Part of the coaling tower that replaced the early years of shovelling by hand 
These coaling stations were first built in Britain in 1847 & at first from wood, then steel or reinforced concrete plus used the gravity fed method

Collection of all modes of transport made for the rails as we leave the museum & its salute to the Golden Age of Steam