Steam Around The World - Asia and Australasia

In this programme, Harry Dodge has captured the incredible variety of Asian steam, commencing in India with Bengali broad and narrow gauge steam, the exquisite Darjeeling Railway ( considered by many to be the world’s finest railway ) , Jaipur’s meter gauge system, and locomotives ranging from the Pacific to a Maharajah’s private train. This is contrasted with Japanese preserved steam, the wood burning loco’s of Thailand, Indonesian tank engines and Malaysian light steam. While in Australia and New Zealand we find an equally delightful assortment of gauges and rolling stock. This rare archive steam footage lovingly captured on 16mm film by the famous American rail enthusiast , Harry P. Dodge

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Great footage

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Sorry but the Sydney Harbour Bridge never carried steam trains on a regular basis for it was completed on 1932 and Sydney's suburban railways were electrified in 1928. Hawkesbury River bridge is on the line from Sydney to Brisbane in Queensland not Melbourne in Victoria. It was never a target for Japanese bombers as they only got as far as Darwin in the Northern Territory which is at the top of Australia. Steam bowed out in New South Wales on the 4th March 1973 but private railway steam operations continued with the South Maitland Railway using 10 class 2-8-2 tank locos until 1983 and the nearby Richmond Vale Railway used the same class until 1987. The whole class of 14 locos have been preserved.