Burma Railroads

    I've been reading about WWII in Burma, and I came across a couple interesting bits of railroad lore. This is the same part of the world as the "Railroad of Death" and The Bridge on the River Kwai, though those are more in Thailand.
    First we have Gokteik Viaduct, "the largest railway trestle in the world" at the time of its construction in 1900.

Next we have the Double Fairlie Locomotive. This engine became famous because of its success in navigating the twisting Welsh mine railways. Apparently some people thought the twisting railway lines running across mountainous Burma would be another good place for them. No, it's not a photoshopped image of a regular steam locomotive and its reflection, they really built them like this.

1907 #2200-2201 0-6-0-0-6-0, 3'3.3/8" (metre) gauge, Burma Railways (2 loco's) Double Fairlie Patent

The Goteik railway trestle is still in business. The large version of the map will show you where it is in relation to the rest of the world.


View Burma WWII in a larger map