PICTURED (left) 2-10-0 Coal (right) 2-10-0 1948 American built.
Known as "Skyliners" for the profile included a casing faired over the steam and sand domes as well as rounded front edges on the tender. At the speed these engines typically ran, such "streamlining" was for aesthetic purposes only. See also Durrant (1966), who comments that the TCDD was in the possibly unique position of possessing locomotives by Vulkan of Stettin, Germany/Poland; Vulcan Foundry, Great Britain, and Vulcan Iron Works of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA.
Vulcan Iron Works was the name of several iron foundries in both England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and, in one case, lasting until the mid-20th century. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and smithery, was a popular namesake for these foundries.
Vulcan Iron Works, based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, manufactured railroad locomotives. The company was established in 1849 by Richard Jones. It built locomotives such as the preserved Berlin Mills Railway 7 (1911), and by 1944 was constructing both steam and diesel locomotives. The company ceased operation in 1954.
Turkey has a well-developed, state-owned railway system built to standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in)) which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Transport and Communication. The primary rail carrier is the Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları (TCDD) (Turkish State Railways) which is responsible for all long-distance and cross-border freight and passenger trains. A number of other companies operate suburban passenger trains in urban conurbations.
Native railway industry extends to the production of locomotives, passenger vehicles and freight wagons; some vehicles are also produced through licensing agreements and cooperation with foreign countries.
In the early 21st century, major infrastructural projects were realized; such as the construction of a high-speed railway network as well as a tunnel under the Bosphorus strait which connects Europe and Anatolia by rail for the first time.
Turkey is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Turkey is 75.
Construction of the first railway line in Turkey began in 1856, being constructed by a British company that had gained permission from the Ottoman Empire. Later, French and German companies also constructed lines - the motivation was not only economic, the region had a strategically important position as a trade route between Europe and Asia.
As with other countries, rapid expansion followed; by 1922 over 8000 km of lines had been constructed in the Ottoman Empire.[note 1] At the birth of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, there were 3,660 km of standard gauge lines, of which 1,378 km were state-owned; while the lines owned by foreign investors were eventually nationalized starting from 1927. The railways were considered an essential part of the state by the government of the Republic, and continued to expand with new railway projects - over 3000 km of new tracks were built in Turkey between 1923 and 1940. Railways were constructed serving mines, agriculture, people and ports; at the same time more lines serving eastern Anatolia were built, in their part helping to tie Turkey together as a functioning state.
In the years following World War II, the emphasis in transportation shifted to asphalt road and highway construction;[2] it was not until the end of the 20th century that railways returned to favour with major passenger infrastructure projects being initiated, and five thousand kilometres of new lines planned for construction.
Future restructuring and plans
The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) may be split with the passenger and freight operations being part of a new company named DETAŞ (Demiryolu Taşımacılığı Anonim Şirketi, meaning Railway Transport Company) with TCDD left as a track and infrastructure operator.[6] This restructuring will also allow other rail operators to run trains on TCDD tracks by means of track access charges, and will end the monopoly of TCDD.
The new law about liberalization of Turkish railway transportation is accepted by Turkish Parliament and approved by the President of Turkey in April 2013.[8] According to the law, TCDD will stay as the owner of infrastructure and the new company TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ will be operating the trains. Private companies will soon be allowed to run on TCDD infrastructure as well as the new infrastructure owned by private companies if constructed.Turkish Ministry of Transportation has a plan of constructing 4000 km conventional and 10000 km high speed lines till 2023. There are also some commuter rail projects like Marmaray and Başkentray.
Locomotive Data by Wheel Arrangement in Turkey
0-4-0
0-6-0
0-6-2
0-8-0
0-8-2
2-10-0
2-10-2
2-4-0
2-4-6-0
2-6-0
2-6-2
2-8-0
2-8-2
4-6-0
4-8-0
PICTURED (below) 2-8-2 Henschel & Sohn [1] 1937 Passenger engine
Builders of Steam Locomotives in Turkey
Beyer-Garratt
Alco-Cooke
Beyer, Peacock
Borsig
Cail
Corpet, Louvet&Cie
Henschel&Sohn
Humboldt
Kolomna
Maffei
Nydqvist&Holm (NOHAB)
Robert Stephenson&Co
SFCM
Sharp, Stewart
Skoda
Vulcan Iron Works
Georg Christian Carl Henschel founded the factory in 1810 at Kassel. His son Carl Anton Henschel founded another factory in 1837. In 1848, the company began manufacturing locomotives. The factory became the largest locomotive manufacturer in Germany by the 20th century. Henschel built 10 articulated steam trucks, using Doble steam designs, for Deutsche Reichsbahn railways as delivery trucks. Several cars were built as well, one of which became Hermann Göring's staff car.
In 1935 Henschel was able to upgrade its various steam locomotives to a high-speed Streamliner type with a maximum speeds of up to 140 km/h (87 mph) by the addition of a removable shell over the old steam locomotive. In 1918, Henschel began the production of gearboxes at the Kassel plant. In January 1925, Henschel & Son began building trucks and buses.