The Modernisation Plan brought about the demise of steam-powered traction in the United Kingdom, with the last locomotives removed from service in 1968. For those who loved the thrill of the old motive power, interest turned to the still considerable number of surviving steam locomotives continuing to operate in a host of other countries. This is a travelogue of many journeys that took the author across the world camera in hand, and not without adventure in the process. From dodging secret police behind the Iron Curtain to waiting hopefully for peripatetic sugarcane-hauling locomotives in Cuba, and from living, eating and sleeping on trains in South Africa to the almost obligatory tussle with illness in India, there is a whole world surrounding steam operations. For many years, these timeless workhorses, evocative of rural, industrial and urban settings, hauled a myriad of products across vastly disparate landscapes. However, when these dwindled and disappeared, there remained heritage railways to enjoy and photograph. Featuring more than 130 original images, this book serves as a historical record of the wide world of steam operations to be found 50 years ago.
